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The Tanmpa Bay Rays and local officials announced Thursday a tentative $2.3 billion deal for a new stadium funded with public and private money.
The non-binding memorandum of understanding between the Rays, Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa outlines the costs of a stadium, which would include $967 million in tax dollars. Elected city and county officials are expected to vote on the deal in separate meetings next week.
“The Rays respectfully but strongly encourage Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa to approve the MOU and make possible a forever home for our community’s Tampa Bay Rays, breathe new life into Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry Campus, and create a new, privately funded neighborhood that will be an attractive and inclusive destination to work, live, learn and play,” Rays CEO Ken Babby said in a statement.
The Rays owners reached a deal earlier this year with Hillsborough College to build the mixed-use stadium and entertainment district on the university campus and renovate some of the university’s buildings. The property is located next to the New York Ynkees spring training facility and across from Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Rays have said they hope to build the new stadium within three years.
Since the team took the field in 1998, the Rays have played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, except for moving home games to the Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field in 2025 following hurricane damage at the Trop. The Rays’ lease extends at least through the 2028 season. The team returned to the Trop last month for the start of this season.
A proposed $1.3 billion redevelopment deal for a new stadium adjacent to the Trop collapsed last year, raising new questions about the future of the team, which was purchased last September by Patrick Zalupski’s ownership group.
Information from The Associated Press.
