Sep 22, 2025 - Sports

MLB owners OK $1.7 billion sale of Tampa Bay Rays

Yacob Reyes

Stu Sternberg, owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, is honoured by the team during a game against the Boston Red Sox at Steinbrenner Field. Photo: Mark Taylor/Getty Images

Major League Baseball on Monday approved the sale of the Tampa Bay Rays to Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Why it matters: The sale — valued at about $1.7 billion — comes as the team has no long-term stadium plans and is expected to kick off a new round of negotiations over where, and how, the franchise will build its new home.

Driving the news: The deal is expected to be formally closed later this week. Soon after, the new ownership group led by Zalupski will hold a press conference, according to the Times.

Zalupski appears interested in moving the team from St. Petersburg to Tampa or elsewhere in Hillsborough County, having reportedly scouted locations in Ybor Harbor and Hillsborough College.

Between the lines: If the team decides to relocate after its contract with Tropicana Field expires in 2028, St. Petersburg will be left with a vacant, recently repaired stadium — without a clear path to replacing the revenue that the team brought to the city.

A deal in Hillsborough County would have to survive the Board of County Commissioners, which is intent on scaling back its spending, and compete with other demands, like repairs for Raymond James Stadium.
Commissioner Ken Hagan (R) is pulling hard for the Rays — and other officials are, at the very least, interested in hearing from Zalupski. But there's already one holdout: GOP Commissioner Joshua Wostal.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and has been updated.

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MLB owners OK $1.7 billion sale of Tampa Bay Rays

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