Rays' new owners share vision for new Tampa Bay stadium
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From left, Tampa Bay Rays co-chairs Bill Cosgrove and Patrick Zalupski and CEO Ken Babby pose for a photo at their first news conference since buying the team. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
The new owners of the Tampa Bay Rays for the first time on Tuesday publicly laid out their plans for the team — including their vision for a new stadium.
Why it matters: The top priority is to keep the team in its namesake region with a "world-class ballpark" that will be ready in time for Opening Day 2029, team co-chair Patrick Zalupski told reporters at a news conference at Steinbrenner Field.
- But he declined to weigh in further on one big question: where?
What they're saying: "We're full speed ahead on site evaluation," Zalupski said, adding that the search encompasses "all of Tampa Bay."
- "We don't want to pigeonhole ourselves into one location or site," he said, flanked by co-chair Bill Cosgrove and CEO Ken Babby.
Zoom in: The main criteria they're looking for, he said, is land.
- The owners are looking for at least 100 acres to build a fully enclosed, climate-controlled stadium surrounded by hotels, restaurants, shops, office space and a music venue.
- A "quality location" is also key, Zalupski said, suggesting that a site with tons of space but, say, 30 miles outside Tampa wouldn't make the cut.
- The dream, Zalupski said, is something akin to The Battery Atlanta, a 74-acre mixed-use development anchored by the Braves' Truist Park about 12 miles north of the city.
The latest: Among the locations they're considering is Hillsborough Community College's North Dale Mabry Highway campus, the college's board chair confirmed Tuesday to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
- That site is more than 100 acres and is next to Steinbrenner Field and Raymond James Stadium, per the Journal.
- Several reports leading up to the sale indicated that the new ownership group wants to see a Hillsborough-side stadium, but the team leaders who spoke Tuesday didn't express a preference.
Zoom out: Local officials have also floated sites including Ybor Harbor, the Florida State Fairgrounds and WestShore Plaza.
Between the lines: Zalupski also said it was "critical to have a public-private partnership" to complete the stadium and surrounding development.
- That means that government buy-in, including a potential public subsidy, will be a crucial part of the process.
- How much they'll be seeking, and from which elected officials, remains to be seen.
Inside the room: Sitting in the front row were two key players, St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.
State of play: Welch helped land the now-defunct deal for a new stadium and mixed-use Gas Plant District on the site of Tropicana Field.
- His focus now, he told reporters after the news conference, is to finish repairing the Trop and to begin development of the surrounding land.
- He's currently evaluating what he called a "very powerful" unsolicited proposal for the Trop land from local development group ARK Ellison Horus.
Yes, but: Should this new stadium search zero in on St. Pete, he said he'd be willing to work with the team again.
- "The Rays need to be in Tampa Bay," he said.
The bottom line: In Zalupski's words: "We've got a lot of work to do."