The sale of the Tampa Bay Rays appears to be coming to fruition. A report from Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says {that a} sale has been agreed to in precept which might see the membership be offered from present proprietor Stuart Sternberg to a bunch led by Patrick Zalupski.
The deal is value about $1.7B and is anticipated to be accomplished as quickly as September. The report provides that Zalupski plans to maintain the membership within the Tampa space, with a desire for Tampa correct over St. Petersburg. The sale would should be permitted by 75% of MLB house owners with a view to develop into official.
It was reported a couple of month in the past that Sternberg was in “superior talks” to promote the group to Zalupski’s group. Shortly after that reporting emerged, Marc Topkin and Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times spoke to hedge fund founder Journey Miller, who spoke of his want to become involved within the bidding. It’s unclear if there was ever any likelihood of Miller’s group outpacing Zalupski’s, nevertheless it now appears mainly confirmed that Zalupski’s group can be taking on.
As of a 12 months in the past, it appeared like Sternberg was going to stay round for a very long time. He bought the membership in 2004 for $200M. Since then, he has been looking for a long-term dwelling for the membership in order that the Rays might transfer on from Tropicana Discipline, which has lengthy been considered as inadequate and outdated for the key leagues.
Varied proposals had been floated over time, together with a inventive plan which might have seen the franchise cut up its dwelling video games between Florida and Montreal. That was nixed however the Rays ultimately put a plan in place to construct a brand new stadium on the Tropicana Discipline web site. Below that plan, the Rays would keep at The Trop via 2027 however would open the brand new facility in 2028. That they had agreements in place with town of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and personal buyers for the $1.2B mission.
That whole plan was thrown off the rails in October when Hurricane Milton swept via the realm, doing important harm to The Trop, notably the roof. The Trop grew to become unplayable for 2025 and the brand new stadium plan received delayed. Elections in October modified the composition of native authorities our bodies, with the brand new paradigm much less amenable to the Rays. The membership made preparations to play the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Discipline in Tampa. That appeared to not sit effectively with some Pinellas County officers, as Steinbrenner Discipline is in Hillsborough County.
The connection between Sternberg and native officers appeared to bitter, as he claimed the delays would result in huge value overruns. It was reported in March that the Rays wouldn’t be shifting ahead with the deliberate deal. That was shortly after it had been reported that league officers had been pressuring Sternberg to promote.
Now it appears the transition course of is making fast progress and Zalupski’s group may very well be on the helm a few months from now. That’s notable timing, as there are key issues to be labored out concerning the way forward for the franchise. It’s nonetheless unclear if the The Trop can be playable in time for the 2026 season. There’s additionally the standard baseball issues of payroll and issues of that nature. And naturally, new plans will should be developed for a future stadium.
As talked about, the report from The Athletic says Zalupski’s desire could be for the membership to be in Tampa correct, versus St. Petersburg. That’s one thing that must be negotiated with native officers and personal buyers. If the membership can chart a course in the direction of a transfer into Tampa, there could be logic to that. It has been instructed by many who The Trop’s location isn’t extremely accessible, which has contributed to the membership’s poor attendance figures over time, regardless of usually fielding aggressive groups. A transfer to Tampa might assist in that regard, although earlier makes an attempt to get the membership into Tampa haven’t been profitable.
Zalupski is the CEO of Dream Finders Houses, a publicly traded, Jacksonville-based developer that has constructed greater than 31,000 houses throughout ten states. Forbes estimates his web value at $1.4B, whereas his firm’s valuation rests at $3.4B.
The timeline for the Rays can even have penalties throughout the league. Commissioner Rob Manfred has lengthy insisted that growth wouldn’t be a sensible risk till the Athletics and Rays discovered new stadiums. The A’s are presently taking part in in West Sacramento however are anticipated to begin taking part in of their new Las Vegas stadium by the 2028 season.
If that plan progresses on schedule and the Rays get a brand new stadium plan within the works, then growth will develop into a extra practical risk.
