Under new ownership, the Rays have locked in on a site for a new stadium, and it’s back in Tampa. The move could finally end decades of uncertainty around the franchise.
The board of trustees for Hillsborough College in Tampa is set to hold a special meeting Tuesday afternoon for a ballpark proposal at the institution’s Dale Mabry Campus, located near Tampa International Airport, Raymond James Stadium, and George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the Yankees.
The agenda for the meeting calls for a vote to enter a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the Rays in which the club would use a portion of the Dale Mabry Campus land for a stadium and mixed-use development. The college said “the project as proposed would result in a major transformation of many aspects of the Dale Mabry Campus.”
Approval would set in motion negotiations toward more formal land-use and project agreements. Many critical details, including funding for the ballpark and the future of the college, are not yet finalized. (Hillsborough is a public community college in Florida’s state system with five campuses in the Tampa area.)
If struck, though, a deal with Hillsborough College would set in motion a dramatic new era for the club, now under the ownership of a group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski. Since taking the club’s reins in late September, the Zalupski group has sought to rebuild a stadium pursuit that was grounded under former majority owner Stu Sternberg.
Last March, Sternberg walked away from a deal with St. Petersburg, Fla., and Pinellas County to build a $1.3 billion stadium, citing political delays and the likelihood of additional costs. That move enraged local politicians, and Sternberg sold the club in a $1.7 billion deal months later.
Like many others in the business of sports, Zalupski and the Rays are seeking to mimic the mixed-use development aspects of The Battery, the highly successful complex surrounding the Braves’ Truist Park.
The Hillsborough College plan could certainly fit that bill. The campus has about 108 acres and available space for the expansive vision that Zalupski and the Rays have.
Rays fans are also now accustomed to going to that area for games, as Steinbrenner Field served as a temporary home for the club in 2025 while Tropicana Field underwent repairs from hurricane damage. That ballpark in St. Petersburg is set to reopen for the 2026 season and will house the Rays until the new facility is built. The club intends to open a new ballpark in 2029, after the expiration of the lease with St. Petersburg for the city-owned Tropicana Field.
