Rays, Local Officials Reach Tentative Deal For $2.3B Tampa Stadium Plan, Team Says

TAMPA, FL — The Tampa Bay Rays, and Hillsborough County and city of Tampa officials have agreed to preliminary terms for a $2.3 billion agreement to build a new ballpark at the Hillsborough College Dale Mabry campus, the team said.

A nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding between the Rays, Hillsborough County, Tampa, the Tampa Sports Authority and the Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency outlining the terms for the new 31,000-seat state-of-the-art stadium, as well as plans to revitalize the campus, was released Thursday by the team.

The MOU calls for the parties to continue working through the project's unresolved issues with the goal of opening the ballpark for the 2029 Major League Baseball season.

Both Hillsborough’s Board of County Commissioners and the Tampa City Council are expected to vote to approve nonbinding agreements with the team on May 20 and May 21, respectively, the Tampa Bay Times said. This is just ahead of the Rays’ June 1 deadline for city and county approval of the agreements.

“The ballpark and a reinvented Hillsborough College campus would anchor a privately financed, mixed-use neighborhood that would serve as a daily destination well into the future where Tampa Bay and visitors will come to work, live, learn and play,” Ken Babby, Rays’ CEO, said in a statement provided in a news release from the team.

He added, “The Rays respectfully but resolutely 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 the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough College, and create a new privately financed neighborhood…”

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The deal calls for a $1.27 billion investment from the Rays, as well as about $796 million from Hillsborough County, about $80 million from the city of Tampa, and about $100 million from the CRA, the news release said.

“Today’s memorandum of understanding is a major step toward keeping the Rays in Tampa Bay while creating a transformational opportunity in the Westshore area. This agreement reflects strong collaboration between the Rays, the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, and the Tampa Sports Authority,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a statement on social media. “There is still hard work ahead before a final deal is reached, but this is an important and impressive step forward. We remain focused on delivering a project that strengthens our community, revitalizes the area, and protects taxpayers every step of the way.”

Hillsborough Commissioner Joshua Wostal told Bay News 9 that there are still many unanswered questions, including how the Rays landed at the project’s $2.3 billion price tag.

“There is no understanding. County staff has no understanding to the memorandum of understanding,” Wostal said.

In January, the Hillsborough College Board of Trustees approved a separate Memorandum of Understanding with the Rays to redevelop the Dale Mabry campus as part of a new ballpark district.

This move came after the team abandoned a $1.3 billion deal to redevelop 86 acres in St. Petersburg’s Historic Gas Plant District, including its current home, Tropicana Field, last year.

A recent independent economic analysis projects that the proposed mixed-use development at Hillsborough College will generate $34 billion in total economic impact, create 11,900 new permanent jobs, and draw 10 million visitors to the campus and surrounding area each year, the team said.

In the coming weeks, the Rays, Hillsborough College and local officials will host a series of community engagement sessions across the county, giving residents the chance to review the proposed concepts, ask questions and share feedback.

Learn more about the proposed stadium project here.