Rays eye Hillsborough ballpark potential

Article posted by Coliseum, February 2^nd, 2026

Image: Tampa Bay Rays

Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Tampa Bay Rays have identified another potential location for a new ballpark at Hillsborough College in Tampa, Florida.

Ballpark Digest said that the Hillsborough College District Board of Trustees have unanimously approved a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to discuss an extreme makeover of the 113-acre Dale Mabry campus.

The development would include a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark, a new Hillsborough College campus, and an entertainment district.

The MOU allows the two parties to negotiate the details of building a new ballpark and a mixed-use development on the site.

The agreement gives them roughly 180 days to work toward a final binding deal, but it can be terminated at any time by the college.

Under the proposed plan, the college would continue to operate on part of the campus while the Rays would build and control the surrounding stadium and development, which could include housing, retail, hotels and offices.

The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area (US). The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division.

The team currently plays at the 25,000-capacity Tropicana Field, a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States.

The Rays had previously been planning a $1.3 billion new stadium as part of the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment in St. Petersburg, but they withdrew from that deal in 2025 after delays and damage to Tropicana Field caused by Hurricane Milton.

Local public opinion appears to lean in favor of the Hillsborough College site, with a recent poll showing about two-thirds of respondents supporting it as the preferred location for the new stadium. Concerns remain about costs and whether public funds would be used.

The Rays’ new ownership group has expressed the goal of opening a ballpark by around 2029, but that timeline is contingent on reaching final agreements and securing approvals from Tampa city and Hillsborough County officials.

The team has said it wants a roof on the new stadium to deal with Florida weather, but few specific design or funding details have been publicly released yet.

Meanwhile, the Rays are under lease at Tropicana Field through at least 2028 and plan to return there for the 2026 season after repairs are completed following the hurricane damage.

Orlando alternative

Other locations such as Orlando have been mentioned by some officials as possible alternatives if talks in Tampa do not succeed, but nothing formal has been agreed with any other city.

Ballpark Digest further stated that a move up I-4 from Tampa to Orlando would allow the team to stay in two of the largest media markets in the United States (the team has cable deals in both cities).

Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, who has worked for years to bring the Rays to Tampa, agrees that the backup plan could—and should—center on Orlando, even if the Rays haven’t yet formulated such a plan.

Hagan said, “I believe that it’s either going to be located at Hillsborough College or the team’s going to be in Orlando. The reality is that they have significantly more bed tax revenue than we do, and they’ve been pushing for a team.”

But Hagan still believes a deal can get done in Tampa. He added, “It’s (Orlando) an inferior market. Their TV market is below ours. People think traffic is bad here? It’s horrible over there. Orlando couldn’t keep the Atlanta Braves spring training team, if you remember that.

“But the reality is if a deal can’t get reached here, I firmly believe Orlando’s where they’re going to be playing.”

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