Tampa Bay Rays $2.3 billion mixed-use ballpark deal approved

Article posted by Coliseum, September 2^nd, 2026

Image: Tampa Bay Rays

The city officials recently approved a $2.3 billion deal for a new ballpark for the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Tampa Bay Rays (US) funded by public and private money.

The Rays have said they hope to have the new stadium built within three years.

Tax Money

‘wxxv25.com’ stated that the 4-3 vote by the Tampa City Council came three months after a tentative agreement was reached for a stadium which would include $967 million in tax money.

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

The 25,025-seat Tropicana Field, nicknamed ‘The Trop’, is a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. ‘The Trop’ is the home of the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Tampa Bay Rays. The venue is the only nonretractable domed stadium in the MLB and is a notable local attraction in the Tampa Bay Area.

New York (US)-based the Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 30 teams divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) with 29 in the United States and one (1) in Canada. The MLB is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier baseball league in the world.

‘Lasting Benefits’

The Tampa Bay Rays Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ken Babby said in a statement that the stadium project will “deliver lasting benefits” for the region.

‘Landmark Destination Neighborhood’

Remarked Babby, “The Tampa Bay Rays are grateful for the leadership and support of the City Council Members to approve an investment that, when accompanied by the private funding guaranteed by the Rays, will secure the future of the Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay while creating a landmark destination neighborhood that will serve our region for generations.”

Mixed-use Entertainment District

‘wxxv25.com’ further stated that the Rays ownership reached an agreement earlier this year with the Hillsborough College to build the stadium and the mixed-use entertainment district on the campus and to renovate some of the school’s buildings. The property is located next to the MLB team New York Yankees’ spring training facility and across a highway from the 69,218-seat Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, home of the National Football League (NFL) team Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rays’ Lease

Since the team took to the field in 1998 the Rays have played at the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg except for moving the home games to the Yankees’ 11,026-seat George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa in 2025 following hurricane damage at ‘The Trop’. The Rays’ lease runs through at least the 2028 season. The team returned to ‘The Trop’ in July for the start of this season.

Deal Fell Through

A proposed $1.3 billion redevelopment deal for a new ballpark adjacent to ‘The Trop’ fell through last year raising new questions about the future of the team which was bought last September by Patrick Zalupski’s (real estate developer) ownership group.

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