Rays could move to Tampa after $1.7 billion sale finalizes

The Tampa Bay Rays might finally live up to their namesake. 

A group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski is expected to buy the franchise for a reported $1.7 billion as early as September, and it wants to move the team from St. Petersburg to Tampa, according to The Athletic. 

Current Rays owner Stu Sternberg purchased the team for $200 million in 2004. 

There has been pressure on Sternberg to sell the team, as the Rays have been trying to build a new stadium for almost two decades. His most recent plan was to build a $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg, but Hurricane Milton thwarted those plans and damaged the roof of Tropicana Field in the process. 

“After careful deliberation, we have concluded we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this moment,” Sternberg said in a statement in March. “A series of events beginning in October that no one could have anticipated led to this difficult decision.” 

Instead, the Rays have gotten a taste of Tampa this season as they’ve played their home games at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees spring training ballpark. 

Rays fans in Tampa have seemingly shown support for the team as they fill almost 90 percent of the 11,000-person capacity stadium on average. Comparing those numbers to last year at Tropicana Field, they could only manage to fill 38 percent of the 45,300-seat stadium on average. 

Zalupski, founder, chairman and CEO of Florida-based homebuilder Dream Finders Homes, is no stranger to owning baseball teams. He already counts minor league franchises the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and Akron Rubber Ducks as part of his portfolio. 

Now, he’s on the brink of adding a major league franchise, and maybe even getting them a long sought-after home in a new place.