Gov. DeSantis to talk future Tampa Bay Rays ballpark? Speculation mounts

Could the state of Florida take a role in solidifying baseball in the Tampa Bay area?

That seems possible given Gov. Ron DeSantis and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred reportedly are slated for a press conference next week at Hillsborough College, a potential site of a new ballpark for the attendance-challenged franchise.

DeSantis has said he wants baseball to remain in the Tampa area, where he grew up in Dunedin.

But what the state role in that endeavor would be is ultimately unclear.

Last May, DeSantis seemed to rule out a state contribution to the stadium effort.

He said Tallahassee would “be helpful within the confines of what’s appropriate for taxpayers to be doing,” that assistance “will not involve at our level giving money for the construction of a stadium.” He did not rule out “roads and exits” though.

However, he did suggest the latest potential stadium plan for the Tampa Bay Rays, at the Hillsborough College Dale Mabry campus, will bolster the franchise’s prospects. The Hillsborough College Board of Trustees approved a memorandum of understanding to develop the 113-acre parcel for a mixed-use development.

“Obviously, they’ve got to iron out details. But basically, we’re supportive of them pursuing that partnership because I think it could be good for them. I think it could be good for the state. But I definitely think it could be really good for this region, but particularly that part of the region,” he said earlier this month.

New owners Ken Babby, Patrick Zalupski and Bill Cosgrove say they would like to keep the franchise in the Tampa area, opening the park in time for the 2029 season, with suggestions that a public subsidy would be needed to make the numbers work.

Babby said after the vote that the owners “believe with conviction that we’re going to be able to create a world-class work-live-learn-play development here in Tampa Bay, and we’re very, very encouraged and pleased by (the vote’s) outcome.”

DeSantis, a former Yale baseball player who previously also played in the Little League World Series, is a student of the game and its financial realities. He understands more needs to be done than has previously to solidify baseball in the region.

“You have Goliath, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who can just spend and spend. You’ve got a handful of other teams who can also spend way above and beyond … and then you get down to kind of the lower rung, the markets that haven’t generated as much. If you’re drawing 15,000 fans a game, it’s going to be tough to be where you need to be,” DeSantis said, referencing the Rays’ struggle with attendance.

“You could draw 25,000 in this area with the right circumstances, right? You know, it’s got to be a good location. It’s got to be a good venue. It’s got to have some stuff to draw. But if you’re starting to do that, well then all of a sudden, you know, the viability of everything really goes up.”