Rays to host additional public forums to gather community input on new ballpark

The Tampa Bay Rays have added two new community engagement and listening sessions as the team continues to hone its vision for a new ballpark and mixed-use district in Hillsborough County.

The Rays have so far had three public meetings, all held earlier this month at Hillsborough College, Jefferson High School and The Skills Center.

One new session will take place March 25 from 6:30-8 p.m. at Press Box Sports, located at 222 S. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. The other will be held April 2 at Robinson High School, located at 6311 S. Lois Ave. in Tampa, from 6:30-8 p.m.

Rays CEO Ken Babby will be on hand for both events. At the Press Box Sports event this week, Babby will celebrate the return of baseball this year and have an informal conversation about the new ballpark and district.

At the April 2 event, Babby will provide an overview and presentation of the current ballpark and associated district development.

Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions at both events.

“The conversations we’ve had across Hillsborough County have been incredibly productive and insightful, and they continue to reinforce the strength of this community,” Babby said.

“Each session gives us a better understanding of how we can create a Forever Home that is rooted in collaboration and partnership with our community. As we move forward, our focus remains on building something that reflects those priorities and creates a lasting impact for Tampa Bay.”

The Rays kicked off a series of engagement and listening sessions, including a meeting in late February with a local firefighters’ union. The public sessions are intended to engage baseball fans, Hillsborough College students and faculty, nearby residents, and community and business leaders, giving them opportunities to review evolving development concepts, ask questions and share feedback, which the team says will be considered as leaders shape the final design.

“We’ve been encouraged by the level of engagement and thoughtful input from the community so far, and we’re excited to keep those conversations going,” said Hillsborough College President Ken Atwater, whose institution has tentatively signed off on the team using its Dale Mabry campus as a new home.

“As this vision continues to take shape, we see tremendous opportunity to expand workforce training, create meaningful internship pathways, and better connect our students to careers right here in Tampa Bay. That kind of real-world access and experience is invaluable, and this partnership has the potential to open new doors for our students in ways that extend well beyond the classroom.”

In addition to support from Hillsborough College, the state in late February approved the conveyance of land in Hillsborough County to Hillsborough College, an approval that makes land available for a reimagined Dale Mabry campus.

The concept, first unveiled publicly on Feb. 5, envisions a 31,000-seat ballpark surrounded by retail, entertainment, residential and academic space.

A Tampa Bay Business Journal report earlier this month found the Rays were expected to potentially make a $1 billion public ask for the project. Initially, the topic was expected to come up at the Hillsborough County Commission’s April 1 meeting. But that plan fell through and now expectations are that a conversation at the Hillsborough County Commission could happen as soon as mid-April, though sources with knowledge of the proceedings have suggested even that might be a lofty timeline.

The proposal to relocate the Rays from St. Pete to Tampa has drawn significant support from elected officials at the local and state levels, but negotiations for public funding could be more heated. If approved, the funds would be used to build out a new ballpark for the team equipped with a state-of-the-art rooftop, as well as a surrounding mixed-use district in the mold of the Atlanta Braves ballpark and the surrounding Battery District.

___

Jesse Mendoza of Florida Politics contributed to this report.