Tampa Bay Rays sale could be final as soon as September

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg may be closing in on a sale of his team, with finalization expected as early as September, according to reporting from The Athletic.

The outlet reported that Sternberg had reached an approximately $1.7 billion deal to sell the team to a group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski, according to a source with knowledge of the process who spoke to The Athletic on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The source said Zalupski is expected to keep the team in the Tampa Bay area, but that he has a strong preference to move the team to Tampa rather than stay in St. Petersburg, where they have played since the team first entered MLB.

News about the potential sale came out last month with a signed letter of intent to buy the team, first reported by Sportico. Zalupski is the founder and CEO of Jacksonville-based Dream Finders Homes, a home building company he launched in 2008. The group also includes Ken Babby, owner of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, a Triple-A team, and the Double-A Akron RubberDucks. Bill Cosgrove, who runs Ohio-based Union Home Mortgage, is also reportedly among the buyers’ group.

Sternberg purchased the Rays in 2004 for $200 million.

Sternberg has been under pressure to sell the team after a deal to build a new stadium in St. Pete, at the site of the current Tropicana Field, fell through. The deal collapsed after Tropicana Field was badly damaged by Hurricane Milton in October, including blowing most of the stadium’s roof off. Repairs are underway, but Rays leadership said delays associated with the damage caused cost overruns on the project and the team backed out of the deal in March.

Approval of bonds needed for the financing deal were delayed after the Rays, needing a new home for the 2025 season, chose to play at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, rather than choosing a location in Pinellas County.

The announcement in March came just days after reports that investors were lining up to purchase the Rays, with intentions to keep the team in St. Pete.

St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch, who led negotiations on the deal before it fell through, was not immediately available for comment on the pending sale, but previously said the Rays decision to back out of the deal he brokered with them was a disappointment. He said at the time the decision was not unexpected.

Even then it seemed possible — even probable — that the Rays would leave St. Pete. Welch said at the time that he would “not put our city’s progress on hold as we await a collaborative and community-focused baseball partner,” making specific reference to the possibility of a new owner.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor was also not immediately available for comment, though she has said in the past she would welcome the team to her city. She said in May at a Chamber of Commerce event that MLB leadership didn’t want the team to leave the region. Last month, after news of the potential sale to the Jacksonville group, she said the city was prepared to begin negotiations once a sale was finalized.

It’s unclear how a stadium deal would be financed in Tampa, and Castor had previously said any deal would take “our taxpayers’ dollars into consideration” and would have to be “good for the community.”

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