After about one month of reports linking the future ownership of the Tampa Bay Rays to the billionaire behind a Jacksonville-based home construction company, The Athletic is reporting that the sale of the team could be completed by September.
RELATED: Could the Tampa Bay Rays end up moving to Jacksonville? A local sports expert weighs in
Recommended Videos
The media outlet reports that Dream Finders Homes CEO Patrick Zalupski and the team’s current owner, Stu Sternberg, have agreed in principle to a nearly $2 billion transaction that will grant the Zalupski-led group ownership of the Tampa Bay Rays, adding that the Jacksonville-area billionaire is expected to keep the team in the Tampa Bay area.
"Zalupski is expected to keep the team in the Tampa Bay area, with a strong preference to be in Tampa rather than St. Petersburg," The Athletic wrote.
The news comes after it was reported in June that Zalupski had signed a letter of intent to purchase the team, which Forbes valued at about $1.25 billion, alongside Jumbo Shrimp owner Ken Babby and Bill Cosgrove, who runs a full-service mortgage banking company based out of Ohio.
It is unclear what the announcement means for the potential of a new Rays stadium. The team currently plays at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the same place where the New York Yankees conduct their spring training operations, after Hurricane Milton decimated Tropicana Field in October.
However, The Athletic writes that the sale could speed up the process for the Rays to find a new home.
“The sale could hasten a conclusion to the Rays’ long-running search for a new stadium. For two decades, Sternberg has tried to find a new home for the Rays other than Tropicana Field, which was built in 1990. But several iterations fell through, including a unique plan that would have had the team split time between Florida and Montreal. This spring, The Athletic reported that Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and some owners were pressing Sternberg to sell," the organization wrote.
In March, the team said it would not move forward with plans to erect a $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg, leaving its future in Tampa Bay in jeopardy once the contract with Tropicana Field expires after the 2028 season.
The Rays are expected to return to the Trop for Opening Day of the 2026 season.
Read The Athletic’s full report here.
