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As the season started for the Tampa Bay Rays, the question was where they were going to play their home games. That was answered when the New York Yankees agreed to allow them to play at Steinbrenner Field. The same stadium that is normally played in by the Yankees’ A-affiliate, the Tampa Bay Tarpons. The Rays’ ownership made an absolute mess of the stadium deal in St. Petersburg. The city council and Pinellas County council approved funding for the Rays to start to build on the same site where Tropicana Field sits now. The current ownership group decided not to take the deal. At that point, most fans wanted current owner Stu Sternberg to sell the team. On top of that, they waited until almost the last moment to start the repairs on Tropicana Field. Hurricane Milton destroyed it, and the roof is being repaired.
The materials that are needed to repair the roof must go through Germany and China. All that is being said is that the Tampa Bay Rays will be playing at Tropicana Field at the start of the 2026 season. The lease on the stadium ends in 2028, which is cutting it close because it could take two to three years to build a stadium. Since the start of the season, the Rays have had an up-and-down season. At one time, they were only a ½ game behind at the time the AL East-leading New York Yankees. They now find themselves in fourth place behind the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays. The best news for the fans and the organization this year was the news that the sale of the franchise could be done by September.
Many have said that after the stadium deal fell through that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred may have forced Stu Sternberg to sell the Tampa Bay Rays. That may have happened, and the sale is in the process of being finalized. The group of investors that is purchasing the Rays is led by Patrick Zalupski, who owns Dream Finders Homes in the city of Jacksonville, Florida. Which many consider a good thing, as now the group that could take over the team is living in the state. Sternberg lives in New York and does not stay local. The new group has stated that they are keeping the team in the state of Florida and the Tampa Bay area. If the team was not sold, Sternberg may have moved them out of the state.
The price that Zalupski and his partners will pay is about 1.7 billion dollars. Along with Zalupski, the group includes Bill Cosgrove and Ken Babby. At the start of the season, many thought that the Tampa Bay Rays playing in Tampa would work. Well, it has, and the new ownership group may want to keep the team in Tampa instead of having them stay in St. Petersburg back at Tropicana Field. It will be interesting to see the team get sold before the season ends. The question now is willing the Rays will be buyers or sellers as the trade deadline is coming up. Either way, the Tampa Bay Rays will have a bright future under new ownership.
What are your thoughts on the Tampa Bay Rays’ new owners? Leave a comment below.
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For more, follow me on social media on Facebook: Bradley Walker, on X: bradwalker3083, and my two weekly sports podcasts: The P&W Sports Report and The Walker Report.
Author Profile
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Bradley Walker serves as the Director of Operations for NGSC Sports, bringing extensive experience across collegiate, professional, and amateur athletics. His coverage spans USF Athletics, including football, baseball, lacrosse, and softball, as well as University of Tampa baseball.
Bradley also provides coverage of minor league baseball with the Clearwater Threshers and Major League Baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays. On the national stage, he covers college football bowl games and conference championship matchups, along with premier golf events across the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and LPGA Tour.
In addition to his reporting work, Bradley is the play-by-play announcer for Pinellas Park High School Patriots football, lending his voice and insight to Friday night lights.
He is also an active podcast host and contributor, serving as a co-host on the P&W Sports Report and hosting The Walker Report, where he delivers in-depth sports analysis, interviews, and coverage across multiple levels of competition.
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