Tampa Bay Rays could finalize sale by September: Report

TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Rays' $1.7 billion sale to a group led by a Jacksonville-based developer could become official by September, with the two sides agreeing in principle to a deal, according to a report published by The Athletic.

The backstory:

Last month, team officials confirmed they were in talks to sell the team, with Dream Finders Homes President and CEO Patrick Zalupski leading the group of investors interested in buying the franchise.

The current ownership group is led by Stuart Sternberg, who became managing general partner of the organization, then known as the Devil Rays, in 2005.

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg speaks after St. Pete City Council approved a project including a new ballpark for the team on July 18, 2024. The deal later fell through.

As of Tuesday morning, neither the Rays nor Zalpuski’s group has commented on the latest report regarding the potential sale.

What's next for the Rays?

Dig deeper:

It's not clear what could come next for the Rays, although Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has previously expressed his desire for the team to remain in the Tampa Bay area.

The push to move the team out of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and into a new stadium has led to numerous proposals on both sides of the bay dating back to the 2000s.

In 2024, it appeared the franchise had finally secured a new home when leaders in Pinellas County and the City of St. Petersburg approved hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for a new ballpark.

The 30,000-seat domed stadium was set to open in time for the 2028 season as part of a multi-billion-dollar redevelopment of St. Pete's Historic Gas Plant District.

In March 2025, however, the team nixed the deal, saying the project had been pushed back and would cost more as a result. County commissioners said the 2024 hurricanes forced them to postpone final approval of bonds for the ballpark.

Further complicating the issue, the Rays are playing their 2025 home games at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa after Tropicana Field suffered significant damage during Hurricane Milton.

St. Pete is working to finish repairs in hopes of the Rays returning to the Trop for the 2026 season. The team's lease with the city runs through 2028, with nothing set in stone from there.