The sale of the Rays seems to be coming to fruition. A report from Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says that a sale has been agreed to in principle which would see the club be sold from current owner Stuart Sternberg to a group led by Patrick Zalupski. The deal is worth about $1.7 billion and is expected to be completed as soon as September. The report adds that Zalupski plans to keep the club in the Tampa area, with a preference for Tampa proper over St. Petersburg. The sale would need to be approved by 75% of MLB owners in order to become official.
It was reported about a month ago that Sternberg was in “advanced talks” to sell the team to Zalupski’s group. Shortly after that reporting emerged, Marc Topkin and Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times spoke to hedge fund founder Trip Miller, who spoke of his desire to get involved in the bidding. It’s unclear if there was ever any chance of Miller’s group outpacing Zalupski’s, but it now seems basically confirmed that Zalupski’s group will be taking over.
As of a year ago, it seemed like Sternberg was going to stick around for a long time. He purchased the club in 2004 for $200MM. Since then, he has been trying to find a long-term home for the club so that the Rays could move on from Tropicana Field, which has long been viewed as insufficient and outdated for the major leagues.
Various proposals were floated over the years, including a creative plan which would have seen the franchise split its home games between Florida and Montreal. That was nixed but the Rays eventually put a plan in place to build a new stadium on the Tropicana Field site. Under that plan, the Rays would stay at The Trop through 2027 but would open the new facility in 2028. They had agreements in place with the city of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and private investors for the $1.2 billion project.
That entire plan was thrown off the rails in October when Hurricane Milton swept through the area, doing significant damage to The Trop, particularly the roof. The Trop became unplayable for 2025 and the new stadium plan got delayed. Elections in October changed the composition of local government bodies, with the new paradigm less amenable to the Rays. The club made arrangements to play the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner field in Tampa. That seemed to not sit well with some Pinellas County officials, as Steinbrenner Field is in Hillsborough County.
The relationship between Sternberg and local officials seemed to sour, as he claimed the delays would lead to massive cost overruns. It was reported in March that the Rays would not be moving forward with the planned deal. That was shortly after it had been reported that league officials had been pressuring Sternberg to sell.
Now it seems the transition process is making quick progress and Zalupski’s group could be at the helm a couple of months from now. That’s notable timing, as there are key things to be worked out regarding the future of the franchise. It’s still unclear if the The Trop will be playable in time for the 2026 season. There’s also the usual baseball matters of payroll and things of that nature. And of course, new plans will need to be developed for a future stadium.
As mentioned, the report from The Athletic says Zalupski’s preference would be for the club to be in Tampa proper, as opposed to St. Petersburg. That is something that will have to be negotiated with local officials and private investors. If the club can chart a course towards a move into Tampa, there would be logic to that. It has been suggested by many that The Trop’s location isn’t highly accessible, which has contributed to the club’s poor attendance figures over the years, despite generally fielding competitive teams. A move to Tampa could help in that regard, though previous attempts to get the club into Tampa have not been successful.
Zalupski is the CEO of Dream Finders Homes, a publicly traded, Jacksonville-based developer that has built more than 31,000 homes across ten states. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.4 billion, while his company’s valuation rests at $3.4 billion.
The timeline for the Rays will also have consequences across the league. Commissioner Rob Manfred has long insisted that expansion wouldn’t be a realistic possibility until the Athletics and Rays found new stadiums. The A’s are currently playing in West Sacramento but are expected to start playing in their new Las Vegas stadium by the 2028 season. If that plan progresses on schedule and the Rays get a new stadium plan in the works, then expansion will become a more realistic possibility.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
