The Tampa Bay Rays announced a statement from Chief Executive Officer Ken Babby following today’s meeting of Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet:
“The Tampa Bay Rays are grateful for the approval granted today by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet for the conveyance of state land to Hillsborough College for the purpose of redeveloping the Dale Mabry Campus site for our proposed new ballpark, reinvented campus, and live, work, play, and learn district to open in 2029.
The support by Governor DeSantis and the Cabinet today underlines our belief in the power of this generational project, and the many lasting benefits it will deliver. Our momentum is real and growing, thanks to the remarkable spirit of community and statewide partnership that our ownership group has been privileged to experience from the start.
This is undoubtedly a big moment for Tampa Bay, and the Rays are fully in this moment to bring this vision to life, and serve our region for generations to come.”
This conveyance of land essentially gifts the north west parcel of land toward the overall Rays stadium project, with a five-year use clause, per the Tampa Bay Times, which reviewed the cabinet agenda and captured quotes by DeSantis on the matter:
DeSantis expressed his support for the project this month and said the state is “looking to help” fund new college buildings.
“At the press conference, I was asked: ‘How much is this land worth?’ Honestly, I don’t know that it’s worth very much outside of this proposal,” DeSantis said. “Because a home builder would not put a subdivision there, no way. People would do commercial buildings right there now. In order to make this something that’s special, it really has to be something unique like this.”
By partnering with Hillsborough College, the Rays new ownership group has clearly found a winning strategy toward finding funding and support for a new stadium that previously faced impassible hurdles. Time will tell if the public funding they are requesting coalesces.