Tampa Bay Rays negotiating potential sale to Jacksonville developer
The Tampa Bay Rays are playing home games this season at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., due to damage Tropicana Field sustained from hurricanes. File Photo by Steve Nesius/UPI | License Photo
June 18 (UPI) -- The Tampa Bay Rays are in advanced talks to sell the franchise to a group led by a Jacksonville, Fla.-based real estate developer Patrick Zalupski, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told UPI on Wednesday.
Sources told Sportico, MLB Network and the New York Post that Zalupski signed a letter of intent to purchase the franchise, which is valued at roughly $1.7 billion. The Rays' current principal owner, Stu Sternberg, bought the team for $200 million 2004.
The Rays said in a statement Wednesday that they recently "commenced exclusive discussions" with a group led by Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, Ken Babby and Tampa Bay investors.
"Neither the Rays, nor the group, will have further comment during the discussions," the Rays said.
The Rays went 80-82 last year, posting a losing record for just the fifth time in 17 seasons. They are 40-33 this season. The Rays are playing home games this season at George Steinbrenner Field -- the New York Yankees' spring training site in Tampa, Fla., -- because of damage Tropicana Field from Hurricanes Milton and Helene.
The Rays announced last month that they canceled plans to build a new development and ballpark project. Delays from negotiations and hurricane damage hindered their ability to move to a new home.
The St. Petersburg City Council said in November that it will cost nearly $66 million to repair Tropicana Field in time for the 2026 season.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
30 minutes ago
- UPI
Trump welcomes Juventus soccer team, asks about transgender athletes
1 of 5 | President Donald Trump meets with members of the Juventus soccer club in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday. He turned around and asked them: "Could a woman make your team, fellas." Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo June 18 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed members of the Italian Juventus Club World Cup team to the Oval Office as he spoke about a range of topics, including transgender athletes. The team, which includes Americans Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie, appeared in the White House before playing Al Ain of the United Arab Emrites at Washington, D.C.'s, Audi Field on Wednesday night. Thirty-two teams are competing from last Saturday to July 13 in the United States. Also on hand were FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Juventus club executives, former player Giorgio Chiellini and head coach Igor Tudor. They stood behind the president. Trump turned around and asked them: "Could a woman make your team, fellas." They smiled nervously and didn't respond. Juventus' general manager Damien Comolli finally said: "We have a very good women's team." They are the reigning Serie A champions. "But they should be playing with women," Trump said as Comolli looked at the floor and chose not to answer. "But they should be playing with women," Trump replied. "He's being very diplomatic." Transgender athletes have been allowed to compete in the Olympics, including soccer, since 2004 if they meet the eligibility criteria set by their sport's International Federation. It wasn't until 2021 that the first openly transgender athletes competed in the Games. Trump's executive order that bans transgender participants from women's sports directs the Secretary of State's office to pressure the International Olympic to amend standards governing Olympic sporting events "to promote fairness, safety and the best interests of female athletes by ensuring that eligibility for participation in women's sporting events is determined according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction." During the signing ceremony in February, Trump said he wants the International Olympic Committee to "change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject" ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Of the more than 500,000 NCAA athletes, only about 40 are known to be transgender, according to Anna Baeth, director of research at research at Athlete Ally, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ equality in sports. The NCAA later adhered to Trump's executive order. Trans people appear to have no advantage in sports, according to an October 2023 review of 2017 research published in the journal Sports Medicine. Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming care for minors can stand.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Laser Show at Fenway - Rays 3, Red Sox 4
Rays fans have been accustomed all season to expect at least one home run in a Zack Littell start, as he's the league leader in serving up the long ball — but not four. In tonight's getaway game for Tampa Bay, the scoring started from batter one. Jarren Duran homered to center field to jump start the Sox and put them up 1-0. Advertisement In the top of the second, the Rays had the bases loaded with no outs. The only thing that would come from it is a Josh Lowe fielder's choice to score Jake Mangum and knot the game at one. Boston would answer back immediately, as Marcelo Mayer led off the bottom of the second with his first solo home run of the night. In this slugfest of a game, Yandy Diaz flexed his muscles and homered to the opposite field to tie us yet again at three. In the bottom of the fifth, however, Littell gave up his fourth and final solo shot of the evening as Abraham Toro took him bridge to straightaway center field. In the top of the eighth, the Rays had their second-best shot of the evening to put up a crooked number. Advertisement With one out in the frame, Diaz singled and Jonathan Aranda was hit by a pitch. Diaz was lifted for MLB's stolen base leader Jose Caballero. Caballero tried to swipe third base, and the effort was thwarted on an absolute howitzer from Carlos Narvaez. That was seemingly the dagger, as the Red Sox went on to win with a final score of 4-3. More from
Axios
2 hours ago
- Axios
Tampa Bay Rays in talks to sell team
The Tampa Bay Rays are in discussions to sell the team, officials confirmed in a statement Wednesday. Why it matters: The potential sale raises more questions about the future of the team just a few months after plans to build a new stadium in downtown St. Petersburg fell apart. State of play: The discussions, first reported by Sportico, are with a group led by Patrick Zalupski, a Jacksonville home builder; Ken Babby, who owns the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp minor league baseball team; and Bill Cosgrove, the CEO of an Ohio-based mortgage firm. Unnamed "prominent Tampa Bay investors" are also part of the group, per the Rays' statement. "Neither the Rays nor the group will have further comment during the discussions," it goes on to say. The intrigue: The potential deal values the team at $1.7 billion, per the Sportico report. The sports business news outlet also reported that Zalupski had signed a letter of intent to buy the team. Current owner Stuart Sternberg bought the team in 2004 for $200 million. Between the lines: The stadium plan's unraveling put Sternberg at odds with local elected officials, making the odds of a deal revival appear slim to none.
