MLB Owners Approve Sale of Tampa Bay Rays to patrick Zalupski-Led group
NEW YORK (AP) - Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved the sale of the Tampa Bay Rays to a group headed by real estate developer Patrick Zalupski on Monday, finalizing the transition from the ownership of stu Sternberg.
The Rays announced their expectation of completing the sale within two weeks on September 17. Sternberg assumed control of the team from founding owner Vince Naimoli in November 2005 and rebranded the franchise as the Rays,dropping “Devil,” after the 2007 season.
This sale follows the Rays’ withdrawal in March from a proposed $1.3 billion stadium project adjacent to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, citing damage from Hurricane Milton and anticipated cost increases. The team initiated discussions regarding a potential sale in June.
This season, the Rays were forced to play home games at Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees’ spring training facility in Tampa, after Hurricane Milton damaged tropicana Field last October. Despite the displacement and a challenging outdoor venue that resulted in 17 rain delays totaling 17 hours and 47 minutes across 16 games, the Rays posted a 41-40 home record, extending their streak of consecutive winning home seasons to nine.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed hope last week that Zalupski’s leadership will spur a renewed search for a new stadium location within the Tampa/St.Petersburg area. Under Sternberg’s tenure, the Rays previously explored stadium proposals at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg (2007), Ybor City in tampa (2018), and a site next to Tropicana Field (2023), none of which came to fruition.