Rays' New "Forever Home" Stadium Gets Final Approval
TAMPA / HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — After two decades of false starts, the Tampa Bay Rays finally have a done deal. The Hillsborough County Commission voted Friday, Aug. 28, to approve its share of funding for a new ballpark, clearing the last major hurdle standing between the team and a permanent home on this side of the bay.
Commissioners voted 5-2 to approve the county's $796 million share of the $2.36 billion project, set for a site on Hillsborough Community College's Dale Mabry campus. The vote came one day after Tampa City Council approved its own $80 million share in a 4-3 vote Thursday.
What the Deal Includes
Together, the city and county's combined public contribution comes to roughly $876 million — about $100 million less than the public funding outlined in a non-binding memorandum of understanding the two sides approved back in May. The remainder of the $2.36 billion project will be privately financed by the Rays, including a mixed-use development planned around the ballpark itself. The agreement locks the team into playing in the Tampa Bay region for the next 35 years.
What Rays Leadership Is Saying
Rays Managing Partner and Co-Chair Patrick Zalupski thanked both governments for their partnership after "so long had been considered impossible." Rays CEO Ken Babby was more direct: "The Tampa Bay Rays are finally in Tampa Bay to stay," he said, adding the team is grateful to the commission "for making history."
Why It Matters for the Region
This marks the end of one of the longest-running sagas in Tampa Bay sports — a stadium fight that outlasted multiple mayors, commission cycles and false starts on the other side of the bay in St. Petersburg. For Wesley Chapel and the broader Pasco County area, it means Major League Baseball is staying local for the long term, with a new ballpark now officially moving from proposal to construction phase.
📍 Hillsborough Community College's Dale Mabry Campus — Tampa, FL
📅 Final approval: Friday, August 28, 2026
🌐 Reporting from Tampa Bay Times, WTSP, Bay News 9, and MLB.com
