The Tampa Bay Rays are officially under new ownership after a $1.7 billion sale closed Tuesday morning, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
The sale came after Major League Baseball owners approved the deal last week.
Jacksonville home developer Patrick Zalupski led the sale, acquiring the team from former principle owner Stu Sternberg, who held the team for nearly 20 years.
Throughout those two decades, striking a successful deal to build a new stadium proved elusive for Sternberg. Now, Zalupski and the new ownership group, which includes Ken Babby, owner of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, a Triple-A team and the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, will carry that mantle forward in search of a solution.
“Major League Baseball is pleased to welcome Patrick and his partners to the ownership ranks,” Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Their collective experience and passion for the game will serve the Rays well as they enter this exciting new chapter.”
He thanked Sternberg “for his dedication towards putting a winning team on the field and his valuable contributions to the baseball industry,” adding that he’s known Sternberg for the past two decades and “will always appreciate his love of the game.”
Zalupski also offered a statement, saying he was honored to be the team’s new steward.
“We are especially privileged to have been chosen by Stu Sternberg as his successors, and we’re all energized by the responsibility to serve Rays fans everywhere and this great game,” he said.
“We will work hard to earn the respect and confidence of our fans and new MLB partners, and we are excited about the upcoming challenge to deliver a world-class experience on and off the field,” added Zalupski, who will serve as Ray’s co-chair and the control person for MLB.
Babby will serve as CEO of the Rays organization while Bill Cosgrove, also part of the ownership group, will be co-chair along with Zalupski.
Manfred had previously said a stadium search for the Rays would begin after the sale was finalized, signaling a new chapter ahead.
New ownership is expected to keep the team in the Tampa Bay area, but prefers a location in Tampa.
St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch has said he’s willing to negotiate with Zalupski’s ownership group on a new stadium deal using the one he had previously brokered with Rays leadership under Sternberg, which fell through following damage to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton last year, as a jumping-off point for negotiations.
The finalized sale comes after Rays co-Presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman stepped down in anticipation of the sale.
Auld is remaining with the Rays as a Senior Advisor to new ownership and leadership during the transition and beyong. Silverman is not maintaining an official role with the team, but is representing Sternberg and his partners on an executive advisory board established by the new ownership group.