With owners negotiating a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark deal with Hillsborough College, local elected officials warn that the team could still bolt for friendlier fields—and Orlando is the biggest threat.
Last week the Hillsborough College District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to discuss an extreme makeover of the 113-acre Dale Mabry campusthat would include a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark, a new Hillsborough College campus, and an entertainment district. No surprise: we had tabbed the Tampa site as the leading contender to land the Rays given their ambitious development plans, and while there are plenty of issues before we see things move past the nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) stage, the clear intent is to place a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark in Tampa.
Generally speaking, teams don’t like to consider other possibilities while entering into negotiations like this, and with MLB unlikely to go along with a buyer in a possible expansion market like Nashville, we don’t expect many rumors of the Rays bolting for another locale.
Except for one: Orlando.
Before the sale of the Rays to the current ownership group led by developer Patrick Zalupski, the Orlando Dreamers investment group had put together a big to buy the Rays. Members of the Dreamers investment group ended up being part of the Rays ownership, and even though the Rays have been clear about seeking a new Rays home, the Dreamers have been adding investors and patiently biding their time to see how a new Tampa ballpark works out.
A move up I-4 from Tampa to Orlando would allow the team to stay in two of the largest media markets in the United States (the team has cable deals in both cities). There’s the realization in MLB circles that the sweet spot for the Rays encompasses central and eastern Tampa, southwest Orlando and the I-4 corridor.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, who has worked for years to bring the Rays to Tampa, agrees that the backup plan could—and should—center on Orlando, even if the Rays haven’t yet formulated such a plan, per the Tampa Bay Times:
“I believe that it’s either going to be located at (Hillsborough College) or the team’s going to be in Orlando,” Hagan said on a sports radio show Wednesday. “The reality is the they have significantly more bed tax revenue than we do, and they’ve been pushing for a team.”
Of course, his prediction does not mean that Hagan, who has advocated for a ballpark in Tampa for more than a decade, is endorsing the potential move. He still believes a deal can get done in Tampa.
“It’s an inferior market. Their TV market is below ours,” he said on WDAE-AM. “People think traffic is bad here? It’s horrible over there. Orlando couldn’t keep the Atlanta Braves spring training team, if you remember that.
“But the reality is if a deal can’t get reached here, I firmly believe (Orlando’s) where they’re going to be playing.”
Of course a Tampa county commissioner is going to say those things, even if they’re technically true but factually misleading. (Except the part about the traffic. That’s very true.) But his central premise is correct: If Tampa Bay Rays owners and Hillsborough College can’t agree on a ballpark deal, look for the Orlando Dreamers rev into high gear in pursuit of both the Rays and a new-ballpark deal.
Rendering of prior plan for Ybor City ballpark courtesy Tampa Bay Rays.
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About Kevin Reichard
Kevin Reichard is founder and publisher of Ballpark Digest.