ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — In a recent interview, Rays CEO Ken Babby described the franchise as one of the most distressed teams in professional sports, saying there is no time to waste in finding a new stadium.
“In North America, at least in my eyes, there’s not a professional sports team that is in more crisis and has more headwinds than the Tampa Bay Rays.”
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Babby made the remarks during a recent appearance on the Hunks Talking Junk podcast, pointing to years of stadium uncertainty and major challenges ahead. He cited a damaged ballpark, a lack of a long-term home, and a rapidly changing sports business landscape.
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“Our current ballpark got destroyed by a hurricane. We have no forever future ballpark.”
New Tampa Bay Rays ownership chief executive officer Ken Babby, right, speaks to the media as managing partner and co-chair Patrick Zalupski, looks on during an introductory baseball news conference, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Babby also put a timeline on what comes next, saying the Rays intend to open a new ballpark by April 2029, a goal he says will require more than just a stadium.
“We don’t have time to waste. We intend to open a new ballpark by April of 2029.”
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Tampa Mayor Jane Castor acknowledged that the timeline creates pressure but pushed back on the idea that the team itself is in crisis.
“There is a sense of urgency if they want to be in a new stadium by 2029. You can’t build a baseball stadium overnight, so I would utilize the word urgency myself.”
Castor also said losing the Rays would be a major blow for the region.
“The Tampa Bay region is too large and important of a region in the nation to be losing a professional sports franchise,” Castor said. “We don’t want to lose Major League Baseball. We love the Tampa Bay Rays and we want them to stay in this region, hopefully in the city of Tampa.”
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According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the Hillsborough Community College District Board of Trustees is expected to hold a special meeting next Tuesday to vote on a deal that could clear the way for the Rays to redevelop the college’s North Dale Mabry campus.
The proposal would turn the site into a 110-acre mixed-use district featuring a new ballpark.
Babby said the vision includes a large development similar to the Battery in Atlanta and would require a public-private partnership across the region.
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