Governor Ron DeSantis in Tampa // Chris Young, WMNF News, 5/12/2025
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Hillsborough College is one small step closer to being the next home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
On Tuesday, the state cabinet approved transferring state land to Hillsborough College for the stadium.
State leaders approved giving approximately 22 acres of non-conservation land to the board of trustees of Hillsborough College.
The land is on the college’s Dale Mabry campus, located less than a mile from Raymond James Stadium and Steinbrenner Field.
Earlier this month, DeSantis joined Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred for a press conference where he voiced his support for the stadium.
DeSantis also toured the area.
“What I saw was really just an underutilized area, not the best area, I think there’s a lot of potential,” DeSantis said.
Governor Ron DeSantis was raised in Dunedin and played baseball in college.
“There’s going to be a lot of other hurdles that need to go, I know HCC is going to be working with the organization, I know the organization is going to be working with the city and county, and we’ll see how all that plays out, but I think the vision is compelling, and I think this makes a lot of sense from the state’s perspective.”
Attorney General James Uthemeir says a stadium would benefit the state.
“I think it’s clear that this is going to create a greater benefit than retention, you know, in its current state ownership. What’s today, largely just a bunch of parking lots, will be completely renovated to a live/work/entertain district.” Uthemeir said.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the stadium could cost $ 2.3 billion.
The Rays say they plan to pay at least half of the stadium cost, which could leave Hillsborough taxpayers on the hook for the other half.