A rendering of a proposed stadium in Tampa for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays want a new stadium. That part isn’t new. What is fresh are the renderings and plans to move the MLB team to Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry Campus for a new ballpark and mixed-use district.
The Rays recently released updated renderings for a proposed new stadium at the roughly 130 acres in Tampa’s Westshore District. The proposed venue has an estimated capacity of 31,000 in what the team calls the “most intimate in Major League Baseball,” with a “diverse seating, celebration areas and year-round event spaces.” It would be the smallest MLB stadium by capacity in the league.
Gensler is spearheading the design of the mixed-use district and Populous is the lead architect on a new stadium that features a triangular footprint covered by a translucent roof. The shape of the venue is meant to mimic the field of play. The roof cantilevers beyond the stadium façade, which will offer varied designs to better blend into the surrounding district. The mixed-use district butts directly against the stadium façade, mixing retail and pedestrian zones.
A mixed-use district comes as part of a proposed site and stadium design for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays
The plan for the district and the stadium will evolve based on additional stakeholder input. The team also claims the stadium will have easy ingress and egress. The ballpark will sit within the Champions Quarter, a mixed-use district that’s become common in new baseball stadium projects.
The Rays say the project will be a public-private partnership, with the ballpark costs shared between the team, Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa. The broader, multi-billion-dollar, mixed-use development will be 100% privately financed. The site is across the street from Raymond James Stadium and next door to George M. Steinbrenner Field, with Tampa International Airport on the other side.
A cantilevered roof is currently one of the design features of a proposed new Tampa Bay Rays stadium.
Tampa Bay Rays
So far, the Hillsborough College Board of Trustees has approved a memorandum of understanding with the club to redevelop the Dale Mabry cCmpus and the Hillsborough County Commission has approved a plan to being negotiations with the Rays on potential ballpark funding.
The announcement of an updated stadium site plan comes relatively recently after a new ownership group, led by Florida business executive Patrick Zalupski, took over operations of the club in fall 2025. “I’m incredibly grateful for what our organization and the Tampa community have accomplished in just over 100 days since acquiring the team, and of the progress we are making together toward a forever home for the Rays and our loyal fans,” Zalupski said. “Hillsborough County’s unanimous vote is a significant milestone and a clear signal that Tampa is serious about keeping Major League baseball in this region and transforming Tampa Bay for generations to come.”
The mixed-use district surrounding the planned new Tampa Bay Rays stadium.
Tampa Bay Rays
Ken Babby, Rays CEO, says the team is moving into the next phase of the stadium process, focusing on the Hillsborough site after repeated failed attempts to get traction behind stadium proposals around the Tampa and St. Petersburg areas.
The Rays, which were displaced from Tropicana Field in 2025 after Hurricane Milton damage, will return to the stadium for 2026. The Rays hope to begin play in a new stadium in 2029.
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