The investor who may be the chief competition to an emerging deal to buy the Tampa Bay Rays says he wants to keep the baseball team in Central Florida — and that could involve Orlando.
Trip Miller, a Memphis hedge-fund operator, said he submitted a cash bid for the Rays earlier this month, before the team announced last week it was in exclusive negotiations with a group led by Jacksonville home builder Patrick Zalupski.
Miller, who has wanted to buy the Rays for years, said he thinks the existing stadium property at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg is interesting, as are others in the greater Tampa area. But he also plans to review “all viable sites” if he eventually lands the team and told the Orlando Sentinel that “there are interesting sites in Orlando as well.”
“Orlando has a lot to offer,” said Miller, a University of Florida graduate. “We’d be very open to exploring all options in the Central Florida area … let’s face it, these two cities are roughly 80 miles apart.”
In submitting bids for the team, Miller and Zalupski each appear to have gone further than the Orlando Dreamers, a group of local investors who say they have the money to buy a team but are not known to have engaged current Rays owner Stuart Sternberg with an offer. But Miller’s comments, at least, suggest that Orlando may have other paths to landing a major league team.
The Rays’ home stadium of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was damaged by Hurricane Milton last year, and the team has been playing at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the Yankees’ spring training home. The Rays have sought a new stadium in Hillsborough or Pinellas Counties for years, but have been unable to close a deal.
Miller has a home in Jacksonville, as well as just across the Florida border in Georgia. He said he believes his group is well-positioned to outbid Zalupski, adding that some of his investors have heard from Zalupski’s group seeking to raise money for their bid. Some investors associated with the Orlando Dreamers group have received similar calls.
Miller wouldn’t name others financing his bid, citing non-disclosure agreements, but said it includes several people who would be well known to Floridians. Between acquiring the team and building the ballpark, he estimates it would be a $3 billion transaction.
Trip Miller has submitted a cash offer to buy the Tampa Bay Rays, and said if he won the bid, he’d look at stadium locations in the Tampa Bay area as well as in Orlando.
The Orlando Dreamers have sought to lure the Rays, another franchise or an expansion club to the region, with eyes on county-owned land near Sea World’s Aquatica. That group is funded by Rick Workman, the founder of Heartland Dental, as well as John Morgan, who founded the Morgan & Morgan law firm.
So far, Orange County leaders haven’t offered firm support for such a stadium plan, Demings’ Chief of Staff Roseann Harrington and County Administrator Byron Brooks are planning to meet with the Dreamers July 2 to discuss it further.
Demings has said previously that baseball is “something worth having a conversation about,” and that he was wary about committing taxpayer funding to something that would just make wealthy people wealthier. So far only Orange County Commissioner Mike Scott has signaled his support of the effort.
The Mayor also has said he’s been approached by multiple ownership entities pursuing baseball. While he’s declined to name them, a spokesperson confirmed he hasn’t met with Miller.
Miller said he’s had conversations with politicians around Florida, though not specifically in Orange County, and also has had talks with the Dreamers.
His plan includes seeking to develop a sports and entertainment district, in addition to a ballpark, creating a year-round attraction even beyond baseball season. He envisions a similar endeavor to The Battery in Atlanta, anchored by the Atlanta Braves’ stadium Truist Park, a 60-acre site with 2.25 million square feet of retail, restaurants, a concert venue, apartments and hotels.
The Dreamers’ ballpark plan for its 35-acre site calls for a domed stadium with an event space to complement the nearby Orange County Convention Center, hotel towers and other uses as well.
At least for now, neither Miller nor the Dreamers can negotiate with Rays owner Stuart Sternberg. The team announced last week it is in exclusive negotiations with Zalupski, which sports business website Sportico reported centered on a valuation of about $1.7 billion, but didn’t say how long such a window would last, or what would happen if a final purchase agreement wasn’t reached.
Miller said he suspects such an exclusive window will be short – potentially concluding at the end of the month. Any sale must be approved by a vote of Major League baseball’s owners, some of whom have reportedly pressured Sternberg to sell the team amidst stalled stadium talks.
“We’ve had discussions with the club prior to this exclusive period that they’ve been in,” Miller said. “I believe this is far from over for everybody.”
rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com