MOU marks important step toward new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark

With an agreement with the Board of Trustees to explore a new ballpark at the Hillsborough College campus, we have an important first step on the road to a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark.

Yesterday 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 campus that would include a new Rays ballpark, a new Hillsborough College campus, and an entertainment district.

We reported last September that the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough Community College–basically located south of Steinbrenner Field and west of Raymond James Stadium–was already a leading contender for a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark. The economic model for a new ballpark will be familiar to anyone tracking new MLB facilities over the last 25 years: build a new ballpark as well as associated development, with MLB teams increasingly becoming core parts of real-estate efforts. This would seem to be a strong argument for a Hillsborough Community College location: create an entertainment district that can also cater to fans attending games and concerts at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Add in the freeway and parking infrastructure already offered by the NFL stadium, and you have a ballpark location within easy reach of Tampa residents as well as the I-4 corridor running to Orlando.

“There’s still great work ahead of us to be able to bring this to reality,” said Rays CEO Ken Babby, heading up the ballpark search, in a press conference. “But what I can say with certainty is that we believe with conviction that we’re going to be able to create a world-class work-live-learn-play development here in Tampa Bay, and we’re very, very encouraged and pleased by today’s outcome.”

Right now it’s a nonbinding MOU; the pair have 180 days to work out a binding agreement. The current goal is to have a new ballpark open for the 2029 season. And while there is a little wiggle room with that deadline–it’s unlikely St. Pete would boot the Rays from the Trop should a new Tampa ballpark delayed–the team is certainly moving ahead with a vision in mind. From MLB.com:

The Hillsborough College site fits the bill, given its size and placement. During the meeting, Babby offered a little more about what the Rays have imagined for the site, if they come to an official agreement. Babby presented a conceptual plan that divided the area into three zones.

First is “Champions Quarter,” the site for a new ballpark and the surrounding amenities, located in the southeast corner at the intersection of Dale Mabry and W Tampa Bay Boulevard. Second is “Innovation Edge,” featuring Hillsborough College’s new facilities. Third is “The Canopy,” described as a “parkside neighborhood shaped by shade, greenery, belonging, and the rhythms of everyday life.” Through it all is “The Row,” a “signature street” running across the development.

Babby did not share any details about the Rays’ plan for the ballpark itself, although he noted they are working “feverishly” alongside architecture, design and planning firm Gensler as well as ballpark design firm Populous.

Yup, sounds like the Battery and Truist Park–the game plan we referenced last fall.

Rendering of prior plan for Ybor City ballpark courtesy Tampa Bay Rays.

About Kevin Reichard
Kevin Reichard is founder and publisher of Ballpark Digest.

MOU marks important step toward new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark

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