Tampa Bay Rays sale: MLB team in advanced talks for potential $1.7B deal with Florida billionaire, per report
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Tampa Bay Rays sale: MLB team in advanced talks for potential $1.7B deal with Florida billionaire, per report
Tampa Bay Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg is in advanced talks to sell the team. The deal, which values the team at roughly $1.7 billion, was first reported by Sportico. Zalupski has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to purchase the Rays, though that does not mean the sale is final. Sternberg purchased the team for $200 million in 2004 and the Rays have sought a new ballpark in Tampa or the surrounding area for well over a decade. The Rays won the American League pennant in 2008 and 2020, and have been to the postseason five times in the last six years.
“The Tampa Bay Rays announced that the team has recently commenced exclusive discussions with a group led by Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, Ken Babby and prominent Tampa Bay investors concerning a possible sale of the team,” the Rays said in a statement. “Neither the Rays nor the group will have further comment during the discussions.”
Back in March, Sternberg announced the Rays will not move forward with plans to build a new $1.3 billion ballpark in St. Petersburg, citing “a series of events beginning in October that no one could have anticipated.” Chief among those events is Hurricane Milton, which severely damaged Tropicana Field. That immediately led to speculation Sternberg would sell the team.
The damage to Tropicana Field has forced the Rays to play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, spring training home of the New York Yankees, this season. The Trop is undergoing repairs and is expected to be ready in time for the 2026 season. The team’s lease expires after 2028. It was extended one year because the Rays are unable to play there this season.
The reported $1.7 billion sale price would be just south of the $1.725 billion a group led by David Rubenstein paid for the Baltimore Orioles last year. Sternberg purchased the team for $200 million in 2004 and the Rays have sought a new ballpark in Tampa or the surrounding area for well over a decade. The St. Petersburg project was moving forward before Hurricane Milton.
Zalupski is founder and CEO of Dream Finders Homes, which got its start in Jacksonville. The company is valued at $3.4 billion and Zalupski’s net worth is $1.4 billion, per Forbes. Earlier this year, Forbes valued the Rays at $1.35 billion, second lowest among the 30 MLB teams. Franchise valuation is not necessarily the same thing as sale price, though it is a decent guidepost.
The Rays have been competitive more often than not during the Sternberg era. They won the American League pennant in 2008 and 2020, and they’ve been to the postseason five times in the last six years. Despite their on-field success, the Rays regularly rank near the bottom of the league in attendance.