“This is a rare and perhaps unprecedented moment for Tampa Bay,” Rays CEO Ken Babby said in a statement.
TAMPA, Fla. — A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been reached for a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark in Hillsborough County.
The agreement on a proposed ballpark was reached between Rays officials and representatives with Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa.
The announcement comes one day after Rays Chief Executive Officer Ken Babby said he was actively in discussions with city and county leaders and that they are in the final stages of a memorandum of understanding.
Babby provided this statement regarding the MOU:
“The Tampa Bay Rays are delighted to announce that we have reached a Memorandum of Understanding on a new ballpark proposal, working alongside staff at Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa. We are extremely grateful for the commitment and spirit of partnership demonstrated by all parties throughout this important process and occasion for our community.
The Rays respectfully but resolutely encourage Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa to approve the MOU and make possible a Forever Home for our community’s Tampa Bay Rays, breathe new life into the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough College, and create a new privately financed neighborhood that will be an inviting and inclusive destination to work, live, learn, and play.
Paramount for the Tampa Bay Rays in this process was to arrive at an MOU that protects all public funding currently allocated for police, fire, emergency management or response functions, or other previously committed public safety or service priorities. We have accomplished that important and unconditional goal.
This is a rare and perhaps unprecedented moment for Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Rays are all in on this opportunity and look forward to working with officials in the days ahead to bring this project to life.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis also weighed in Wednesday, saying the state would not directly fund the stadium itself but could support surrounding infrastructure and redevelopment at the Hillsborough Community College campus.
“We’re not doing, at the state level, money for a stadium and we have not done that since I’ve been governor,” DeSantis said. “But what we do do is infrastructure around major things because I don’t think people want to sit in traffic.”
A vote on the deal was originally scheduled for April 1 but was delayed three times.
The next possible votes are the May 20 Hillsborough County Commission meeting followed by the May 21 Tampa City Council meeting.
10 Tampa Bay News has reached out to the Rays and representatives with Hillsborough County and Tampa to get more specifics on the MOU.