The Tampa Bay Rays will open a nearly 15,000-square-foot Westshore experience center in early 2027 to showcase their planned 2029 Tampa ballpark and surrounding mixed-use district.
The Rays Ballpark Experience Center will be located at 1111 N. Westshore Blvd. in Westshore City Center. The facility will serve as a public attraction and sales center for season tickets, premium seating, sponsorships and other opportunities tied to the planned stadium.
The center will include both public and appointment-only areas. About one-third of the space will be open to everyone and include a team store, Rays memorabilia, family activities and digital exhibits showcasing the planned ballpark and surrounding district. Visitors will also be able to explore a digital version of the stadium and create personalized baseball cards.
The rest of the center will be reserved for appointment-only visits with prospective season-ticket members, premium clients and business partners. Visitors will be able to preview seating options, hospitality areas and other features planned for the new ballpark.
“The Rays Ballpark Experience Center, when it opens in a few months in Westshore, will be what ‘Forever is Now’ is all about,” Rays CEO Ken Babby said. “Rays fans, sitting anywhere from general to premium seating, will no longer have to imagine their experience in our new ballpark. One visit to the Experience Center will make it all real and serve as a reminder of why we love baseball, and especially our team.”
The center will also showcase plans for the surrounding mixed-use district, including proposed hotel, office and retail components.
“As important, our sponsors and marketing partners will see how their investment in the ballpark will deliver an entirely new level of energy and connection with Rays fans and their target audiences, which are often the same,” Babby said. “The Experience Center will illustrate how signage, activation, client engagement, and opportunities that may have been difficult to imagine not long ago will be possible when the Forever Home opens in 2029.”
The announcement comes during a particularly good week for Rays fans. Tampa Bay beat the New York Yankees 5-2 Monday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg to take a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series, putting the Rays one victory away from advancing to the AL Championship Series. Game 3 is Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
The project marks another tangible step toward the Rays’ planned move across Tampa Bay after Tampa and Hillsborough County approved the central public financing package for a roughly $2.36 billion ballpark at Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus in August.
Hillsborough County approved nearly $796 million, while Tampa committed another $80 million, bringing the local government contribution to about $876 million. The Rays are responsible for roughly $1.37 billion, along with construction overruns. Major financing validations, land-use approvals and other agreements still must be completed before public money can flow.
The approximately 31,000-seat ballpark is scheduled to open in 2029 as the centerpiece of a larger redevelopment envisioned around the Hillsborough College campus.
Construction on the Westshore experience center is scheduled to begin this month. The Rays have leased about 9,000 square feet on the first floor of Westshore City Center for the experience center, along with nearly 6,000 square feet upstairs for 40 to 50 employees focused on sales for the new ballpark.
The Rays selected Advent to design it, Gensler as architect and Tampa-based iConstructors as general contractor.
The Westshore site sits only several miles from the future ballpark and will give the Rays a year-round Tampa presence well before the stadium is scheduled to open.