{"id":117182,"date":"2026-01-14T01:52:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T01:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/117182\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T01:52:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T01:52:08","slug":"rays-stadium-speculation-centers-on-hcc-dale-mabry-campus-as-mayors-weigh-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/117182\/","title":{"rendered":"Rays stadium speculation centers on HCC Dale Mabry campus as mayors weigh in"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Speculation is growing that the Tampa Bay Rays could move across the bay to a new stadium site at Hillsborough Community College\u2019s Dale Mabry campus.<\/p>\n<p>ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 Speculation is intensifying about a possible new ballpark for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtsp.com\/article\/sports\/mlb\/rays\/rays-sale-approved-mlb-tampa-bay\/67-465ab0c2-969e-47ff-b041-c7f15cbcb39f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Tampa Bay Rays<\/a>, with Hillsborough Community College\u2019s Dale Mabry campus emerging as a leading contender for the team\u2019s future home.<\/p>\n<p>The Rays\u2019 new ownership group is targeting an ambitious timeline for a new stadium by 2029, when the team\u2019s contract at Tropicana Field is set to end. Momentum has recently grown around a potential move that would take the team across Tampa Bay and into Tampa.<\/p>\n<p>Hillsborough Community College\u2019s Dale Mabry campus has surfaced as a top candidate for the project. The property sits near Raymond James Stadium, Steinbrenner Field and Tampa International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor acknowledged hearing reports that the Hillsborough College District Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting on Jan. 20. The meeting is expected to include a vote on a plan that could clear the way for a more than 100-acre mixed-use development, including a new ballpark.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI heard that as well, that meeting \u2014 but I don\u2019t have the details of that particular meeting,\u201d Castor said.<\/p>\n<p>Castor added that she is also expected to meet with HCC leadership in the near future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe I have a meeting with Dr. Atwater coming up, but we haven\u2019t discussed those details coming up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>If a deal is finalized, it would mark the end of St. Petersburg\u2019s long tenure as home of the Rays.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, St. Petersburg is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtsp.com\/article\/news\/local\/pinellascounty\/st-pete-accepting-proposals-historic-gas-plant-district-pushing-back\/67-1da52f0c-50a4-4b51-95e3-6376aad44d74\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">accepting proposals to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District<\/a>, which includes Tropicana Field. Mayor Ken Welch said those plans may or may not include a stadium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur intent is to move forward with the development of those properties, and whether that includes a long-term component for the Rays is yet to be determined,\u201d Welch said. \u201cIf you look at their criteria for 100 acres, then that would rule us out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Welch added that the city\u2019s immediate focus is on fulfilling its current obligations and repairing Tropicana Field in time for opening day this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou see the roof is intact, we\u2019re getting the internal work, so that\u2019s our focus now,\u201d Welch said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have conversations about whether they want an extension, their plans for the long-term.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hillsborough Community College did not return a request for comment regarding the reported Jan. 20 meeting or the potential vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speculation is growing that the Tampa Bay Rays could move across the bay to a new stadium site&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-117182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}