{"id":384527,"date":"2026-08-29T13:29:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T13:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/384527\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T13:29:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T13:29:44","slug":"rays-have-successfully-secured-long-term-home-in-tampa-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/384527\/","title":{"rendered":"Rays Have Successfully Secured Long-Term Home in Tampa Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"98\">The biggest overarching storyline for the Tampa Bay Rays over the last few years was whether they would ever be able to build a ballpark in the city that the fans and team deserve.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9d\">What was once viewed as a dream started to move toward becoming a reality when a new ownership group, led by Patrick Zalupski, came aboard. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/rays\/onsi\/news\/new-ownership-group-provides-breath-of-fresh-air-optimism-for-rays-future\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Optimism and hope were on the rise<\/a>, with the expectation that a new ownership group would be more willing to spend on the roster than in previous years.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9i\">While the Rays still lag behind their rivals such as the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays in spending, they are at least going to take some steps in closing that gap with a new stadium.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9n\">As shared by Ryan Bass on X, the franchise has finally secured its forever home in Tampa, with a vote in favor of the $2.3 billion stadium proposal.<\/p>\n<p>Rays secure forever home with ballpark deal<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: The Hillsborough County Commission has voted in favor of the $2.3 billion stadium deal, which follows Tampa City Council&#8217;s approval yesterday. After nearly two decades, the Tampa Bay Rays stadium saga is all but over. The <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Rays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">#Rays<\/a> have secured their forever home in Tampa.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Ry_Bass\/status\/2093379529863581956?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">August 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"a2\">\u201cBREAKING: The Hillsborough County Commission has voted in favor of the $2.3 billion stadium deal, which follows Tampa City Council&#8217;s approval yesterday. After nearly two decades, the Tampa Bay Rays stadium saga is all but over. The<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Rays?src=hashtag_click\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"> #Rays<\/a> have secured their forever home in Tampa.\u201d Bass wrote in a post on X, sharing the incredible news.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"a7\">This comes just a day after the Tampa City Council approved the agreement, moving them one vote away from things becoming all but official.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ac\">\u201cToday\u2019s affirmative vote by the Tampa City Council is incredible news for the entire Tampa Bay community,\u201d Rays chief executive officer Ken Babby <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/tampa-city-council-advances-rays-stadium-deal-to-final-vote\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cThe Tampa Bay Rays are grateful for the leadership and support of the City Council members to approve an investment that, when accompanied by the private funding guaranteed by the Rays, will secure the future of Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay while creating a landmark destination neighborhood that will serve our region for generations.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ah\">The final vote was by the Hillsborough County Commission, and with them in favor, the ballpark dreams are now a reality.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A statement from the Tampa Bay Rays following Tampa City Council&#8217;s approval of the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RaysForeverHome?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">@RaysForeverHome<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GSZsLA9He7\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/GSZsLA9He7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RaysBaseball\/status\/2093102940118479070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">August 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ar\">This is an exciting time to be a fan of Tampa Bay baseball. Not only are they thriving on the field, currently sitting atop the American League East with a record of 79-54, which is the best in the league, but the future is incredibly bright on the field for the franchise as well.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"aw\">The Rays have one of the best farm systems in baseball, headlined by outfielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/rays\/onsi\/rays-outfield-prospects-not-ranked-as-high-as-they-should-be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Theo Gillen<\/a> and shortstop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/rays\/onsi\/rays-grady-emerson-is-shockingly-already-a-top-10-propsect\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Grady Emerson<\/a>, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. It is going to be something special to see those two in the Major League lineup along with third baseman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/rays\/onsi\/junior-camerino-has-earned-top-10-mlb-rank-with-rays\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Junior Caminero<\/a>, who is solidifying himself as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/rays\/onsi\/rays-junior-caminero-will-have-uphill-climb-for-major-award\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">an MVP candidate this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"b1\">With a new stadium now officially in the plans, things are only looking up for the franchise.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" preventdefault:click=\"\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\" on:pointerenter=\"q-BoGJWvpc.js#s_1NOcOpHWmT0\" on:touchstart=\"q-H9q8BpPo.js#s_R8AiGTDeM28\" on:focus=\"q-BYEsQQaF.js#s_gxiTM6qMMu8\" on:click=\"q-CNwNFlTm.js#s_lDqay9E5m5g[0]\" q:id=\"b7\">Follow<\/a><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The biggest overarching storyline for the Tampa Bay Rays over the last few years was whether they would&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384528,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-384527","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\/384527","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=384527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}