TAMPA -- Principal owner Stuart Sternberg has entered exclusive negotiations to sell the Tampa Bay Rays to a group led by Patrick Zalupski, a developer based in Jacksonville, Fla., the team announced Wednesday.
“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 team said in a statement. “Neither the Rays nor the group will have further comment during the discussions.”
Zalupski has signed a letter of intent to buy the Rays, according to Sportico, which first reported the news. A letter of intent does not represent a finalized agreement to purchase the team.
According to the report in Sportico, the proposed deal values the team at roughly $1.7 billion. If completed, the Rays would be the first MLB team sold since David Rubenstein purchased a controlling stake of the Baltimore Orioles for $1.725 billion last year.
Sternberg led the group that purchased the Rays from original owner Vince Naimoli in 2004. He became the club’s principal owner and took control of the organization in October 2005. He rebranded the franchise from the “Devil Rays” to the Rays in 2008, and since then Tampa Bay has posted the Majors’ third-highest winning percentage (.545) behind only the Dodgers and Yankees.
For all the Rays’ success on the field under Sternberg, they have not been able to secure a new long-term home in the Tampa Bay area after trying to do so for nearly two decades.
The club had a plan in place to build a new ballpark on the Tropicana Field site as part of a revitalized Historic Gas Plant District, but Sternberg announced in March that the Rays would not move forward with those plans. At the time, MLB released a statement saying the league “remains committed to finding a permanent home for the Club in the Tampa Bay region for their fans and the local community.”
The Rays are playing this season at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees’ Spring Training ballpark, after Tropicana Field was significantly damaged during Hurricane Milton. The club has stated its preference and intent to return to the Trop next season.
Zalupski is the founder, president and CEO of Dream Finders Homes and serves on the University of Florida’s Board of Trustees. Cosgrove is the CEO of Union Home Mortgage. Babby is the founder of the Fast Forward Sports Group and the owner of two Minor League teams: the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and the Double-A Akron RubberDucks.