Rays owner Patrick Zalupski acknowledged that the previously stated June 1 deadline for a completed ballpark deal “may not be a hard cutoff,” but he “made clear they would need resolution ‘real soon’ after to stay on track” to have the ballpark open by 2029, according to Marc Topkin of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Zalupski said that their focus now is on completing the memorandum of understanding with Tampa and Hillsborough County for financing the ballpark “sometime this month.” Zalupski said, “It’s purely symbolic, but it’s important. What’s critical is getting to definitive documents and having certainty. It has to be as close to June 1 as possible.” County officials have said that it “could take 60-90 days after the MOU is signed to work through many complicated details to be able to complete and present formal contracts.” That seems to include “access to state funding to cover the cost” of rebuilding the Hillsborough College campus, construction costs, financial projections based on the ballpark opening in 2029 and the plans for the surrounding development. The Rays, for several reasons, are “banking on it not taking that long.” Zalupski: “We recognize it’ll be a challenge to get there by June 1, but we need to be as close to June 1 as possible. ... This is not the Rays’ timeline, this is Tampa Bay’s timeline. Every day beyond June 1 makes it less comfortable for us on hitting our timeline” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 5/7).
Rays on deadline crunch for new ballpark MOU to keep 2029 timeline
