Overview
- The Hillsborough College board voted unanimously to enter a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the Tampa Bay Rays, opening exclusive talks on a stadium-centered redevelopment of the Dale Mabry campus.
- The framework envisions a long-term ground lease of most of the site to the team for not less than 99 years, while a southwest "College District" for new campus facilities would remain under college control.
- If public funding is used for the stadium, ownership would transfer to Hillsborough County, a structure local reporting notes could confer property tax advantages.
- Concept plans divide the project into a ballpark-focused "Champions Quarter," an "Innovation Edge" for the college, and a residential parkside area called "The Canopy," with the Rays controlling the surrounding mixed-use development modeled on The Battery Atlanta.
- Key steps still ahead include city and county approvals and a financing plan, as the Rays target a 2029 opening while remaining obligated to play three more seasons at Tropicana Field; Gov. Ron DeSantis has voiced support for pursuing the partnership.