Tampa Bay Rays sale looming, land being eyed in Channelside

TAMPA, Fla. - A deal to sell the Tampa Bay Rays to a developer in Jacksonville is in the works. Sources said Stu Sternberg has a deal in principle to sell the team to Patrick Zalupski for $1.7 billion. 

What they're saying:

Hillsborough County negotiators see a future ballpark on land currently being used as a shipyard.

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"I would likely characterize it as the leader in the clubhouse, just because all of our financial modeling was based on that," said Ken Hagan, Hillsborough County commissioner and the Rays negotiator for the county.

The deal isn't done yet, but Hagan said he's talked to Tampa developer Darryl Shaw about land he owns south of the Selmon but north of the Tampa Port. 

"I was comforted by knowing that while he was currently starting to model a smaller facility for a Tampa Bay Sun, that baseball would be a priority," said Hagan. "Clearly, baseball would be much more of a driver and help accelerate his development."

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Hagan said he has also spoken to the potential new owner and said 60% of the cost could be taken on by him, with the rest coming from batches of tourist taxes and user fees generated by the new development. 

The backstory:

The bigger question seems to be land, with the fairgrounds and the dog track off I-275 also options. 

He calls Orlando a "real threat."

"I'm confident that we'll reach a deal here in Tampa for any reason that if we stumble and can't get over the finish line, they're licking their chops over in Orlando," said Hagan.

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What's next:

One person pumping the breaks is St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch, who pledged not to work with the current owner after he backed out of the deal signed to build a new Gas Plant ballpark. 

Sternberg had blamed the hurricanes and a delayed commission vote. What will a new owner say?

"The door absolutely is not closed and St. Pete and Pinellas County have been counted out before," said Welch. "We're looking forward to having a conversation with the new ownership group that evolves and talking about you know what's possible in St. Pete and Pinellas County."

The Rays and the new potential owner are not commenting publicly on the deal.