FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday in supporting a proposed new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays, a project that could determine whether the franchise remains in the region long term.
The Rays are under lease at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg through at least the 2028 season, but the Trop sustained significant hurricane damage in 2024 and a $1.3 billion redevelopment deal fell through last year, raising new questions about the future of the team, which is under new ownership.
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Hillsborough College president Dr. Ken Atwater, right, speaks during a new baseball stadium news conference as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis looks on at Hillsborough College, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays CEO Ken Babby speaks during a new baseball stadium news conference at Hillsborough College, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, right, gestures during a new baseball stadium news conference as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis looks, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, at Hillsborough College in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, right, speaks during a new baseball stadium news conference as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis looks, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, at Hillsborough College in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
The newly proposed ballpark would be built in Tampa, in the shadows of the New York Yankees’ spring training facility and across the street from Raymond James Stadium, home to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While the governor and commissioner both said they believe baseball belongs in Tampa Bay, few specifics were offered during a news conference in Tampa, including how much the proposal would cost or when it would be completed.
“In the coming days, you'll see the first renderings of our new development and ballpark, the new forever home of the Tampa Bay Rays that will serve as a catalyst for this new community,” Rays Chief Executive Officer Ken Babby said.
Manfred noted that the key to economic success for most sports franchises is a strong partnership between the team, the community and the local government.
“Today's an important day, a milestone along a path that I believe will lead to the Tampa Bay Rays being a part of this community for decades to come,” Manfred said.
Last month, the Rays signed a nonbinding memorandum of agreement with Tampa’s Hillsborough College to build a multiuse facility on a 113-acre site along Dale Mabry Boulevard. The project has been compared to Truist Park, where the Atlanta Braves play. The development would include a hotel, residential and retail areas along with multiple restaurants and bars.
The Hillsborough County Commission will discuss the stadium proposal during its regular meeting on Wednesday. An agenda item posted on the county's website notes that the Rays have expressed intent to “bear a minimum of 50% of the cost of the construction of a ballpark.”
In that document, the team noted it would redevelop the Hillsborough College campus as a mixed-use campus district with retail, restaurants, entertainment, multifamily residential areas, hotels and a new building for classroom and administrative uses.
The remainder of the cost, which hasn't yet been made public, would be left to public funding of some kind.
It's unclear whether the county or city would be open to using local financing, which could include a local bed tax, for the project.
Any framework of funding for the stadium would have to be presented to the county commission, the city of Tampa and the Tampa Sports Authority for consideration.
DeSantis, while expressing full support for the proposal, said the state would not contribute direct funding to the stadium but could assist with road improvements and relocating a nearby juvenile justice facility.
The Rays have played 27 of their 28 seasons at Tropicana Field, located across Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg. Last season, the team played at Steinbrenner Field due to damage to Tropicana Field caused by Hurricane Milton in October 2024. The Category 5 storm shredded the roof off the domed stadium, which took over a year to repair.
The storm damage and the rising costs of repairs and new construction contributed to Stuart Sternberg's decision to withdraw from a proposed deal with St. Petersburg last year and sell the team.
Babby is part of the new ownership group, which includes Patrick Zalupski, the CEO of Jacksonville-based Dream Finders Homes Inc., and Bill Cosgrove, CEO of Union Home Mortgage in Ohio. Babby also leads Fast Forward Sports Group, which owns minor league teams in Jacksonville, Florida, and Akron, Ohio.
Repairs at the Trop are complete, and the team is scheduled to return for the 2026 season.
The Rays are on the clock. Their lease at the Trop could be extended past 2028 until a stadium is completed. But no specifics have been addressed.
Through the years, there have been talks of relocating the team to Orlando or elsewhere.
On Tuesday, Manfred reiterated he does not view the new proposal as a last-ditch effort to keep the Rays in Tampa Bay.
“I do think we're at a point in the history of the club that something needs to get done, but I would be hesitant to characterize it as it's this or never again,” Manfred said.
Hillsborough College president Dr. Ken Atwater, right, speaks during a new baseball stadium news conference as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis looks on at Hillsborough College, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays CEO Ken Babby speaks during a new baseball stadium news conference at Hillsborough College, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, right, gestures during a new baseball stadium news conference as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis looks, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, at Hillsborough College in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, right, speaks during a new baseball stadium news conference as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis looks, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, at Hillsborough College in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Charlotte's surge to at least the play-in tournament and possibly the playoffs in the Eastern Conference has been fueled in large part by the 3-point shot.
And by season's end, it's well within reach that the top two 3-point shooters in the NBA this season — at least in terms of makes — both might be wearing Hornets uniforms.
Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel leads the NBA with his Hornets-record 261 made 3s so far this season, and LaMelo Ball is currently third in the league with 243 makes from beyond the arc. Between them: the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic, who is set to miss some time with a hamstring injury.
Knueppel already has the NBA record for 3s made by a rookie as well.
“He definitely needs to celebrate,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said.
If Knueppel and Ball finish 1-2 in the final standings for made 3s, they would become the second set of teammates in NBA history to hold down the top two spots on that list for a full season. The other, as one would likely guess, were the “Splash Brothers” — Golden State's Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who finished first and second in the season standings in four consecutive seasons from 2013-14 through 2016-17 (and nearly did it in 2012-13 as well).
Other pairings have come close. Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce were second and third in made 3s for Boston in 2001-02 (behind Ray Allen, the then-future Celtic who was playing for Milwaukee at the time). And in 1992-93, Phoenix's Dan Majerle tied Indiana's Reggie Miller for the made-3s title, with Suns teammate Danny Ainge finishing third.
Here's what we know so far regarding the NBA playoff field for this season.
— Eastern Conference playoff teams: Detroit, Boston, New York, Cleveland are in. At this point, Atlanta and Philadelphia would get the other two guaranteed spots but those are not clinched.
— East play-in teams: Nobody is locked into the play-in yet, but entering Friday, the four teams headed there are Toronto, Charlotte, Orlando and Miami.
— East eliminated teams: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Brooklyn and Washington.
— Western Conference playoff teams: Oklahoma City, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver and Houston are in. Minnesota is likely to grab the sixth and final guaranteed spot.
— West play-in teams: Phoenix is probably going to the play-in tournament. Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State definitely are.
— West eliminated teams: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento.
— Hornets 127, Suns 107: Charlotte clinches no worse than a .500 record.
— Pistons 113, Timberwolves 108: Detroit closing in on East No. 1 seed.
— Thunder 139, Lakers 96: Luka Doncic hurt, Lakers tie 7th-biggest loss in team history.
— Cavaliers 118, Warriors 111: Cleveland on brink of clinching top-4 seed.
— Trail Blazers 118, Pelicans 106: Portland made 20 3s, New Orleans made nine.
— Spurs 118, Clippers 99: Victor Wembanyama sits, Spurs win 11th straight anyway.
— Indiana at Charlotte: A winning record this season is going to get Hornets’ coach Charles Lee some award votes.
— Minnesota at Philadelphia: Massive implications seeding-wise for both teams.
— Atlanta at Brooklyn: Hawks closing in on Southeast Division title, possibly No. 5 seed.
— Chicago at New York: Knicks nearing the 50-win mark yet again.
— Utah at Houston: The Rockets know they can’t afford a slipup in this spot.
— Toronto at Memphis: Raptors need a few wins down the stretch to avoid play-in.
— Boston at Milwaukee: Bucks coach Doc Rivers faces his former team, a day before expected Hall of Fame formal announcement.
— Orlando at Dallas: Magic coach Jamahl Mosley enjoyed a lot of nights when he was on the Mavs’ staff. He desperately needs one of those good nights here.
— New Orleans at Sacramento: A pair of teams building for the future.
— Washington at Miami: Bam Adebayo scored 83 against the Wizards last month. The rematch!
— San Antonio at Denver: Wembanyama vs. Nikola Jokic in potential West playoff pairing.
— Detroit at Philadelphia: Sorry, Detroit. Michigan-Arizona Final Four game tips off during this one.
Friday on NBA TV: Chicago-New York.
Saturday on Prime: San Antonio-Denver.
Saturday on NBA TV: Detroit-Philadelphia.
Oklahoma City (+135) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by Boston (+550), San Antonio (+550), Denver (+1100), Cleveland (+1200) and New York (+1600). Detroit, on its way to the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2500.
— April 10: All 30 teams play their 81st games of the season.
— April 12: All 30 teams play their regular season finales.
— April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.
— April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.
— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.
— May 10: NBA draft lottery.
— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
The Thunder had 14 different players score in their win over the Lakers on Thursday night. There have been only seven games in NBA history, including playoffs, where a team saw more players score at least one point in the same game.
The Spurs are 27-2 since Feb. 1 — and have picked up only 3 1/2 games on Oklahoma City (23-5) in that span. (By the way, the best record in the East since that date belongs to Atlanta at 20-6.)
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, left, struggles to field a pass as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) looks for a play against Utah Jazz guard John Konchar (55) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) holds the ball away from Utah Jazz guard John Konchar during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson, left, is fouled by Philadelphia 76ers center Adem Bona, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dunks against the Atlanta Hawks in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Toronto Raptors centre Jakob Poeltl (front) is fouled by Orlando Magic centre Goga Bitadze (back left) as Magic forward Paolo Banchero (right) looks on during first half NBA action in Toronto on Sunday, March 29, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, right, drives against Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
