College to discuss Tampa Bay Rays' plans to build stadium on campus

Officials from Hillsborough Community College are set to meet Tuesday to discuss a proposal from the Tampa Bay Rays to build a ballpark and mixed-use development on the site of the Tampa school.

The college’s District Board of Trustees called a special meeting Thursday to discuss what it calls the team’s bid to “use of a portion of the Dale Mabry campus” for the project.

Details of what that plan entails, and just where the Rays would build a stadium, were not disclosed but “as proposed would result in a major transformation of many aspects of the Dale Mabry campus” according to the agenda for the meeting.

A team spokesperson says more details will be forthcoming.

What Tuesday’s meeting will do is allow the college and the team to enter into a non-binding memorandum of understanding to begin negotiating and drafting agreements that the board will later take up.

The team, according to the agenda item, is asking the college to enter into binding agreements to begin work on the project, which college staff and Rays’ representatives have been discussing.

The agenda item clearly states the MOU does “not require the college to do the project, and it can be terminated by the board at any time.”

The special meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The Rays new ownership, which took over in September, has been adamant about finding a property where it can build a new ballpark that would anchor a multiuse development. The team says to build what it wants, it needs a 100-acre property.

HCC’s Dale Mabry campus, according to the college’s 2025 factbook, is 117.27 acres.

The location is an attractive one for the team, which has said its current home in St. Petersburg is difficult to reach.

The campus is across Dale Mabry Highway from Raymond James Stadium and next to George Steinbrenner Field, meaning it has both the infrastructure and parking to accommodate a professional sports team. And, given the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 50-years on the site, fans from around the region are familiar with the area, which is relatively simple to reach from anywhere in the market.

On the development side, Dale Mabry is the commercial north-to-south heartbeat of Tampa, running about 33 miles from MacDill Air Force Base to the Pasco County line. The area around the stadium, on the west side of the road between Columbus Drive and West Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, is taken up mostly by the college and not far from International Plaza. (Many a fan walks to the stadium from the mall on game day.)

Just to the north, before you reach Hillsborough Avenue, is Drew Park, an industrial park with car dealerships, restaurants and a retail plaza lining Dale Mabry.

It would appear ripe for commercial development.

But, for every answer and opportunity, there are questions that seem inescapable if HCC is going to go through with agreement.

What will happen to the campus and students if the team moves in? Where on the campus does the team plan to build a stadium and how does that affect college operations? And does HCC need state approval to move forward?

An HCC spokesperson says in an email the college "will get more information and circle back with you."

Then there are the questions for the Rays, chief among them, how will the finances work? Can it get county, city and state support? And is there enough time to start construction to meet the self-imposed deadline of opening the ballpark by April 2029?