Rays to open Westshore ballpark experience center in 2027 as Tampa stadium deal moves ahead

The Tampa Bay Rays will open a nearly 15,000-square-foot Ballpark Experience Center in Tampa's Westshore District in early 2027, giving fans and prospective ticket buyers a first look at the team's planned $2.3 billion stadium more than two years before it is scheduled to open. The center will occupy space at Westshore City Center, 1111 N. Westshore Blvd., a few miles from the Hillsborough College Dale Mabry campus where the Rays plan to build their new ballpark and surrounding district.

The announcement is the latest public step for the team's new ownership group, led by managing partner Patrick Zalupski, as it moves from winning government approvals to selling the project. Tampa City Council and the Hillsborough County Commission approved public funding for the stadium in late August, and the team is targeting Opening Day 2029.

What the experience center will offer

The Rays said about one-third of the center will be open to the public, with retail, family-friendly activities, team memorabilia and exhibits on the new ballpark and district, according to MLB.com and FOX 13. Visitors will be able to explore a digital preview of the ballpark campus, create personalized baseball cards and see exhibits on the team's history and future.

The rest of the space will be reserved for appointment-only tours aimed at prospective season ticket holders and premium clients, who will be able to preview seating angles, hospitality areas and group spaces. "Rays fans, sitting anywhere from general to premium seating, will no longer have to imagine their experience in our new ballpark," Rays CEO Ken Babby said, according to MLB.com.

"The experience center will be like walking into the future. Fans and partners will be able to see it, feel it, hear it and experience it," Babby said, as reported by FOX 13.

The key details of the project are below.

The building is owned by Ally Capital Group and managed by Franklin Street, according to FOX 13. Operating hours and how fans will book appointments have not been announced.

A sales office for the biggest project in Rays history

Much of the center is effectively a showroom. The second floor will house a sales team dedicated to the new ballpark, a sign of how much the Rays need to sell before the gates open. Under the deal approved in August, the team is responsible for more than $1.3 billion of the stadium's cost plus any overruns, so season ticket, premium seating and sponsorship revenue will be central to the project's finances.

Experience centers have become a common tool for teams building new venues, allowing buyers to commit to seats and suites years before a stadium exists. For the Rays, the center also gives the franchise a permanent public presence in Tampa well ahead of its move across the bay from St. Petersburg.

Where the stadium deal stands

The planned ballpark would seat about 31,000 fans and anchor a mixed-use district on roughly 115 acres at Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry campus in the Drew Park area. The plan includes a relocated and rebuilt college campus alongside the ballpark.

Tampa City Council approved the city's $80 million share in a 4-3 vote on Aug. 27. Council members Alan Clendenin, Naya Young, Luis Viera and Bill Carlson voted yes, while Charlie Miranda, Guido Maniscalco and Lynn Hurtak voted no. The next day, the Hillsborough County Commission approved the county's share, capped at $796 million, in a 5-2 vote, with Commission Chair Ken Hagan and commissioners Harry Cohen, Gwen Myers, Christine Miller and Chris Boles in favor and Donna Cameron Cepeda and Joshua Wostal opposed.

The financing breaks down as follows, according to WUSF.

The county's share includes about $360 million from the Community Investment Tax, $263 million in Tourist Development Tax revenue, $103 million in other funds and $30 million in federal disaster recovery money, WUSF reported. The city's contribution flows through a community development district that collects tax increment revenue, and FOX 13 reported the city could pay $40 million to $50 million in interest before development revenue covers repayment. The Rays also agreed to community benefits covering affordable housing, local hiring, small and minority business support, workforce training and youth programs.

Supporters cast the project as an economic engine. "The opportunity before us is about much more than a ballpark. It's about jobs, economic development, new investment," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said before the council vote, according to FOX 13. Hurtak, who voted no, urged colleagues to make Tampa "the smart city that finally said no to subsidizing billionaire team owners."

Steps still ahead

Approval did not end the process. Before public money flows, the bonds must go through a court validation process, which officials estimated in late August would take 60 to 90 days, and a final community benefits agreement must be completed, FOX 13 reported. Hagan said any legal challenge would be handled within the bond validation process.

In the meantime, the Rays have said they are eager to begin work on "The Nest," a temporary Hillsborough College campus at the Dale Mabry site that would let students stay on site during construction. The team had targeted a fall 2026 groundbreaking for the ballpark.

The Rays will keep playing at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg until the new stadium is ready. The team's use agreement for the domed stadium runs through the 2028 season, after it was extended by a year because Hurricane Milton's damage forced the Rays to play the 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. A 2029 opening would let the team move directly from the Trop to its new home.

Ownership money in Tampa politics

The stadium's future will also depend on Tampa's next mayor, and members of the ownership group have become major donors in that race. Rays owners and their businesses have given at least $411,000 to the political committee of former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, who is running again in the March 2027 election, the Tampa Bay Times reported in September.

The largest gift, $200,000, came in February from Ayon Capital, an investment firm founded by Rays limited partner Sidd Pagidipati. Dream Finders Homes, the homebuilder controlled by Zalupski, gave $50,000, according to the Times. Two of Buckhorn's opponents, City Council members Bill Carlson and Lynn Hurtak, have not accepted money from Rays owners. Buckhorn said he was proud to have support from hundreds of Tampa residents, including Rays ownership.

What's next

Construction on the experience center is expected to begin this month, with the doors opening to the public in early 2027. The bond validation case and the community benefits agreement are the next milestones for the ballpark itself, followed by full construction aimed at Opening Day 2029. Tampa voters will choose a new mayor in March 2027, with the stadium's champion, Castor, leaving office because of term limits.