Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday that the Tampa Bay Rays will likely revisit potential sites for a new ballpark once the team’s pending ownership change is finalized.

Current owner Stu Sternberg, who has led the franchise since 2005, is negotiating a sale to a group headed by Patrick Zalupski. Manfred said new ownership would likely reassess stadium options across the Tampa Bay region.

“With new ownership, I think you have to assume it’s kind of a clean slate,” Manfred said at Front Office Sports’ “Tuned In” event. “They’re going to decide about location, they’re going to have to build and make relationships and contacts with people throughout the region to decide what’s the best place for the ballpark in order to make the Rays successful over the long haul.”

The Rays have played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg since their inaugural season in 1998, but have ranked among Major League Baseball’s lowest in attendance. They are playing home games this season at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the New York Yankees’ spring training facility. At the same time, Tropicana Field undergoes repairs from damage caused by Hurricane Milton in October.

Manfred pointed to Tampa’s potential as a favorable market and described the Zalupski group’s local ties as a positive factor. He also emphasized his preference that the Rays remain in the Tampa Bay area.

Under Sternberg’s ownership, the franchise pursued three failed ballpark proposals: Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg (2007), Ybor City in Tampa (2018), and a $1.3 billion project adjacent to Tropicana Field (2023). The team withdrew from the most recent plan in March, citing delays and storm impacts, shortly before beginning sale discussions.

Manfred said he expects the team to return to Tropicana Field in 2026. He noted that Steinbrenner Field has experienced 16 rain delays this season, affecting 15 games.

MLB is also considering expanding from 30 to 32 teams, but Manfred has said decisions on the Rays and Oakland Athletics’ stadium situations must be resolved first. The A’s new ballpark in Las Vegas is scheduled to open in 2028. Expansion could also bring divisional realignment, which Manfred said owners are more open to now than in the past.

Manfred, who has served as commissioner since 2015, said he hopes to make an expansion decision before his current term ends in January 2029.

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