Stu Sternberg will retain minority share for a time following Rays sale

In the middle of July, Stu Sternberg agreed to a sale of the Tampa Bay Rays to Jacksonville-based real estate developer Patrick Zalupski for around a $1.7 billion purchase price. Sternberg won’t immediately leave the organization completely, however.

Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report that Sternberg and other current partners will retain an approximate 10% stake in the franchise in the short term. Sternberg is still expected to eventually depart the organization entirely, but that won’t happen concurrently with this month’s sale.

The transaction was expected to be finalized in September. That timeline is still in place. Drellich and Rosenthal write that the sale should be complete around the end of the regular season. Zalupski’s group is expected to keep the franchise in the Tampa area, preferably with a new stadium to be built in Hillsborough County. (Tropicana Field, located in St. Petersburg, is in Pinellas County.) Nina Moske of The Tampa Bay Times wrote on Monday that one site under consideration is at Hillsborough College.

The Rays’ previous stadium deal with Pinellas County collapsed after the team sought additional funding following delays after last fall’s hurricanes. That proved an impetus for Sternberg to turn to selling his majority share. The club’s lease at Tropicana Field runs for three seasons from whenever The Trop becomes playable — hopefully by the beginning of next season.