He’s swinging for the fences.
Ponte Vedra Beach-based homebuilding mogul Patrick Zalupski is closing in on a deal to acquire Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, according to multiple reports.
The proposed deal, estimated at approximately $1.7 billion, would transfer ownership of the franchise from beleaguered current owner Stu Sternberg to a Florida-based investment group led by Zalupski.
Zalupski, only 44, is the founder and CEO of Dream Finders Homes, a publicly traded homebuilding company headquartered in Jacksonville.
Since its founding in 2008, the company has expanded at a breakneck pace nationally, closing over 30,000 homes across numerous states.
Zalupski also serves on the University of Florida’s Board of Trustees.
Negotiations are ongoing, but a letter of intent has reportedly been signed, and Zalupski’s group is now conducting due diligence. Any sale would require the approval of Major League Baseball’s ownership group.
The timing of the deal follows months of increasing instability surrounding the Rays’ stadium situation.
In 2023, the team and the City of St. Petersburg announced a $1.3 billion plan to build a new ballpark as part of the redevelopment of the city’s Historic Gas Plant District. However, that agreement unraveled in early 2025 following significant damage to Tropicana Field caused by Hurricane Milton in October 2024.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and a number of other owners began quietly encouraging a change in ownership, citing long-standing concerns about the team’s stadium uncertainty and the bungled relocation.
Sternberg has owned the Rays since 2004, purchasing the franchise for roughly $200 million. The team has experienced consistent on-field success in recent years, but attendance has been notoriously paltry.
It remains unclear whether Zalupski’s group intends to pursue a new stadium in St. Petersburg, Tampa, or elsewhere in the region.
MLB officials have expressed a preference for keeping the Rays in the Tampa Bay market, but no firm commitments have been announced regarding future ballpark plans.
If approved, the transaction would mark one of the largest franchise sales in recent MLB history.
