In mid-July, Stu Sternberg agreed to sell the light to Jacksonville-based real estate developer Patrick Zalupski for about $1.7 billion. However, Sternberg will not leave the organization altogether immediately.
Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal, Sternberg and other current partners in the sports report will retain about 10% of the team’s shares in the short term. Sternberg is still expected to eventually leave the organization completely, but that won’t happen at the same time as this month’s sales.
The deal is expected to close in September. The timetable remains. Drellich and Rosenthal wrote that sales should be completed after the regular season ended. Zalupski’s group is expected to leave the franchise in the Tampa area, preferably building a new stadium in Hillsborough County. (Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg is located in Pinellas County.) Nina Moske of the Tampa Bay Times wrote this afternoon that a location under consideration was at Hillsborough College.
Ray’s previous deal with Pinellas County collapsed after the team sought additional funds after delays after a hurricane last fall. Sternberg’s turn to selling his majority stake proved to be a driving force. The club’s lease at Tropicana Field will last for three seasons when Trop becomes playable – hopefully at the start of next season.
