The Tampa Bay Rays Ballpark ambitions are moving forward on the Hillsborough College site

The Tampa Bay Rays' search for a new ballpark took a step forward when the Hillsborough College Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a nonbinding agreement with staff to include a baseball stadium on the school's Dale Mabry campus.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The Tampa Bay Rays' push for a new ballpark took a step forward when the Hillsborough College board of trustees on Tuesday unanimously approved a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Dale Mabry campus redevelopment team that will include a baseball stadium.

"We are encouraged to take this early but very important step forward," Rays CEO Ken Babbie said in a statement.

The proposed project would create a mixed-use area in the Tampa area near Steinbrenner Field, the spring home of the Yankees' Rays last season, and Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Rays last March abandoned a $1.3 billion project to build a new ballpark near Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, citing storms and delays that could drive up the cost of the proposal. The team was sold in late September from a group led by Stuart Sternberg, who had been in control since November 2005, to a group led by Florida developer Patrick Zalupski.

Under Sternberg, the Rays also announced plans and then failed to move forward with proposed stadiums at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg (2007), Ybor City in Tampa (2018) and a site adjacent to the Troupe in downtown St. Petersburg (2023).

After renovating Tropicana Field, the Rays plan to return to the ballpark this season. Under the team's lease from the city of St.

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