'Baseball belongs in Tampa Bay': DeSantis speaks at Hillsborough College amid Rays stadium talks

TAMPA, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will support the proposal to use the Hillsborough College location for a new Rays stadium at a press conference at Hillsborough College on Tuesday.

DeSantis spoke at 10 a.m. at Hillsborough College's District Administration Building on Feb. 3.

Tampa Bay 28 will be at the event and stream it live on the website and Facebook.

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While the topic of the press conference has not been announced yet, Tuesday's event takes place the day before the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to discuss a proposed new Rays stadium at Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry campus.

Reporter Erik Waxler broke down the meeting agenda ahead of the Feb. 4 meeting, which says the Rays have expressed their intent to cover at least half of the stadium construction costs. The remaining portion, according to the agenda, could be funded through public sources.

On Jan. 20, Tampa Bay 28 reporter Chad Mills was at a meeting where the Hillsborough College trustees approved a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Rays to build a new ballpark in Tampa.

After the MOU was approved, Tampa Bay 28's Erik Waxler spoke to an expert who studies the financial agreements between professional sports teams and the cities that host them, who said the new agreement between Hillsborough College and the Rays lacks specifics.

Since talks about a potential new stadium began, Tampa Bay 28 has spoken to St. Petersburg fans, Hillsborough College students and neighbors who live near the campus.

DeSantis has publicly supported the Rays-Hillsborough College relationship. While the governor has said the state will not finance stadium construction, he has indicated it could assist with infrastructure improvements related to the project.

This is a developing story. Tampa Bay 28 will provide more details as they become available.