TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are preparing to make a pitch to secure a site for a new stadium, and they are focusing on Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus. Trustees are scheduled to meet on Tuesday to hear the team’s proposal.
On a quiet Friday at the Dale Mabry campus, some new nursing students were adjusting to just their third day of classes.
WATCH: Students react to potential new Rays stadium at Hillsborough College campus
“It seems like it’s ran very well. It’s pretty impressive. It was very competitive to get in,” said student Madison McGrath.
More than 27,000 students attend classes at the campus, but many are now wondering what could happen if the Rays select the site for a new stadium.
“I know the Brandon campus doesn’t have labs and everything they need for nursing. This is also closer to the bigger hospitals. It’s kind of in the middle of everything,” student Hope Lathem said.
Angelica Castro, who is working toward an associate degree while playing on the softball team, said students are worried about the future of the campus.
“I feel like the school is really good and its given us so many opportunities like softball scholarships for athletes here so I feel like it would be a waste to have a stadium here,” Castro said.
More details could emerge Tuesday when the Hillsborough College District Board of Trustees holds a special meeting. According to the agenda, the Rays have approached the college about using a portion of the Dale Mabry campus for a proposed stadium and mixed-use development. The agenda states that “the project as proposed would result in a major transformation of many aspects of the Dale Mabry campus.”
“It makes a lot of sense to me,” said Bill Sutton, a professor emeritus with the University of South Florida’s Sports and Entertainment Management Program.
Sutton said the Hillsborough College site is appealing, especially with the possibility of an entertainment district similar to The Battery in Atlanta, which surrounds the Braves’ stadium.
“As much as Tampa has grown and as young as it is, and the interest of people and the big events that we do here, it just makes a lot of sense,” Sutton said.
Questions remain about funding, the development timeline, and what would ultimately happen to the campus.
“I would favor moving the campus or taking the resources and expanding the other campuses and doing whatever you need to do,” Sutton said.
With Raymond James Stadium and Steinbrenner Field nearby, Sutton said a baseball stadium could help turn the area into a" sports city," though he said mass transportation would be helpful to making it work.
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