The Tampa Bay Rays are putting a front door on their future home well before the first pitch is thrown there. After Hillsborough County commissioners and the Tampa City Council approved ballpark financing last month, the club announced plans to open the Rays Ballpark Experience Center in Westshore in early 2027.
The nearly 15,000-square-foot facility is intended to give fans, ticket buyers and business partners a tangible look at the Rays’ planned ballpark and mixed-use district, with the new stadium slated to open in 2029.
Quick facts
- The Rays Ballpark Experience Center is scheduled to open in early 2027.
- It will sit at 1111 North Westshore Boulevard in Westshore City Center.
- About one-third of the nearly 15,000-square-foot site will be available to the public.
- The remaining area will operate by appointment for prospective season-ticket members, premium customers and partners.
- The Rays’ new ballpark and surrounding district are expected to open in 2029.
Rays CEO Ken Babby said the center will make the club’s “Forever is Now” vision more concrete for supporters. Rather than asking fans to picture their seats in a future building, he said, the club wants them to see and feel what the new game-day setting will offer.
Babby said the center also will provide an early window into the larger development around the stadium, including hotel, office and retail components. The aim is to show how the district will function as more than a place that comes alive only on game nights.
The public portion will include retail space, family-oriented attractions, Rays memorabilia and displays centered on the ballpark project and its neighboring development. Visitors will be able to navigate a digital rendering of the stadium campus, make a personalized baseball card and explore installations tied to the franchise’s past, present and future.
The private side of the center will be built for the sales conversation that comes with a new ballpark. Prospective members and premium clients will be able to review seat views, hospitality inventory, group spaces and other features through technology-driven presentations.
For sponsors and marketing partners, Babby said the center will demonstrate potential signage, activations and client-engagement opportunities inside the new facility. He said those possibilities should show how the 2029 ballpark can create closer connections between brands, Rays fans and the audiences both sides are trying to reach.
The center will be housed at Westshore City Center, a property owned by Ally Capital Group and leased and managed by Franklin Street. For the Rays, it becomes a place to sell the experience of a new home years before the club moves in.
