Presser: New Rays Owners Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, & CEO Ken Babby Are Introduced

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 Each of them will have brief remarks and then we will take questions.

spk_0 We'll bring around the microphone to the media.

spk_0 We ask that you ask one question and no follow-ups,

spk_0 but we'll try to get around the room twice.

spk_0 After we are finished, please remain seated.

spk_0 We will have a photo up and then we will immediately be on our way to St.

spk_0 Petersburg to meet with staff.

spk_0 So we will set up any future one-on-ones after that.

spk_0 Patrick.

spk_0 Great. Thank you, we're a hussy.

spk_0 Good morning.

spk_0 I'm behalf of myself, Ken Babby, Bill Cosgrove.

spk_0 Thank you all for being here.

spk_0 Today is an incredibly exciting day for us personally, for our families,

spk_0 for our partners, and I hope for the entire Tampa Bay community.

spk_0 We are honored and feel privileged to be the new owners of the Tampa Bay race.

spk_0 This moment is not just about ownership, it's about stewardship.

spk_0 We recognize the deep responsibility we now carry.

spk_0 To deliver a championship caliber team on the field and a world class experience for our fans.

spk_0 That's a commitment we make with humility, with pride, and with great anticipation.

spk_0 I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Commissioner Rob Manfred

spk_0 and to the other team owners for their support and encouragement throughout this journey.

spk_0 And I especially want to thank St.

spk_0 Hughes-Turmberg for building a franchise known for its innovation and success

spk_0 and for trusting our group to carry that legacy forward.

spk_0 Stu, your leadership is laid afoundation that we are proud to build upon.

spk_0 I'm also deeply grateful that so many of our partners are here with us today to celebrate.

spk_0 This is a shared moment with so many great people who participate in this process to get us here today.

spk_0 I'm especially excited to announce that Ken Babby,

spk_0 will be leading the day-to-day business operations as the CEO of the team.

spk_0 Ken brings a passion for excellence and a deep respect for the culture that already exists within this organization.

spk_0 I'm also looking forward to working with baseball,

spk_0 President of baseball operations, Eric Neander,

spk_0 and Manager Kevin Cash will continue to build a championship culture.

spk_0 Be assured that we plan to do a lot of listening and a lot of brainstorming.

spk_0 We want to be methodical and we will have purpose,

spk_0 envision, and all we do.

spk_0 But it's also essentially moved with a sense of urgency.

spk_0 It's no secret that we need a new forever home to secure the race long-term future in Tampa Bay

spk_0 and delivering upon that objective will be our first priority.

spk_0 Our goals have a world-class ballpark ready for opening day 2029.

spk_0 We acknowledge this as aggressive and perhaps audacious, but time is of the essence.

spk_0 The ballpark will anchor a best-in-class mix-use development of likely at least 100 acres containing hotels,

spk_0 office, retail, restaurants, bars, music venue.

spk_0 This list...

spk_0 I am sorry.

spk_0 I'm sorry.

spk_0 I'm so sorry.

spk_0 First time.

spk_0 I'm sorry.

spk_0 I'm here.

spk_0 I'm so sorry.

spk_0 Excuse me.

spk_0 Paula, would you take this and shut it off for me?

spk_0 I'm so sorry.

spk_0 Well, I think we broke the ice Patrick, so I'm so sorry.

spk_0 It said don't mess with Bill.

spk_0 Did you catch that?

spk_0

spk_0 Okay.

spk_0 I'm sorry.

spk_0 Oh, right.

spk_0 It's a song.

spk_0 It's an old song, Patrick.

spk_0 The ballpark will anchor a best-in-class mix-use development of

spk_0 likely at least 100 acres containing hotels, office, retail, restaurants, bars, music venue.

spk_0 This list of criteria is effectively everything we believe

spk_0 to be essential to delivering a world-class live, work, play experience.

spk_0 We are also determined and pledged to you

spk_0 to build a championship caliber team

spk_0 and believe that we believe this development will generate the revenue needed for long-term

spk_0 sustainable success.

spk_0 This in turn will create jobs for our community, supporting economic growth and

spk_0 opportunity in this region for generations to come.

spk_0 To be clear, it is our first and highest priority to find that home here in

spk_0 Tampa Bay.

spk_0 We understand the history and how important it is to get it right

spk_0 for the fans, our employees, the entire Tampa Bay region, and Major League Baseball.

spk_0 We're confident that working together will find the right path for.

spk_0 Thank you.

spk_0 So, thanks, Rosy.

spk_0 Before I start my comments, Ken, would you please make sure your phone is shut off?

spk_0 I apologize for that.

spk_0 Good morning, everybody. My name is Bill Cosgrove.

spk_0 We are on behalf of my family.

spk_0 We are really excited and honored to be part of the Tampa Bay Rays.

spk_0 I've had my entire life a love of the game of baseball.

spk_0 Sitting here, you never really expect to get here.

spk_0 So, you have to mention your hometown.

spk_0 And mine is Bedford, Ohio.

spk_0 And the sand lots of Bedford and all my friends have been calling me.

spk_0 And it's really, really exciting.

spk_0 My career, Cassie, my career peaked at the age of 14 when a kid named Frankie threw me a curveball,

spk_0 of which I had never seen before.

spk_0 After that, it was kind of all over.

spk_0 But my passion for the game has remained ever since.

spk_0 Also as a family, our passion for Tampa Bay, our love affair has grown.

spk_0 15 years ago, we built a house by now or south of here on the golf coast.

spk_0 And we just love the region.

spk_0 Union Home Mortgage, our company, has a relationship with the Tampa Bay Sports Authority.

spk_0 And the Union Home Mortgage Gasperlable that we've been part of for the last five or six years.

spk_0 Feeding Tampa Bay as well, that group.

spk_0 So we've really just given our heart to the area.

spk_0 And especially now with the Tampa Bay rays, we're looking forward to doing more of that.

spk_0 I've got to say for a second before I turn it over to Ken.

spk_0 Over the past months, I've gotten an opportunity to know many, many people of the Tampa Bay

spk_0 rays organization from Stu and Mad and Brian and Eric.

spk_0 And just meeting Kevin on down, Rossi, everybody.

spk_0 Mel, the organization is wonderful.

spk_0 The culture is wonderful.

spk_0 The people are just world class.

spk_0 And we're excited really to be a part of it.

spk_0 We understand that it's all about winning on the field, winning in the community.

spk_0 And that's what we intend to do.

spk_0 Thank you Bill.

spk_0 Thank you Patrick.

spk_0 Good morning.

spk_0 Today is the realization of a lifelong dream.

spk_0 Baseball has always been an integral part of my life

spk_0 since as far back as I can remember.

spk_0 My father served as General Counsel of the Baltimore Orioles.

spk_0 And as a kid, I spent countless hours watching them build camped in yards,

spk_0 watching, learning, and falling in love with the game.

spk_0 I was fortunate to have a front row seat to watch the way a ballpark in a development can change a

spk_0 community.

spk_0 In March, every year we'd come down to St. Petersburg and I even had the opportunity to serve as a

spk_0 batboy for the Orioles at Alang Stadium where I had the chance to go back this past Saturday night

spk_0 and watch the Routes win for nothing our first game in owning the team.

spk_0 It was fun to be back there.

spk_0 Baseball and sports and in general have a wonderful way of bringing community together.

spk_0 Truly like nothing else.

spk_0 My journey as a team owner started an Akron where I had a chance to meet Bill

spk_0 and our ownership of the Akron rubber ducks.

spk_0 And then on to AAA in Jacksonville where I met Patrick and our work began together.

spk_0 It's really unbelievable being in this room today.

spk_0 It's humbling and it's deeply personal to me and my family and all of our families.

spk_0 So many people have helped us along this journey.

spk_0 From the beginning our focus has always been to make baseball a fun and unforgettable experience.

spk_0 Accessible, affordable, creating lifelong memories for families, for friends,

spk_0 to take moments away from life's busy paces.

spk_0 Baseball provides the perfect platform in life to do that.

spk_0 It's exactly why we're here.

spk_0 We will create a world-class fan experience here in Tampa Bay for our fans.

spk_0 And we will do it one at a time in incredibly unique ways.

spk_0 On the field as Patrick and Bill have both mentioned,

spk_0 we're committed to continuing the great work that Eric and Kevin and the team are doing

spk_0 to be a championship culture on the field.

spk_0 And we're going to continue to support them and we can't wait to work together

spk_0 to realize all of our dreams together and bring that championship back here to Tampa Bay.

spk_0 A look forward to supporting them in the organization and the reality is

spk_0 the foundation of what Matt and Stu and Brian and the work that's been done here for decades,

spk_0 the foundation is strong. We're here to help add value where we can.

spk_0 The same is set on the business side of the organization.

spk_0 We plan to continue that same championship culture while we recognize we have incredible work

spk_0 ahead of us. We've brought together an incredible special local group of partners

spk_0 that we believe will help us continue to cement the right relationships to be successful.

spk_0 We will also seek input from public officials, Mayor Caster, Mayor Welsh. It's an honor to have

spk_0 you with us today. We look forward to working with you to be successful here.

spk_0 We have other county officials in the room. I want to thank you for your continued commitment

spk_0 to our work, community leaders, corporate partners, a number of folks in the room that make

spk_0 this machine go and you have our commitment that we're going to do our best to do our part as well.

spk_0 Because at a core, baseball is more than just a baseball team that sells beer, hot dogs,

spk_0 and tickets. We'll do those things too. We will use the game of baseball to do good in the

spk_0 community, to make Tampa Bay a better place to work, live, and play. Tropicana Field is our

spk_0 current home and we can't wait to get back to our in April 6th next year. I want to thank the

spk_0 Mayor and his team in St. Petersburg for the incredible work that's going on behind the scenes to

spk_0 get Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays ready for baseball in 2026. At the end of

spk_0 this week, we'll have 12 of our 24 panels on the roof. That's worth a round of applause.

spk_0 Everybody in the community has answered the call and that's not a reference to Bill's phone.

spk_0 One at a time, each in unique ways to be able to deliver and where deeply appreciative of your help.

spk_0 We look forward to building this reality together with our team and with our staff and with the

spk_0 community. We plan to do our part two at Tropicana Field and as we get close to spring, we'll be

spk_0 announcing a number of fan experience changes that you can look forward to, that the ownership

spk_0 group will be putting back into Tropicana Field, new video boards, new sound system. Of course,

spk_0 the new roof that everybody's looking forward to, we're going to do our part to be able to stand up

spk_0 and celebrate coming home next spring. Finally, I'd just like to speak directly to the members of

spk_0 the RAIS staff and family from a business operations team to the baseball ops department,

spk_0 from the analytics to the ushers to everybody that goes to make this work. We're making an enormous

spk_0 investment in buying the Tampa Bay RAIS because we believe in you. It's always about the people.

spk_0 We believe in the entrepreneurial resilient way this group has come together through so much

spk_0 over these last few years. We believe in your culture, we believe what the previous regime has

spk_0 created and we want to build to sustain it. Your resilience and strength is inspiring and together,

spk_0 we're going to work to build something even more incredible for Tampa Bay,

spk_0 capping it off with a World Series trophy. We can't wait to be here and we can't wait to get to work.

spk_0 I want to thank Patrick and Bill for the trust and the investment of what we're building together

spk_0 and we're ready to get going. Thank you.

spk_0 We'll now open it up for questions. Please state your name and affiliation.

spk_0 Mark Topkin, Tampa Bay Times. Patrick, given the grand vision, you just expressed for a stadium and

spk_0 a full complement of other activities around it. Can you share where in the process are you?

spk_0 And it would seem there's only a limited number of sites that could accommodate that. Have you

spk_0 identified them? And do they include both sides of the Bay? We're encompassing all of Tampa Bay.

spk_0 We're evaluating sites currently. Part of our arrangement was stewed through the process was that

spk_0 we would not have any discussions with any public officials until we had officially closed

spk_0 in the team which happened last Tuesday. So we're now full steam ahead on site evaluation, feasibility

spk_0 analysis. There's probably more sites that meet the criteria than you would realize.

spk_0 We kind of really in the process did at least a high level analysis of what we thought would meet

spk_0 the criteria. And let me maybe talk a little bit about criteria as well because that's a really

spk_0 important thing for us. And land is very critical. We spent a lot of time studying, evaluating,

spk_0 meeting with the Atlanta Braves have been incredibly generous with their time and resources to let us

spk_0 look at the battery. We think the battery is the gold standard of what we want to build and develop

spk_0 here in Tampa Bay. And that venue, that development really, not only is it an incredible experience for

spk_0 the fans, the community, the players, but it is what you have to have in today's major league

spk_0 baseball to be successful. We think without that revenue generation, it's going to be really,

spk_0 really challenging or nearly impossible to compete with the major markets. So for us, this is

spk_0 critical to building a championship team. We have to meet this criteria. We think it's likely,

spk_0 as I said, 100 plus acres if you ask the Braves, they'll tell you, you know, not what was the one

spk_0 thing you'd do differently if you could, they say land, land, land, right, more land. And they're

spk_0 just a lot of location, quality of location with a amount of land. And there's a point that that'll

spk_0 intersect. So it's not just, well, over this is 500 acres, you know, 30 miles outside of Tampa.

spk_0 That's not what we're looking for. We want to create location and as much land as we can get. So

spk_0 hopefully that answers your question.

spk_0 Ashley Craig, sir, Tampa Bay Business Journal, Patrick, if you were a betting man or if you had a

spk_0 goal, how quickly will we see a proposal for a stadium and this development you just referenced?

spk_0 We're just getting started. We've got a lot of work ahead of us.

spk_0 We're going to have meetings this week with, you know, with St. Pete, with Tampa,

spk_0 and really just getting our bearings, right? So there's no other than, I think we know that we need a,

spk_0 again, we've got to achieve this criteria. We've got to deliver this world class development

spk_0 to generate the revenue to produce a consistent championship caliber team. We don't want to be

spk_0 one year great and five years bad and have to go all in. And it's not, we want to build a sustainable

spk_0 championship team. And I think the revenue generation that can come out of this development will

spk_0 provide that. So timing, we're getting to work. I mean, we've got a lot to do. A lot to do. It's

spk_0 going to be challenging, but we're confident that we can be successful here in Tampa Bay.

spk_0 Adam Berry, Moby.com. You've talked about the sustainable championship culture as far as the

spk_0 team on the field. Do you guys expect to continue what's been done as far as investing in player

spk_0 payroll or could you see potentially more than that going forward? A great question. I mean,

spk_0 the economics of the club have not changed since we acquired them. And so, again, you'll hear a

spk_0 common theme, obviously. We've got to create this development. We have to have the revenue.

spk_0 It's critical to our success. You know, continuing what we've done, these guys done an incredible

spk_0 job. I mean, blown away, more I learned from Eric and Kevin, it's just we have an incredible

spk_0 organization. We have a self-imposed rule that none of us and none of the partners are allowed to

spk_0 talk to where I have any influence on the baseball operations. Zero. These guys are exceptional.

spk_0 I think we have a, we can provide a lot of help on the business side, sponsorship, growing our

spk_0 community outreach, fan experience, and we're excited to get to work on that.

spk_0 Ryan Bass, Fandall Sports Network. Patrick Bell, nice to meet you guys. Can good to see you. Can

spk_0 I have a quick question for you? Just you mentioned fan experience. I don't know how big a part that is

spk_0 of kind of your aura joining this organization from the Sownership Group. What have you noticed since

spk_0 you've been here? I know you've been here a couple weeks, taken some notes, you know, observing.

spk_0 And then what do you hope to put your stamp on in terms of the fan experience back at Tropicana

spk_0 Field and from Ray's baseball? Yeah, thanks Ryan. I think right now, you know, we're just

spk_0 taking it all in and digesting. And I think having the roadmap to getting back to Tropicana Field

spk_0 and Aples, our goal, we're spending a lot of time as a staff thinking about how we can get in there

spk_0 and make that expression. I think Tropicana Field is going to look better than it has ever looked

spk_0 in April. The city behind the scenes is doing wonderful work. The team is doing work. We're

spk_0 spending a lot of time together thinking about how we can enhance that experience because we are

spk_0 going to be there, despite our objective of being in a new ballpark in 29. We want to be competitive

spk_0 and we want to be successful on the field, of course, but continuing to invest in our fans and

spk_0 the experience from food options, accessibility, pricing, talked about some of the amenities,

spk_0 and we'll talk closer to the start of the season about some of those new initiatives. But,

spk_0 yeah, I think right now, I think at this point, we're taking it all in. There's certainly

spk_0 conversations to be had, but my favorite part of this has just been being able to talk with

spk_0 fans over the course of the last few weeks, and we'll do more of that through the winter and into

spk_0 the spring. You know, we work in a business where you get a chance to ask your customer every day what

spk_0 we could be doing better. And that's exactly what we intend to do, and that'll be important in

spk_0 developing our fan plan of getting back to the top and also thinking about next year as well.

spk_0 Yeah, thanks, right? I have an axle bank from Fox 13. Good to meet you after weeks of talking

spk_0 about you and writing about you. First thing I just want to ask is, do you, you just mentioned that

spk_0 the economics of the club have not changed? Do you envision being able to pay for the ballpark

spk_0 yourselves, or will you be asking for a public subsidy, and how much will that subsidy be in

spk_0 relation to the previous subsidies that we're asked for? Great, great question. And, uh,

spk_0 okay, these are high profile small community businesses. And so, you know, I think it's critical to

spk_0 have a public private partnership. We don't know. Again, we just close on the team Tuesday.

spk_0 We're excited about that. We're excited to be here today and answer these questions, but we've

spk_0 got a lot of work to do. So how that looks, the structure, is it up front, is it over? There's

spk_0 so many nuances to how a deal could come together, but we're confident that Tampa Bay wants to

spk_0 CSB successful. We want to be successful. I think everybody wants to deliver a championship team.

spk_0 And so this is going to be critical to doing that, and we look forward to working with

spk_0 Tampa Bay to get that done. I know you said that the stadium location would encompass all of

spk_0 Tampa Bay, your search for it. Previous ownership group has tried numerous times to get into Hillsbroke

spk_0 County Tampa, because it's the population center as they saw it. Would that be where you start

spk_0 your search? I mean, would that be the most preferable location on this side of the bridge?

spk_0 We're looking at everywhere. I mean, honestly, it's a great region. We just don't want to pigeon

spk_0 it all ourselves into one location or one site. We really want to evaluate everything, be methodical,

spk_0 be disciplined, complete our feasibility, well, generate pro-formers, and really try to determine

spk_0 which site is going to meet the criteria we've laid out the best and deliver the revenue and the

spk_0 experience we're looking for to create that championship team. So much of the public-private

spk_0 partnership has to be a win for the community and for the team. And we'll come forward doing our

spk_0 part, but we need the partnership of the community to be able to make this work. And that ultimately

spk_0 will be a public-private partnership that's going to add jobs, deliver value. We think find really

spk_0 unique ways of being able to make Tampa Bay a better place to work, live, and play, and create

spk_0 something, frankly, that isn't here today. Hi, Lewis Slovia with the Business Observer. Kind of

spk_0 piggybacking, piggybacking on those last couple of questions. The previous ownership group has tried

spk_0 this and unfortunately it never worked out. What are you doing differently that will make it work

spk_0 this time? And what is your plan B if it doesn't work out? Focus on plan A, right? Yeah.

spk_0 Yeah. Plan A is to figure it out here in Tampa Bay. And again, we're confident, we're confident that

spk_0 we're going to get that done. We know it's going to be challenging, but to Ken's point,

spk_0 you know, it's our job as well to lay out the vision and have the community buy into that. We

spk_0 can't just come and say, hey, that's right. You have to give us this. It's a partnership. That's right.

spk_0 And so we've got to work together. We've got to provide economic reports and studies and work

spk_0 together with the counties, with the municipalities, the cities to come up with the best cohesive

spk_0 development we can we can generate together. So we're looking forward to tackling that head on.

spk_0 Can you say anything about that? It's a perfect. Okay. Jeff Patterson with WFLATV. And I've heard what

spk_0 you said about not wanting to pitch in wholly yourself into one location over the other. But I also

spk_0 just heard you say we're looking at everywhere. So everybody wants to know what side of the

spk_0 Bay you'll land on. But does that include also when you say everywhere in the region? Does that

spk_0 include Jacksonville or Ohio or Orlando? So where are you looking? You know, I'm trying to narrow it

spk_0 down a little bit. Well, I can answer Ohio's a no. I wasn't going to say that. I can do that. I

spk_0 think that's going to be successful right here in Tampa Bay. I think that is the clearest answer.

spk_0 And also to the prior question, we're very aware and in touch with the fatigue around this issue over

spk_0 the last 21 years. You know, we certainly haven't lived at first hand, but being alongside the staff,

spk_0 understanding and listening. So much of this is about listening and asking questions. We know that

spk_0 fatigue is real. And, you know, we know that we have a lot of work to do ahead of us. And that work begins

spk_0 today. Don Strubel roundtable sports. You guys are obviously tasked with aero of uncertainty and

spk_0 quite the work ahead to secure all of your future plans. But through more of a short term lens,

spk_0 how excited are you about the progress of Tropicalanafield and getting this team established back in

spk_0 its home after an unprecedented season? Yeah, I mean, you know, as I said, it's been a little bit

spk_0 of my home away from home. We haven't been able to have official meetings with public officials,

spk_0 as Patrick mentioned ahead of the closing of the transaction. What I have been able to do is

spk_0 spend a good amount of time in Tropicalanafield and seeing the work that the city's been able to do.

spk_0 And our partners at AECOM is doing and the staff to be able to get this ready. I mean, when I say

spk_0 they've answered the call, they have answered the call in a meaningful way unanimously to step up

spk_0 to be able to get baseball ready so we can open up here in April against the Chicago Cubs. And I think

spk_0 that work is really quite heroic. And when you look, of course, of what the region has been

spk_0 through with not one, but two storms to get the roof back on, to get the building open,

spk_0 we think it's going to look great in the spring. And obviously, we're looking at both the short term

spk_0 goals of getting back, but also finding our forever home for sure. We've got to be a little

spk_0 ambidextrous about the way that we operate. And I think, you know, being focused, of course, on the

spk_0 long term while also keeping our eye on the ball in front of us is the task at hand. And we're

spk_0 up for the challenge. Hi, Colleen, right, with the Tampa Bay Times. You mentioned that your goal

spk_0 is to have a world-class ballpark ready for 2029. And it would anger, you know, best-in-class

spk_0 mix use development. That sounds very similar to what the previous owners had in line. And it was

spk_0 already approved by St. Petersburg and Penelas. Would you revisit those plans or given the time

spk_0 of the essence? Does that make Tropicaly County Field a more attractive option?

spk_0 Great question. We think, I'll take the second one, maybe, Tropicaly County Field.

spk_0 I think in the short term, that's a great, we're really excited to get back. There's Ken

spk_0 Senate. We need to be back there. We need to be in a major league ballpark. I think the team

spk_0 wants to be there. The fans want to be there. Long-term, we're looking for our forever home.

spk_0 And that is in the Tampa Bay region, we believe it'll be a, we need a new, we need a new ballpark.

spk_0 I think that's been, I don't think that's disputed by anybody on either side of the bay.

spk_0 The new ballpark is critical to delivering what we want to accomplish over the long term.

spk_0 Anything to that? Ken, it's perfect. You did.

spk_0 Scott Smith, Fox 13, congratulations, gentlemen. So, two-parter, the extension of a lease at the

spk_0 TROP is that discussion that's been had yet. And to follow up, you guys mentioned the high level

spk_0 kind of evaluation process. Did that, did the results of that precede or was it contingent upon

spk_0 your, your offer in a sense? Did you, did you pursue those, you know, options, side options,

spk_0 prior to making the offer for the purchase? I think it's premature to talk about the extension on

spk_0 TROP, I can't feel, as we said, we're just eager to get right back in there in the spring and

spk_0 and put everything we can. Both, by the way, the public money going in, but the team

spk_0 making the commitment as well to show how committed that we are to returning to our home.

spk_0 And I think that that's, that's where our focus is.

spk_0 Hello, Veronica Brasina with St. Pete Rising, a quick question. And again, congrats to

spk_0 to all of you on the purchase and welcome to Tampa Bay again. But I want to ask, what are your

spk_0 thoughts on the current proposals submitted by Arc and Vess and their partners as well?

spk_0 Yeah, I think we, you know, we're digesting it. I think like everybody else's, we're

spk_0 familiar with the folks who have put that together. Obviously, we are, you know, I would say,

spk_0 energized and encouraged by any development that's happening in the region. We look across, you know,

spk_0 the entire region and are encouraged just by how much growth as you go through and see cranes and

spk_0 development. It's very inspiring. And so we'll have a chance to sit down and understand that

spk_0 proposal and obviously work alongside our partners at the city and understand what that, what that

spk_0 means. But I think right now we're, we're still in the process of digesting it. Yep.

spk_0 Good morning, gentlemen. Congratulations, Tom Krasnicki from WDA Radio, the Radio Home of the

spk_0 Rays. Thank you. Thanks. You're welcome. So have you gone about the process from a baseball standpoint

spk_0 and identifying the roster maybe key pieces, core pieces that you'd like to maybe commit to for

spk_0 the long term future? I always want to reiterate. Yeah. Yeah. These guys are prohibiting

spk_0 short games. They're short answer exactly. Yeah. Eric just had his press conference last week.

spk_0 That's right. We, we support everything he said the press conference. It speaks for itself.

spk_0 In Eric and Kevin, we trust. Yes. Yes.

spk_0 Hi guys. Congratulations. Rock, Rally, Tampa, free press WDAE. I know you said that, um,

spk_0 Atlanta is like the Crown Jewel. That's an open-air stadium. It's a little more humid down here.

spk_0 Is there any possibility of a retractable roof with the new stadium that you're going to have built?

spk_0 Great. Yeah. No. Great point on Atlanta, sure as park is open air. We envision a fully enclosed

spk_0 domed climate controlled non-retractable ballpark. We think this there's a lot of issues and

spk_0 maintenance with retractable roof. Most of the owners we've talked to would actually now

spk_0 recommend against it. They wish they hadn't done it. So, but we envision a fully enclosed

spk_0 which we think becomes a world-class concert venue, you know, 150, 180 events a year.

spk_0 We really think this is something that could be much, much greater and more encompassing than just

spk_0 a ballpark. One more question. Well, Ken, Patrick, we're out from you, Bill. I want to hear from you

spk_0 for a second. You mentioned a lot of your experiences here in Tampa Bay, especially with the gas

spk_0 parlable. How has that experience been? What have you kind of noticed about the community here?

spk_0 And what will your role be with this ownership group? Yeah, I appreciate that. So it's been wonderful.

spk_0 We, you know, Tampa reminds me of kind of a Midwestern town where I'm from. You know,

spk_0 the people are warm, wonderful, very prideful of the area of Tampa Bay. And so, you know, for

spk_0 our family, it's always felt like home. I think that for my role in this organization, for the

spk_0 most part, this is the way I look at it. I think it'll evolve. Ken has his, you know, he's a CEO,

spk_0 he's running day to day, running the business operation, everything revolves around him. Patrick,

spk_0 you know, being the control person speaks for itself. I think I'm here to be another set of years

spk_0 and eyes for both of them. Interact with them. Help them out. You know, we, us three, we really have

spk_0 a great open discussion. We're a team. It's not really individuals. We're a team. I think my,

spk_0 I'm looking forward to the impact within the organization. As I said earlier, it's a, I have been

spk_0 in awe of the people and the quality of the people and their commitment to Tampa Bay and winning.

spk_0 So, I'm, I'm looking forward to building those relationships deeper and really adding value

spk_0 anywhere I can. I think it'll evolve over time. Thank you all. I know this is short, but thank you

spk_0 so much for attending. We're going to do the photo op and then get over to our staff. Thank you all.

spk_0 Thank you.

Presser: New Rays Owners Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, & CEO Ken Babby Are Introduced

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