TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are preparing for their first playoff game at Tropicana Field this season, but Rays management is looking ahead to where the team will play in the future.

And it could be in historic Ybor City, off of 11th Street and Palm Avenue.

The site is the old headquarters for the K-Force staffing agency. In May, Tampa investor Darryl Shaw purchased the property. Shaw has been working with the Rays to find a viable site for a ballpark.

Shaw's purchase includes the K-Force campus' 6.25 acres and an adjoining 2.6 acres of vacant land. 

Hillsborough Commissioner Ken Hagan said the Rays have been really focusing on the location as a potential place for a new ball park.

“This is a location that they feel will work, and currently we’re identifying the infrastructure and access needs require for a ballpark in that location,” Hagan said.

Hagan has been working with the Rays on a new stadium for a little over a decade. He said recently there has been significant progress.

“I can tell you we’ve never been as far along in discussions as we are right now,” Hagan said.

Mayor Jane Castor said discussions will get even more serious once the season ends.

“I think there’s a sense of urgency now with their contract coming to an end,” Castor said.

Under the contract, the Rays will play at Tropicana Field until 2027. 

Castor said the Rays are looking at more than one possible site for a ballpark and she expects that all the locations will be made public in the coming months.