TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 7, 2026) – Advent, a global experiential design and technology company, has partnered with the Tampa Bay Rays to design the Rays Ballpark Experience Center, opening in early 2027 at Westshore City Center in Tampa. The one-of-a-kind destination will offer fans, sponsors and premium partners, both current and prospective, a unique opportunity to visualize and experience the future Rays ballpark and surrounding mixed-use district years before the ballpark is scheduled to open in 2029.

The Rays announced the Experience Center on Tuesday, following last month’s approval of the new ballpark financing by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners and Tampa City Council. Construction on the new ballpark is scheduled to begin in October.

The Rays Ballpark Experience Center, when it opens in a few months in Westshore, will be what ‘Forever is Now’ is all about,” said Rays Chief Executive Officer Ken Babby. “Rays fans, sitting anywhere from general to premium seating, will no longer have to imagine their experience in our new ballpark. One visit to the Experience Center will make it all real and serve as a reminder of why we love baseball, and especially our team. The Experience Center will also preview the new mixed-use district plus a chance to preview our new district with engagement with hotel, office and retail-related experiences.

As important, our sponsors and marketing partners will see how their investment in the ballpark will deliver an entirely new level of energy and connection with Rays fans and their target audiences, which are often the same. The Experience Center will illustrate how signage, activation, client engagement and opportunities that may have been difficult to imagine not long ago will be possible when the Forever Home opens in 2029.

Located at 1111 North Westshore Boulevard, the nearly 15,000-square-foot center will serve both the public and the Rays’ sales efforts. Approximately one-third of the space will be open to the public and feature retail, family-friendly experiences, coveted Rays memorabilia and exhibits highlighting the new ballpark and surrounding district. Fans will be able to explore a digital preview of the ballpark and campus, create a personalized baseball card and discover new Rays experiences celebrating the past, present and future.

The remaining space will offer an appointment-only, immersive journey designed to help prospective season ticket members, premium clients and partners envision their place and experience in the new ballpark and district. Leveraging advanced technology, visitors will be able to explore different seating viewpoints, hospitality and premium offerings, group areas and elements of the complete ballpark and district experience.

The Experience Center will be like walking into the future,” Babby said. “Fans and partners will be able to see it, feel it, hear it and experience it – from sitting in the seats, or food and beverage locations they may choose, to exploring the clubhouse, to understanding the full journey of arriving at the ballpark and enjoying the district around it. Rays fans have waited a long time for this, and we are overjoyed to be able to offer that experience right now, in Tampa, where we will begin to build the Forever Home in the months ahead.”

When we sat down with Ken Babby and his team to discuss the Forever Home project, we were blown away by the team’s energy and vision,” said Advent CEO John Roberson. “Tampa Bay fans have a lot to look forward to, and we are thrilled to help them get a taste of what that experience will be like when they visit the Center.

The Rays Ballpark Experience Center is the latest in a series of sales and experience centers Advent has delivered for professional franchises investing in new or reimagined venues, each built to help fans and partners see, feel and commit to a future before it is built, and each strongly tied and tailor-made to the identity of the team behind it. 

In Las Vegas, Advent designed and built the A’s Ballpark Experience Center, anchored by The Immersive Cube®, a 270-degree, 26.5-million-pixel environment that lets guests tangibly visualize the future ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.

In Charlotte, N.C., Advent designed and created MoMINTum, the Bank of America Stadium Experience Center commissioned by Tepper Sports & Entertainment to preview the stadium’s $1.3+ billion redevelopment. TSE Chief Revenue Officer Eric Sudol called it “the most technologically advanced preview center in sports.” Immersive technology and storytelling come together in North Carolina’s Queen City to deliver a heart-pounding, emotionally resonant experience for Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC fans alike.

In Cleveland, OH, Advent unveiled their third Immersive Cube® at The Browns Experience for the Cleveland Browns and Haslam Sports Group, in support of the new Huntington Bank Field and its surrounding district in Brook Park, Ohio. Spanning nearly 21 feet, it is the widest Immersive Cube® ever deployed and houses a live digital twin covering 25 square miles of the Cleveland region.

Most recently, the Jacksonville Jaguars opened the Advent-designed Stadium of the Future Sales Center, anchored by the Immersive Cube® where current and prospective Season Ticket Members can visualize their seating and hospitality options for 2028 and beyond. At their ribbon cutting ceremony last month, Jaguars President Mark Lamping credited Advent’s process, not just its technology, for making the Stadium of the Future Sales Center feel unique to Jacksonville and the team’s identity. 

“What impressed me the most was the time [Advent] spent trying to understand what’s really unique about Jacksonville and the Jaguars fans,” Lamping said. “It wasn’t a cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all plan that was brought to us. We really felt it was truly customized, and they took into full consideration what’s unique about our sales opportunity, our sales challenges, and brought solutions to bear that we felt were truly customized and not just a clip and paste from some other market.”

Across every project, Advent works to transform physical spaces into captivating storytelling environments that inspire the people within them and drive value for the organizations behind them. For 25 years, Advent has utilized research, technology and storytelling to achieve this goal, helping global sports franchises, universities, corporate leaders and entertainment venues connect deeply with their audiences, drive engagement and generate value.

Additional information about the Rays Ballpark Experience Center, including public hours and appointment scheduling, will be announced at a later date.

Please visit newballpark.raysbaseball.com for more information.