(Photo credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images)

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg has agreed in principle to a $1.7 billion deal to sell the franchise to a group led by a Florida-based developer Patrick Zalupski, The Athletic reported Monday.

The deal is reportedly expected to be closed as early as September and will keep the franchise in the area, with Zalupski, a home builder in Jacksonville, having a strong preference to land in Tampa rather than St. Petersburg.

Sternberg bought the Rays in 2004 for $200 million.

According to Zalupski's online bio, he is the founder, president and CEO of Dream Finders Homes. The company was founded in December 2008 and closed on 27 homes in Jacksonville the following year. Now, with an expanded footprint to many parts of the United States, Dream Finders has closed on more than 31,100 homes since its founding.

He also is a member of the board of trustees at the University of Florida.

The new ownership group also reportedly includes Bill Cosgrove, the CEO of Union Home Mortgage, and Ken Babby, owner of the Akron RubberDucks and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, both minor-league teams.

A year ago, Sternberg had a deal in place to build a new stadium in the Historic Gas Plant District, a reimagined recreational, retail and residential district in St. Petersburg to replace Tropicana Field.

However, after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof of the stadium last October, forcing the Rays into temporary quarters, Sternberg changed his tune, saying the team would have to bear excess costs that were not in the budget.

In March, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and some other owners began to privately push Sternberg to sell the franchise, The Athletic reported.

It is unclear what Zalupski's group, if it ultimately goes through with the purchase and is approved by MLB owners, would do for a permanent stadium.

The Rays currently are playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, located at the site of the New York Yankees' spring training facility and home of their Single-A Tampa Tarpons.

--Field Level Media