When the Rays and development partner Hines were selected to redevelop the Gas Plant District last year, elected officials and baseball fans across Tampa Bay had hoped it would end years of uncertainty surrounding the fate of the site and the team’s future in the region.

With the apparent collapse of the long-negotiated St. Petersburg deal for the Rays, an Orlando group hoping to bring big-league baseball to the City Beautiful said Friday it has an “anchor investor” to buy the team, and property secured to build a stadium.

The Orlando Dreamers — a group of investors trying to bring a Major League Baseball team to Central Florida — are ready to pounce.