Hillsborough County considers many funding options for new Rays stadium, but has no clear plan yet

Rays stadium funding plan heads to county commission

Thursday afternoon could bring a clearer understanding of how much support exists for a Rays stadium plan among Hillsborough County commissioners. FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.

TAMPA, Fla - Thursday afternoon could bring a clearer understanding of how much support exists for a Rays stadium plan among Hillsborough County commissioners. 

The Rays and Hillsborough County have released a funding plan that details how various county and city sources would be tapped to reach the $1 billion the Rays are seeking.

By the numbers:

On the county’s side, the Rays will ask for $272 million from the Community Investment Tax (CIT), a half-cent tax collected from purchases made in Hillsborough County. 

They also want $268 million from the tourist development tax, $132 million from cash reserves, and $30 million from the county’s stormwater relief fund.

On the city’s side, the team is seeking $160 million from the Drew Park Community Redevelopment Agency, which is funded by property taxes. 

Another $64 million would come from the city’s portion of the CIT fund. That totals about $925 million, which officials acknowledge is roughly $75 million short of the goal.

Dig deeper:

The most controversial element is the use of the CIT, as stadium funding was not specified in the referendum county voters approved in 2024. 

An outside legal opinion requested by the county attorney states it would be legal to use those funds because the stadium could be considered a long-lasting public work. 

The opinion also suggests parts of the project could be classified as infrastructure and notes that previous commission discussions — which seemed to rule out using CIT money for a stadium —are not legally binding.

"They're drawing on loose, vague definitions of the term ‘public facility’ and it doesn't matter. Voter intent is going to always override legislative intent," Commissioner Joshua Wostal said. "I believe that it would be easily demonstrated that the voters were falsely induced to vote on this tax if a penny of it goes toward a new professional sports stadium." 

The Rays are also counting on a reported $150 million in state funding to rebuild the campus of Hillsborough Community College, which would be west of the stadium on its current property.

The Rays have pledged to pay at least $1.3 billion for the ballpark, with the 113-acre site expected to create 7,400 jobs over 30 years. 

What's next:

The ballpark is expected to open in 2029, provided the county and city approve the deal. County commissioners expect to be sued over the CIT funding.

The Rays hope to have the deal finalized by June 1, with votes scheduled for the first week of May.