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Rays Tampa stadium proposal
As the deadline nears, the Tampa Bay Rays have submitted funding plans for a new Tampa stadium. FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa city and Hillsborough County leaders are pouring through a proposal released by the Rays on Thursday as they prepare to make one of the biggest decisions in the histories of Tampa and Hillsborough County: should the public fund a new Rays stadium on Tampa's west side?
The team's draft proposal calls for $750 million in public money from Hillsborough County, and another $250 million from the City of Tampa to build a stadium across the street from Raymond James Stadium.
"I think we should continue to talk about this every meeting as we learn more information," said councilor Lynne Hurtak.
Dig deeper:
The Rays released their proposal on Thursday for the new ballpark.
They say the stadium will cost $2.3 billion.
"There's a lot to look at. We have to do a deep dive." said councilor Luis Viera. "This is going to probably the biggest vote that any of us have taken."
Councilors oversee the Drew Park CRA, which the Rays want to be a key funding source.
What they're saying:
Some already have questions over how much the CRA will take in if a ballpark is built and whether the RAYS proposed capture of 85% of it is appropriate.
"Do you have any other questions that you want us to consider?" Hurtak asked councilors on Thursday. "I'm going to write these down."
The least-controversial aspect of the Rays' funding pitch is the tourist tax, while the most controversial is the use of the CIT sales tax, which voters approved in 2024 to be used for infrastructure and schools.
A legal opinion is forthcoming.
Previous Coverage: Tampa Bay Rays release memorandum outlining framework for new $2.3B stadium plan in Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County Commissioner Josh Wostal expects the county to be sued if it does try to use it, and also is concerned that the Rays want all the revenue from the development and to funnel new CRA money into their own capital improvement fund.
"It wasn't even a serious effort by the team to get us to the table," said Wostal.
But others point out that the Rays say they'd be responsible for the insurance and not saddle local government with fix-its, as happened with Tropicana Field and the city of St. Pete.
There are many questions going into a county workshop next week, where the hope is funding numbers will finally be available.
"This is a draft, and the key word is a draft," said councilor Alan Clendenin. "There are still a lot of issues outstanding that have to be worked on."
What's next:
Another big question being raised by Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise is whether the county can afford to use money for the Rays and still have enough for their current tenants, the Lightning and the Yankees.
Votes at the city and county level could happen by mid-May, with the Rays calling for it to be approved by June 1.
The Source: Information for this story came from the April 9th Tampa City Council meeting, interviews with elected officials, both on and off-the-record.