Rays Stadium & Financing
Following the money. Separating the stadium from the surrounding development. Asking who pays, who benefits, who assumes the risk --and what Tampa receives in return.
A new Rays stadium could be one of the largest and most consequential development decisions Tampa Bay makes in decades.
I support keeping Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay. But supporting the Rays does not mean taxpayers should accept a deal without understanding exactly how it works.
Before any agreement is approved, the public deserves clear numbers, clear terms and clear answers.
THE CURRENT PROPOSAL
The proposed Rays ballpark would be built at Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry campus as part of a much larger mixed-use district. The ballpark is currently estimated at approximately $2.3 billion.
The May framework contemplated a public contribution capped at approximately $976 million, with the Rays privately financing roughly $1.27 billion and assuming construction cost overruns. The surrounding mixed-use development is proposed as privately financed.
But the City's portion of the deal is now being renegotiated.
Councilman Bill Carlson has proposed replacing the City's earlier contribution structure with an $80 million advance, paid as four annual $20 million installments. Under his proposal, the City would be repaid from a share of future property-tax growth generated within the new stadium/development district.
That raises an important question: Is this truly a repayment structure—and if so, what guarantees Tampa taxpayers are made whole?
FOLLOW THE $80 MILLION
Calling the City's contribution an “advance” rather than a subsidy does not answer the most important questions. Before Tampa commits public money, residents deserve to understand exactly how the transaction works.
Here are the questions I am asking:
Where is the $80 million coming from?
What exactly are we paying for?
Who pays us back?
How long does it take to get our money back?
What happens if the development doesn't bring in the money they're projecting?
Do we earn anything on our $80 Million while it's out?
And the question I keep coming back to:
If the Rays have said the project can move forward without a City of Tampa contribution, why should Tampa advance $80 million at all?
These questions don't mean the proposal is good or bad. They mean the public deserves the answers before the vote—not after it.
WHAT WE ARE WAITING FOR
Right now, the City is waiting on Hillsborough County.
The County is leading the stadium negotiations, but its final proposal has not yet been presented. Until it is, we don't have the complete picture of what this deal will actually look like.
And I still have another question: What should this stadium actually cost?
We keep hearing $2.3 billion. Before taxpayers are asked to participate in a deal of this size, I want to understand what's included in that number and how it compares with other new Major League Baseball stadiums. This amount would make it one of the most expensive stadiums in the country.
Ill update this page as we get new information and documents.