The Community Redevelopment Agency, or CRA, has become one of the most important — and most misunderstood — pieces of the Tampa Bay Rays’ stadium proposal.
The Drew Park CRA is part of a proposed public financing package that would commit up to $100 million in future property tax revenue toward infrastructure tied to the proposed ballpark and surrounding development.
The plan is to build a $2.3 billion stadium on about 122 acres of land now occupied by Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry campus in Drew Park. The stadium would anchor a privately financed $8 billion district that includes residences, offices, stores, restaurants, a hotel, and new college buildings.
The debate over using CRA money is not simply about whether Drew Park should be redeveloped. It centers on whether the future growth in property values generated by the entire stadium district will produce enough tax revenue to support that commitment, and whether the CRA board had enough involvement in talks before being asked to approve the funding.
Members of the CRA board have said they may have sought alternatives to using CRA funds if they had been involved earlier in negotiations of a memorandum of understanding covering the stadium financing package.
What is a CRA?
Community Redevelopment Areas (or Agencies) are designated districts that use growth in property tax revenue within their boundaries to fund redevelopment and infrastructure projects within the district. The concept is known as tax-increment financing, or TIF, which captures future increases in property tax collections and reinvests them locally.
Under Florida law, local governments can create CRAs in areas facing conditions such as inadequate infrastructure, deteriorating buildings or shortages of affordable housing. There are more than 140 CRAs statewide, including nine in Tampa.
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What does the CRA board do?
In Tampa, CRAs are administered by the city. The city council acts as the CRA board, which develops and implements a plan that addresses the needs of each area. It decides where money derived from tax-increment financing is invested. The board chair is Naya Young. The agency director is Cedric McCray. The CRA attorney is Cliff Shepard.
How does tax-increment financing work?
When a CRA is created, the property values within the district are established as a baseline. As redevelopment occurs and property values increase, the additional property tax revenue above that baseline — known as the tax increment — goes to a special fund. The baseline amount still goes to the general city revenue.
Because future revenue is expected to grow, a CRA can often borrow against it by issuing bonds or using other financing tools. The borrowed money can be used for projects today, while the future tax growth is used to repay the debt over time.
The idea is that redevelopment will increase property values enough to generate the added revenue needed to help pay for the improvements.
Example: A district generates $1 million a year in property taxes when a CRA is created. The CRA issues bonds to borrow money for a redevelopment project. If that project causes property values to rise, property tax collections could rise as well. Let's say the district later generates $1.5 million a year in property taxes. The additional $500,000 in annual tax revenue can be captured and used to help repay the bonds.
What are the boundaries of the Drew Park CRA?
The Drew Park CRA covers roughly the same area as the Drew Park neighborhood, generally bounded by Hillsborough Avenue to the north, Dale Mabry Highway to the east, Tampa Bay Boulevard to the south, and the area adjacent to Tampa International Airport to the west.
According to census statistics, Drew Park has about 650 homes and 1,700 residents, with more than 25% below the poverty line. With mixed-use zoning, it primarily includes light industry, car dealerships and adult entertainment establishments. Major businesses are Hillsborough College and the New York Yankees’ spring training facility, Steinbrenner Field.
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Why is the CRA involved in the Rays’ stadium proposal?
The proposed stadium and surrounding development would be built within the Drew Park CRA boundaries. A nonbinding memorandum of understanding negotiated by the Rays, Hillsborough County Commission and Tampa mayor’s office called for $100 million in tax-increment funds from the CRA as part of a broader public funding package totaling about $976 million.
Under the MOU, the CRA would provide tax-increment revenue to help fund infrastructure connected to the stadium district.
The CRA board has yet to approve its part of the MOU and recently removed a vote on doing so from an Aug. 20 meeting. Afterward, Rays CEO Ken Babby pledged to talk directly with the CRA board (council members) in good faith.
What about the revenue produced in the Drew Park CRA?
According to filings, the Drew Park CRA, established in 1987, is among the smallest revenue-producing redevelopment districts in Tampa, historically generating only a few million dollars a year in tax-increment revenue — about $2.3 million in fiscal year 2023 and $2.8 million in fiscal year 2024.
An independent study by construction consultant AECOM projected the stadium development would increase the area's taxable value to about $1.4 billion by 2034, when the Drew Park CRA is scheduled to expire. AECOM also projected taxable value could reach $4.8 billion by 2058, assuming the city establishes a successor redevelopment district to continue capturing tax increment.
Why is using the CRA for the stadium controversial?
The concern is that the city is being asked to commit future tax growth before it exists at the scale being projected. That future growth depends heavily on whether the surrounding development is built as planned and performs as expected. Critics argue the CRA money is being effectively underwritten by projections, not proven results.
The main risks tied to future revenue uncertainty include whether property values rise as projected, whether the surrounding development is built fully and on schedule, and whether long-term tax growth matches projections.
Would the city have to dip into other funds if assumptions fall short?
Unlikely. If CRA revenues fall short of projections, there is generally no requirement for the city’s general fund to cover the difference. Instead, options could include restructuring or refinancing debt, scaling back or delaying projects, using existing CRA reserves, or extending the life of the CRA to capture additional future growth.
What makes this different from typical CRA projects?
The Drew Park CRA has not previously been used or issued major redevelopment bonds for a project of this financial scale. Supporters argue this is exactly what CRAs are for: using future growth to finance catalytic redevelopment.
Can using CRA funds for the stadium district reduce money for other Drew Park projects?
Potentially. If a significant portion of future tax growth is pledged to the stadium project, less CRA revenue may be available for other redevelopment projects during the period. Supporters counter that the stadium district would increase total tax growth enough to expand overall CRA capacity.
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Why is timing such a major issue?
The CRA vote, now delayed multiple times, had been expected to occur under a construction deadline tied to broader negotiations. However, the CRA board has canceled any vote while seeking:
- Direct involvement in the negotiations by CRA members and staff
- More review of financial assumptions
- Consideration of alternative funding structures
- Clarification of how CRA revenue projections were calculated
What is the core disagreement over the CRA?
Supporters believe the CRA should be used now because the stadium district will generate significant future property value growth.
Critics argue the CRA should not be committed at this stage because the scale and reliability of that future growth has not been sufficiently demonstrated.
Because the CRA operates under its own legal authority, board members say the mayor's staff cannot negotiate the use of CRA funds without their involvement. This impasse appears to be softening after the board vote to remove the stadium financing from upcoming meetings,
Bottom line
The Drew Park CRA vote is not about whether redevelopment should happen. It is about whether future property tax growth in the district should be pledged now – before the full development plan and revenue assumptions behind it are fully tested and agreed upon.
