One vote down, one to go. Tampa City Council on Thursday approved the deal to build a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium, leaving Hillsborough County commissioners to make the final decision Friday on the $2.3 billion project.
The city council vote was 4-3. Chair Alan Clendenin, Bill Carlson, Louis Viera and Naya Young voted yes. Charles Miranda, Linda Hurtak and Guido Maniscalco voted no.
Tampa’s end of the deal is significantly different than a memorandum of understanding approved in May. The changes were mostly negotiated by Carlson with the Rays over the past four weeks.
It turns out the swing vote was Young, who found favor in an extension to the East Tampa CRA, in her District 5. That was among the changes Carlson worked to include in the contract. She also felt a community benefits agreement by the Rays would be beneficial to constituents.
“This has nothing to do with baseball. This is about the community impact and opportunity,” she said in her closing statement. “The Rays and county and the city have all come together and compromised.”
The contract covers stadium construction on a 115-acre parcel now used by Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus. A privately funded multi-use development would go up around the ballpark over the 35-year lease.
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The city agreed to its contribution of four annual installments of $20 million to use only on infrastructure in the stadium district. The city would be paid back with interest from property tax growth collected from the multi-use development.
“There are no new taxes,” Carlson said. “And we are not taking taxes away from anyone else.”
Thank you, Tampa City Council, for approving to move forward with this historic agreement. Now we await the Hillsborough County Commissioners' vote tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/nYq8MDIAnK
— Jane Castor (@JaneCastor) August 27, 2026
Those annual payments would not be up front and would not go to the team. City attorney Scott Steady explained the money would be released on a reimbursement basis and only for completed improvements, a term recently added to the documents.
In the old deal, Tampa was to pay $80 million from the Community Investment Tax, plus $100 million from Tampa’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
City finance director Dennis Rogero explained an added incentive for the Rays to build out the private development, key to creating revenue to help pay for public investment in the deal.
A schedule divides future city/county tax-increment revenue generated by the district into three tiers based on taxable assessed value. For the first $350 million, 30% goes to the district and 70% remains with the city/county; for $351 million to $650 million, it’s split 50%-50%; and above $650 million, 85% goes to the district and 15% remains with the city/county.
The district’s share will be used under the agreement, while the city/county share is used in part to repay the city’s contribution plus interest.
Another recent change: While the county has agreed to a 10-year extension to the East Tampa Community Redevelopment Area, it will not continue contributing its tax-increment revenue after the original sunset in 2034. The city will continue with its contribution.
It did not flip Young’s vote.
“This deal is not perfect,” she said. “We can all admit that. But what I see is opportunity.”
County Attorney Julia Mandell said continuing that contribution could still be negotiated later. All CRA changes will require discussion and approval by the city’s CRA board, made up of the same council members.
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On Friday, the county commission will meet to vote on the project. Approval would allow the Rays to move ahead on bond validation and prepare the college with temporary classrooms and lot grading to ease the effect of construction.
The county contribution will be capped at $796 million, including $360 million from the Community Investment Tax, $263 million in Tourist Development Tax-backed funding, $103 million from other county funds and $30 million in federal disaster-recovery money.
Per the agreement, the city and county would contribute no more than $876 million toward the stadium project, while the Rays will cover more than $1.3 billion and all cost overruns.
In an overflowing council chamber, public comments were peacefully divided.
Several speakers against the project were concerned about the effect of the Amendment 3 measure on property tax cuts on the November ballot. Others raised concerns about the late release of the final contract.
“The reality is you guys don't have enough information. I sat in this room and I heard one of these attorneys say that they just were working on documentation on Tuesday. They couldn't answer questions,” said Amy Scott. “I am just asking, take a beat, wait until the (Nov. 3 vote) because this is your legacy.”
Some who favored the deal wanted the community to take advantage of the Rays’ community benefit commitments to things such as affordable housing, youth programs and job training, which are part of the deal. The documents also include extensions for the CRAs in Drew Park, East Tampa and West Tampa.
Michelle Dyson, a bartender at Tropicana Field, said officials are too quick to hand out public money but too skeptical of private investment.
“I don't see any financials. I don't see a lot of vetting. But then, when a private partner comes and steps up to the plate offering over a billion dollars to bring massive income growth, thousands of jobs, it switches gears,” she said.
Robin Lockett, a proponent of the stadium project, asked council members to not vote based on their political futures.
“I think about the affordable housing. I think about the infrastructure,” she said. “You cannot govern in fear.”
Endorsements came from the Tampa police union, hospitality industry, construction workers union and Westshore Alliance.
