A new Rays stadium in Tampa gets clinching Hillsborough County approval

The new owners of the Tampa Bay Rays are getting their wish: a new stadium in Tampa

The Hillsborough County Commission voted 5-2 in favor of the stadium along with a mixed-use development and new campus for Hillsborough College on its property on Dale Mabry in Tampa.

It paves the way for construction to begin in time for it to be ready for the 2029 baseball season.

The county's approval comes a day after the Tampa City Council voted 4-3 to pass the financing agreement, and allows the team to begin bond validation and get shovels in the ground next month.

Commission Chair Ken Hagan voted yes, along with commissioners Harry Cohen, Gwen Myers, Christine Miller and Chris Boles.

Donna Cameron Cepeda and Joshua Wostal voted no.

"With deep gratitude, we commend Hillsborough County Chair Ken Hagan and his fellow elected officials for their vision and support," Rays CEO Ken Babby said in a statement. "We are also grateful to Dr. Ken Atwater, president of Hillsborough College, who has been an inspiration throughout this journey. We all have more work ahead, but there is no question our partnership will ensure a cohesive and successful process."

Added Patrick Zalupski, the team's managing partner and co-chair: "This has been a long and challenging process, and we know that transformational projects rarely come easily. Today’s vote represents an extraordinary milestone — not simply for the Rays or for a ballpark, but for the future of Tampa and the entire Tampa Bay region."

The contract covers stadium construction on a 115-acre Drew Park parcel now used by Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus. A privately funded multi-use development would go around the ballpark — and provide home-rule tax-increment funds (TIF) to help pay for stadium infrastructure.

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The county’s investment is significantly more than the city’s. It 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 unspecified funds and $30 million in federal disaster-recovery money.

That is $100 million less than the amount specified in a memorandum of understanding that commissioners approved, 5-2, in May.

"To be a world-class community requires vision, courage, bold leadership, and the ability to think big," Hagan said prior to the vote. "If you're willing to do that, and if you want to be part of the largest, most transformative development in Hillsborough County's history, then today's vote should be a slam dunk."

On the other side of the vote was Commissioner Joshua Wostal, who lamented the inclusion of Community Investment sales taxes that was marketed to voters as not being used to build new stadiums.

"This is money that was dedicated and promised and marketed to the community in 2024 that we would prioritize their needs over other people's wants," Wostal said, "and any yes vote on that going towards anything but protecting the community is a continued dereliction of duty."

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor praised the commissioners.

"I want to thank the county commission for their partnership and for seeing what this agreement means for our region, jobs, investment, and for a destination our entire community can be proud of," Castor said in a social media post. "Tampa fought for is opportunity, and Tampa is going to deliver."

Much of the agreement was negotiated by county attorney Julia Mandell, who says points she guided includes terms that protected the county and city as much as possible.

Tampa’s part of the plan was for $80 million for infrastructure paid out of a new Community Development District that would collect TIF revenue, which will be distributed between the city, county and CDD based on taxable assessed value.

Members of the city's staff attended the meeting.

The financial particulars

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 city terms were completely renegotiated from the MOU, which had sought $80 from the city’s part of the CIT and $100 million from redevelopment district created to benefit the Drew Park neighborhood.

The Rays will cover more than $1.3 billion and all cost overruns.

ALSO READ: Renderings show a 'reimagined' Hillsborough College campus in the Rays' stadium district

Prior to his vote in favor of the project, Cohen described what he called the "intangibles" that would result from the stadium. Primarily, the positive exposure for the Tampa Bay area.

"We've shown that we can win championships in this community," Cohen said. "And when we do, and when the network television cameras pan over Hillsborough County and they look over the sun setting over the bay, and a worldwide television audience sees this community, you know what they're gonna say to themselves? That's the place I want to be. That's the place I want to live. That's the place I want to visit. That's the place I want to open my business. That's the place I want to raise my family.

"This is our moment to decide what kind of community we want to be. I want to be a No. 1 community. I want to be a leading community. I want this to be a community that has three professional sports because we're able to exist in the top tier of cities and counties in this country."

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A key part of the deal is the Rays’ pledge to honor a Community Benefits Agreement. The team released a framework this week that included affordable housing, local hiring, minority- and women-owned business enterprises, small-business and workforce development and youth programs.

The county will receive 65% of the community benefits commitments and the city 35%. Each municipality can determine what benefits they would request at a later date.

Concerns going in

Going into the meeting, there was concern about whether some of the deal’s financial safeguards would actually protect the county. Mandell brought those concerns to the negotiating table.

Boles, who voted for the MOU, had raised questions about the timing of the county’s $360 million CIT commitment, including what happens if the state does not provide the full $100 million promised for improvements to Lithia Pinecrest Road.

The agreement gives the county until 2031 to reduce its contribution, but the county’s four $90 million payments would be complete by 2029.

Boles also questioned whether the county was getting enough in return for its substantially larger share of the public contribution. In particular, he questioned the proposed benefits agreement, which would allocate 65% of the value of community benefits to the county and 35% to the city, but does not set a dollar value in the stadium agreement.

He asked for a guaranteed minimum, an annual schedule and clear rules for determining the value of cash and in-kind benefits. That was also an issue during the city council's discussion.

He also questioned how quickly public money could be spent relative to the team’s contribution, and what protections would apply if the ballpark were sold or transferred.

Miller was visibly frustrated by the attention Tampa City Council member Bill Carlson received for his last-minute changes to the stadium deal. But Carlson’s push to restructure the city’s $80 million contribution, keep the Drew Park CRA money out of the project and extend the East Tampa CRA ultimately helped address concerns on the city side and paved the way for Tampa to approve its portion of the agreement.

One of the last sticking points on the city side involved the East Tampa CRA. The city agreed to extend the CRA for another 30 years, through 2064, as part of the stadium deal. But the county would not commit to continuing its share of the tax increment after the CRA’s existing 2034 sunset, leaving city officials concerned that the extension could continue on paper while losing a key source of funding.

This is a developing story. Stay with WUSF for updates.