The Hillsborough County Commission on Wednesday approved spending $18 million in tourist tax dollars to renovate Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees.
Enhancements for the county-owned stadium would include a new entry plaza, scoreboard and video displays, sound system, seating, lighting, safety enhancements, loge shading, magnatometers and more.
The money must first be approved by the county's Tourist Development Council. No general taxpayer dollars will be used.
Commissioner Ken Hagan said the Yankees recently invested nearly $22 million in improvements to the ballpark. Those additions included a two-level weight room, therapy pools, sauna red-light therapy, four batting cages and an indoor/outdoor dining area.
"Which, interestingly enough, that investment is what actually incentivized the Rays to play in Steinbrenner Field this year instead of closer ballparks in Pinellas County," he said. "So they've been great partners, and they're certainly at the table with a significant investment as well."
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The Tampa Bay Rays played their 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field because of hurricane damage to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
Hagan said keeping the Yankees in Tampa was worth the investment.
"The Yankees have been incredible partners for decades, and they showed their true sense of community by allowing the Rays to play Steinbrenner Field this past season, something they did not have to do," he said. "Steinbrenner Field is a county-owned asset, so it's in our best interest to maintain a first-class facility."
The vote was 6-1, with Donna Cameron Cepada the only nay.
Commissioner Joshua Wostal said he's against spending money to help wealthy baseball teams, but understands the county has a contractual obligation to keep the stadium in top shape.
"I do disagree that we should be paying for the sound systems, security cameras, lighting, magnometers for a major league team that's worth billions of dollars," he said. "But that being said, leaders of the past had made the decision to purchase this, and it is a county asset that requires us to maintain a safe standard where we could have possibly assumed liability for any harm."
The stadium, which opened in 1996, was last renovated by the county in 2016, when the Yankees extended their lease until 2046.
Commissioners also approved spending another $3 million from the tourist taxes on hotel rooms to design a major indoor sports facility in North Tampa. The Fieldhouse would include indoor basketball and volleyball courts — and potentially an ice rink — at the Museum of Science and Industry site on Fowler Avenue.
The facility would include 12 basketball courts and 24 volleyball courts.
About $2 million had already been designated for the project from money from the 2010 BP oil spill settlement.
Also, commissioners agreed to give $30 million in tourist bed tax money over the next two years to the Tampa Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau, which markets Hillsborough County to the outside world.
