The Tampa Bay Rays held their first meeting with the general public Tuesday night on plans to build a new stadium.
About 100 people showed up at Hillsborough College's student services building, which would likely have to be demolished. There, Rays CEO Ken Babby said they're committed to paying at least half the cost of building the estimated $2.3 billion stadium.
But he pledged any public money would not impact other projects.
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"We took a no-harm approach to the work that we're doing. No part of our financial proposal will take funding away from other priorities that the city and county have committed to," Babby said. "No part of our financial proposal will take money away from other sports teams in the community that desperately also have asked for resources around an opportunity. The Rays will take on 100% of cost overruns on the ballpark."
The Rays hope to move into the new stadium for the 2029 season.
The 130-acre development would include hotels, offices and restaurants, whose tax dollars could be used to eventually pay off the tab. The city and county would pick up the remainder. Where that money will come from still needs to be worked out.
The Rays' ownership, which bought the team last year, is looking for a public-private partnership, and any deal would have to include support from the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County.
And if the Rays get to build a new stadium and development complex, what would happen to the students while it's being built?
They got one possible answer from Hillsborough College President Ken Atwater. He said some programs, such as athletics and classes, may have to move off-site.
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"It may mean instead of moving to temporary, we move to rental facilities or some other location or we share locations for some of our other sister institutions like the University of Tampa or like USF, which may be a possibility," Atwater said. "We will adjust accordingly, but believe me we will remain open and available to deliver the instruction we do."
A new campus would be built on the west side of the property, along Lois Avenue.
Atwater told the students to look at the long-range picture of having a completely rebuilt campus.
"I want us to always look at the prize at the very end of this journey, but I will be the first to tell you there will be some inconvenience that's going to happen in the process of going on this journey," Atwater said. "The opportunity for moving from stable facilities to temporary facilities is one.
"There are deals that we're making in order to maintain all of our program, especially our athletic program. You will see that we'll be using community gyms, high school facilities, and other facilities here in the area to help support making that happen."
