Negotiations to build a stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa may not be going as fast as the team's new ownership had hoped.
Hillsborough County commissioners said they wanted to have a financing package for the estimated $2.3 billion project ready for their April 1 meeting. But published reports have said that will be delayed until April 15 at the earliest.
The team said it will pay half of the construction cost, leaving $1 billion-plus that would require public money. Some will come from county tourist bed taxes and the recently renewed Community Investment Tax. Officials had presented the CIT renewal to the public as not being intended for stadiums.
Tampa City Council would also likely be asked to contribute and has a meeting scheduled April 16, the day after the county commission meets.
During a recent community meeting at Hillsborough College, Rays CEO Ken Babby said any public money for the stadium would not affect other community projects. He added the Rays will take on all cost overruns.
"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.
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The Rays want to build a 30,000-seat indoor stadium on land now used by the Dale Mabry campus of Hillsborough College. Their current lease at Tropicana Field ends after the 2028 season.
The college would be relocated and rebuilt o the west end of the property along Lois Avenue.
The Rays would build surrounding development, including hotels, offices, restaurants, residential and recreational areas, that would be “100 percent” privately financed, with tax dollars from the district used to eventually pay off the tab.
The Rays have scheduled two more public engagement meetings in South Tampa.
On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Press Box, 222 S. Dale Mabry Highway, Babby will lead a “relaxed, informal conversation” about the Rays’ vision for the development on the eve of Major League Baseball's opening day.
On April 1 at 6:30 p.m., in the Robinson High School auditorium, 6311 S. Lois Ave., Babby and key project partnerswill present an overview of the project, followed by a Q&A.
Babby said three previous public sessions were “incredibly productive and insightful.”
“Each session gives us a better understanding of how we can create a Forever Home that is rooted in collaboration and partnership with our community,” Babby said in a statement from the team.
