The Tampa Bay Rays have reduced their public funding request for a new stadium to about $1 billion, but Hillsborough County officials say they still fall roughly $75 million short as key revenue assumptions come under pressure.
Hillsborough County commissioners discussed the proposal during a Thursday workshop, where staff said funding options remain under review and no agreement has been reached with the Rays or the city of Tampa.
Officials cautioned that closing the gap will likely require further negotiations with the team and additional concessions on both sides.
"I just want to say that it's very, very important in something like this, that we protect the taxpayer," Commissioner Harry Cohen said.
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The Rays are proposing a $2.3 billion stadium on roughly 130 acres on land currently used by Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus, with the team pledging to cover half the construction cost and all overruns.
The stadium would anchor a larger privately financed mixed-use development estimated, which is expected to generate long-term city and county tax revenues over 30 years that would, in part, help offset the public investment in the project. The project includes a rebuilt college paid for by the state.
During the workshop, the board listened to a presentation from county financial administrator Tom Fesler, who explained the Rays submitted a new memorandum of understanding that lowers their public request from $1.15 billion to about $1.001 billion.
The team presented an updated framework that includes $750 million from the county, $251 million from the city, and $64 million from other public sources to be determined.
ALSO READ: Rays' memorandum specifies requests for stadium deal, asks for CIT funds
The change largely reflects a reclassification of funding sources and “not necessarily because of a reduced expectation,” Fesler said.
The team’s lease at St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field ends in 2028, so it wants the new stadium open by April 2029. Negotiations are under a tight timeline, with a June 1 deadline for a financial agreement to voted on by the commission on May 6 and Tampa City Council on May 7.
The leaves a few weeks to resolve remaining differences in the financing plan. Commissioners agreed to move forward through "value engineering," i.e., building better without increasing cost.
“I would encourage staff to continue working on the remaining deal points internally and with the team,” Commission Chair Ken Hagan said. “And make every effort possible to resolve the outstanding issues in advance of our May 6 meeting. … I do recognize that this will require the team to make concessions on a number of issues.”
Several commissioners have balked at the use of money from a renewed half-cent sales tax, which had been marketed as not for building sports stadiums.
"A lot of people have questioned whether it really needs to be that expensive," Cohen said. "And if it does, we need to see why, and if it doesn't, the savings could easily be used to help satisfy some of these gaps that you've identified."
"I would love to be able to vote yes on this, but I can only vote yes on it if I'm absolutely convinced that it's the right thing for the community and for the taxpayers," he said, "and I think it's a marvelous opportunity for us, from a development point of view and also from the idea that we would have Major League Baseball here. It's been a dream of this community for a long time."
The Community Investment Tax was extended to 2041 by voters in 2024, “to fund infrastructure for transportation and public works, public safety, public facilities, public utilities and public schools.” It renews in December.
However, during the workshop an outside legal opinion was presented that said the fund could be used because the ballot language did not explicitly prohibit stadium financing.
Hagan, who has been involved in negotiations with the Rays, has said the project cannot go forward without tapping into the CIT funds.
ALSO READ: Analysis touts economic impact of Rays' proposed stadium-anchored development
A key issue remains with the surtax. County officials said it is no longer generating the level of revenue assumed in earlier versions of the proposal and is contributing to a projected shortfall in available funding. Officials said the gap is being driven by a combination of weaker-than-expected CIT collections.
Commissioner Joshua Wostal said he expects county officials to face legal action because the CIT was marketed to voters as not to be used to pay for new stadiums. He is opposed for other considerations as well.
"The quality of life is this will bring to the residents of West Tampa is going to be nothing less than detrimental at best and abusive at worst because it's not a traffic situation," he said. "it's a parking situation. It's cars in the ditch blocking off of lanes."
Cohen also did not want the other professional teams to be forgotten while talks amid the Rays' project. Just this week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sat down with the Tampa Sports Authority to discuss a major renovation of Raymond James Stadium that could cost up to $1 billion.
In addition, the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Yankees, who train at Steinbrenner Field, recently received community funds for facility renovations.
"I also just wanted to point out that the other teams are still a very important consideration for all of us," he said. "They've all expressed to me that they are working with the county to feel assurance that this (Rays) proposal will not negatively impact them ... I think it's really important that they weigh in."
The workshop agenda also included a review of the latest Rays proposal and an economic impact report from Dillon GIlman, a senior analysist with the consulting firm AECOM.
The report estimated the ballpark and its surrounding development would have an economic impact of $75 billion over 30 years. However, because there were no specifics on the surrounding development, much of the analysis was built on informed assumptions provided by the Rays.
