One of the main sticking points in getting a stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays built in Tampa revolves around a little-known funding source.
It's called a CRA — or community redevelopment agency — which reinvests property tax growth generated from the improvements back into the area. The Rays are counting on getting $100 million from the CRA based in the Drew Park neighborhood of West Tampa, where the stadium would be located.
The money would be given upfront to the team by bonds issued by the CRA and paid back over time as tax revenues increase in the district.
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Rays CEO Ken Babby made his pitch to the agency board at a special meeting of a Drew Park CRA citizens advisory committee on Wednesday night.
Board members told Babby they don't want all the future money going to the team. Babby said the larger community would benefit from what is called the "halo effect."
"The halo effect for businesses and home values around the project will move very, very favorably, generating additional revenues beyond that," he told the board. "The notion of a halo effect around a development has impact well beyond just the district itself.".
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The team is negotiating with Tampa and Hillsborough County to help pay for the $2.3 billion indoor stadium, which would be the anchor of a multiuse district on land now used by Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus. The Rays have said they plan to invest at least $8 billion in the surrounding development. The team wants the stadium open by spring 2029.
That disruption to the campus — which would be moved to one corner of the site — and expectations of traffic jams were among the concerns aired by Drew Park residents during the meeting.
"When you start construction, you are going to destroy Drew Park," Sandy Sanchez, a community activist, told CRA board members. "Between the construction, the dust, nobody is going to come to those businesses in Drew Park. They're going to avoid it."
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Tampa City Council narrowly voted in May to continue negotiations with the team. Under a 32-page nonbinding memorandum of understanding, Tampa would pay $80 million from its share of the recently renewed Community Investment Tax. Rather than being used upfront for bonding, $20 million would be allocated annually for four years.
The city council also acts as the Tampa CRA board, which develops and implements plans that addresses the needs of each redevelopment area. The board is slated to vote on approving the MOU at a meeting Thursday, but it there is a motion to postpone that until July 23.
The Drew Park CRA covers is bounded by Hillsborough Avenue to the north, Dale Mabry Highway to the east, Tampa Bay Boulevard to the south, and Tampa International Airport to the west.
According to census statistics, Drew Park has about 650 homes and 1,700 residents, with more than 25% below the poverty line. Beyond the college and New York Yankees’ spring training facility, Drew Park is home to a mix of light industrial businesses, manufacturers, warehouses, contractors, auto dealerships, with restaurants and retail along its major corridors.
The Drew Park CRA, established in 1987, is among the smallest revenue-producing redevelopment areas in Tampa. Supporters of the stadium project say the surrounding development would transform it into one of the city’s higher-producing CRAs within several years.
