Hillsborough approves stadium deal, clearing path for Rays' Tampa future
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Rendering: Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays
The Hillsborough County Commission signed off on a $2.3 billion stadium for the Rays at Hillsborough College.
Why it matters: The deal represents the largest commitment of taxpayer dollars to a sports stadium in the region's history.
Driving the news: This vote brings to a close Commissioner Ken Hagan's 16-year campaign to bring the Rays to Hillsborough County, and Tampa's four-decade quest to land a Major League Baseball team.
- The County Commission's swing votes came from Christine Miller and Chris Boles, who backed the deal after initially questioning the city's share of the funding and the Rays' rushed timeline.
- Commissioners Joshua Wostal and Donna Cameron Cepeda voted "no" on the deal, taking issue with the county's use of the voter-approved half-cent sales tax.
Zoom in: The Rays will now move forward with plans to build a 113-acre, mixed-use ballpark district at the site of Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry campus, all in time for Opening Day 2029.
- To do so, existing buildings at Hillsborough College will be razed and reimagined into a sleek, modern campus that will anchor what the Rays have dubbed "Innovation Edge."
- The team's construction timeline begins with site preparation in September, followed by demolition in December and work on the stadium's foundation in March.
Follow the money: Hillsborough County will put up to $796 million toward the stadium, primarily drawn from the half-cent sales tax and tourist development taxes.
- Tampa will contribute up to $80 million for the stadium, paid in four annual installments, to be used for roads, sidewalks, parking and other public infrastructure.
- The Rays originally wanted $180 million from Tampa. Instead, the team is fronting $100 million itself, to be repaid with interest from the stadium district's future property tax revenue.
The big picture: We are not out of the woods yet.
- It wasn't so long ago that St. Petersburg and Pinellas County approved their own stadium deal, only to watch it unravel months later after hurricanes disrupted the project's timeline.
What's next: The project agreement lays out a series of milestones that each government must "endeavor to achieve," beginning with approval of the ballpark operating agreement by Oct. 31.
- The County Commission and Tampa City Council must then take up their respective interlocal agreements by Dec. 16 and Dec. 17. The make-or-break deadline, however, is June 30.
- If a Community Development District — the mechanism through which the city will repay the $100 million loan — is not established by then, the Rays can nuke the deal.
The bottom line: Decades ago, Tampa lost the fight for a baseball team to its neighbor across the Bay.
- Now, it gets another chance.
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.