Property tax overhaul raises stakes for Rays stadium vote
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Rendering: Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays
The first major financial decision facing Hillsborough County after voters approved a sweeping property tax overhaul is whether to advance funding for a new Rays stadium.
Why it matters: Commissioners are being asked to commit hundreds of millions of dollars toward a ballpark while county staff warn of possible layoffs and service cuts.
- The stadium deal would tie up more than $300 million from the county's half-cent sales tax, one of its few remaining tools to offset the forthcoming losses.
Driving the news: The outgoing County Commission is set to vote Tuesday on a four-part stadium financing package.
- Two votes involve the half-cent sales tax. One adds the ballpark to its project list, and the other sets aside $90 million for the stadium, the first of four annual installments.
- Another two involve the tourist development tax. One lets that money go toward the stadium, including $40 million in cash, and the other authorizes borrowing up to $263 million.
Follow the money: In all, Hillsborough County would put up to $796 million toward the stadium, primarily drawn from the half-cent sales tax and tourist development taxes.
- Tampa would contribute up to $80 million for the stadium, paid in four annual installments, to be used for roads, sidewalks, parking and other public infrastructure around the site.
- The team would cover the remaining cost of the $2.36 billion ballpark, plus any overruns.
Between the lines: Commissioners Donna Cameron Cepeda and Joshua Wostal are sure "no" votes, which leaves the five commissioners who backed the deal in August with little room to waver.
- Losing two of them could stall the court validation the county needs before it can issue bonds, a process that already takes months.
The bottom line: The team is racing against an ambitious construction timeline.
- How much delay it can stomach is anyone's guess.