The Tampa City Council's Rays stadium workshop posed many of the same questions as Hillsborough County's — and yielded just as few answers.

Why it matters: There's less than a month until the Rays' June 1 deadline to approve a stadium deal, which the team says is needed to ensure the new ballpark will be ready for Opening Day 2029.

• Rays CEO Ken Babby, Hillsborough College president Ken Atwater and members of the public, many in Rays merchandise, had the opportunity to address council members.

Here are a few of our takeaways from Tuesday's workshop:

⚾️ Fans stack meeting: Tuesday's workshop (which, unlike Hillsborough's, allowed public comment) drew so many people that dozens spilled into an overflow area. The meeting lasted nearly four hours.

• On X, the team had urged fans to attend, wear Rays gear and show support for the new stadium. Fans applauded Babby after his address to the city council (and were promptly reprimanded).
• During public comment, fans pleaded for council members not to be the "stewards that ... send this team to Orlando."

💸 Money talks: The central question (and concern) of Tuesday's workshop was how much public money would go into a new stadium and how much money it would generate in turn.

• It's still unclear how much of the new stadium's total footprint, including the surrounding mixed-use district, would be subject to property taxes. Babby declined to address the question, as it's still being negotiated.
• Yes, but: The Rays told the county that they intend for the planned mixed-use district surrounding the stadium to be "fully taxable," while the stadium would be county-owned and therefore tax-exempt.
• Council member Lynn Hurtak also raised concerns about the impact of a possible statewide property tax cut — which would devastate the city's budget — and about the half-cent sales tax's dismal projections.
• Hurtak asked what would happen should the city not be able to foot its portion of the deal, a question that went unanswered. (A draft agreement, however, would put the onus on the city to find alternatives.)

🙅 Tax office relocation: The Rays want to build the mixed-use district on land currently occupied by one of the Hillsborough County tax collector's busiest offices — a move that agency opposes.

• The office serves about 900 customers each day from West Tampa, Town and County, South Tampa, West Shore and surrounding neighborhoods.
• Chief deputy tax collector Jennifer Castro told council members that a new facility could cost taxpayers $15-20 million.
• "We are committed to being good partners in Tampa's future, but we cannot stand by while our busiest office is in jeopardy without a funded replacement plan," she added.

Share this story

If you're looking for last-minute Mother's Day plans, we've got you.

• Here are some unique ways to celebrate:

🏆 With shuffleboard: Spend some quality time over a round of this very Florida pastime at St. Pete Shuffle. Equipment and lessons will be provided. BYOB.

• 9am-noon Sunday. Moms and kids under 16 play free.

🐠 With the fishies: Head to Clearwater Marine Aquarium for brunch, a flower bar and all-day aquarium admission. Moms get a free mimosa.

• 9:30am-noon Sunday. $80 for adults and kids 12 and older, $55 for kids 3-11, free for younger children. Buy tickets here.

🛍️ With a market: Shop art, jewelry, plants and more from more than 50 local vendors at 3 Daughters Brewing's annual Mom's Market. Turn it into a sip-and-shop with a bev — 3 Daughters has tons of options.

• 11am-5pm Sunday.

💃 With bachata: Get mom on the dance floor with free bachata lessons and an evening of dancing. Plus: Latin music and food and drinks for purchase from Salsa My Love food truck and Outcast Brewing Company.

• 4-8:30pm Sunday, Outcast Brewing Company in St. Pete. Free.

🧘 With yoga: Let out some stress with free Mother's Day Yin and sound bath classes at St. Pete's Half Pigeon Yoga Studio.

• 9-10am Saturday and Sunday. Sign up here.

🕯️ With crafts: Design a paint-pour vase and make a candle from scratch during this class at the DIY Room in Tampa.

• 12:30-2:30pm Saturday. $60. Buy tickets here.

Share with your siblings

🎤 Tampa Mayor Jane Castor delivered her last State of the City address yesterday, touting her investments in East Tampa as well as in infrastructure and resilience in the wake of the 2024 hurricane season. (Tampa Bay Times)

✈️ Breeze Airways has announced two new nonstop international routes from Tampa International Airport to Cancun, Mexico, and Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, starting this December. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

The University of South Florida will award posthumous doctoral degrees to the two students killed last month. (Tampa Bay 28)

👋 Kathryn and Yacob here. We were already feeling sheepish about not having tried Rocca when it was awarded a Michelin star in 2023.

• Then, in March, the James Beard Awards named owner Bryce Bonsack a finalist in the Best Chef: South category. We made a reservation that day.

State of yum: It finally came on Sunday, and from the fantastic service alone, we knew we were in for an elevated experience.

Best bites: The starters rocked our world. The bread with lemon butter ($8) was heavenly. The broccolini ($25), recommended by our server, was also fire.

• And the mozzarella cart ($49), in which a staffer pulls a giant hunk of mozz tableside, is That Girl.
• In the pasta department, Kathryn loved the tortello all'uovo ($26) and agnolotti ($28).

Plus: Don't sleep on the cocktails! We loved the puttanesca martini ($20), flowers in her hair ($18) and love language ($18).

Yes, but: We weren't as impressed with the tagliolini al ragu ($28) and the linguine al tonno ($34).

• Don't get us wrong — we still cleared our plates — but they weren't on the same level as the other dishes.

8-word review: Would go back for the mozz cart alone.

If you go: Reservations are highly recommended.

Tell a friend

Sometimes we brave Tampa Bay traffic and a bridge or two to get together — and it's worth it every time.

• Thanks for being part of our adventures ❤️