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Rays stadium deal agreement reached
Hillsborough County, the city of Tampa and the Tampa Bay Rays have reached a memorandum of understanding in a deal to build a stadium for the Rays on the city's west side. FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - A memorandum of understanding has been reached between the Tampa Bay Rays, Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa on a $2.3 billion ballpark that would be built on the campus of Hillsborough College in West Tampa.
The Hillsborough County attorney said in a memo to county employees, "Please note that this agreement is nonbinding and there are many issues which remain pending to be resolved prior to any definitive documents being brought forward for approval."
Public funding proposal
By the numbers:
The proposal has the county contributing about $796 million and the city of Tampa contributing about $180 million.
That represents an increase for the county, whose original bottom line was $750 million.
Courtesy: Tampa Bay Rays
It's a decrease for the city of Tampa, which had originally been asked for about $250 million.
The combined ask would be about $976 million, which is under the original $1 billion ask.
According to the memorandum of understanding released Thursday, the Rays would contribute approximately $1.27 billion — plus any construction cost overruns, representing roughly 55% of the total project cost. No new taxes will be created to fund the project.
The MOU also outlines additional funding sources, including approximately $303 million from tourist development tax bonds and reserves, roughly $440 million in Community Investment Tax (CIT) contributions from the county and city, about $103 million in other county resources, and approximately $100 million from Drew Park CRA tax increment revenue.
The agreement also references about $30 million in federal disaster recovery reimbursement funds for stormwater infrastructure improvements and another estimated $54 million in other public funding sources.
The backstory:
Several weeks ago, Hillsborough County commissioners and the Rays organization went back and forth over dozens of sticking points that came up in a previous draft of an MOU.
In addition to a new 31,000-seat enclosed stadium, plans call for a massive redevelopment of more than 100 acres, including new housing, office and retail space, entertainment and a rebuilt Hillsborough Community College Campus.
"This is not just a stadium deal. This is the recreation of 120 acres of really what is now surface parking lots, asphalt, a college that is buildings that are at the end of their life. The state of Florida is gonna rebuild Hillsborough College," Tampa City Councilman Alan Clendenin said.
Clendenin says to him, it seems the county has also worked to get the best deal possible.
"Those people have driven a hard bargain. They have squeezed and squeezed and squeezed, and I think that the deal that the county commissioners are going to be present will be a good deal for them as well. I anticipate [the MOU] moving past the county and coming towards the city," Clendenin said.
Economic impact
What they're saying:
Clendenin has been publicly supportive of the project and is encouraged by the MOU being reached.
Clendenin says city staff pushed hard to protect the taxpayers, and that much of the city’s contribution will be recoverable through the revenue created by the project itself.
"To have this amount of investment come to the city of Tampa is absolutely remarkable, and we'll never see another thing like this," Clendenin said." So, this is great. Right now, what it's looking like is a commitment from the city of Tampa of somewhere maybe even a little bit less than $190 million. And of that, it's all going to be recoverable. Through increasing valuation and money that's brought into the city. So, this is an exciting time."
The Rays organization has said that sticking to a June 1 approval is critical to getting the project built on the current proposed budget.
The Rays released a statement that urged swift passage of the MOU, and also said:
"Paramount for the Tampa Bay Rays in this process was to arrive at an MOU that protects all public funding currently allocated for police, fire, emergency management or response functions, or other previously committed public safety or service priorities. We have accomplished that important and unconditional goal."
The MOU specifically states that no public funding allocated for police, fire rescue, law enforcement, EMS or other essential public safety services would be reduced as part of the project.
The agreement also calls for what officials described as the largest community benefits agreement in Tampa and Hillsborough County history, including investments in workforce development, local hiring, youth programs, neighborhood improvements and direct community investment.
What's next:
The Florida Legislature is in a special session to approve the state budget, which could include $150 million for the college.
The goal is to have the stadium open by the 2029 baseball season, and to build a host of other developments around the ballpark that would create 7,500 jobs.
Hillsborough College would also be remade as part of the redevelopment project.
The goal is to have public votes done in the next several weeks, with Hillsborough County commissioners placing it on their agenda for May 20.
Tampa City Council could vote on the project on May 21.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered from a memorandum of understanding between the Tampa Bay Rays, Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa, an interview with a Tampa city councilman and previous FOX 13 News reporting.