A new $1.3 billion stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays will soon rise on what is now a Tropicana Field parking lot.
Pinellas County Commissioners voted 5-2 Tuesday to invest more than $312 million in tourist tax money for the ballpark, the centerpiece of a project that will help transform the site into a mixed-use development that includes offices, housing and hotel rooms.
The county's money would come from a 6% tourist development tax levied on hotel or rental room fees. It can be spent only on tourist-related and economic development expenses, including stadiums.
The commission’s approval comes 12 days after the St. Petersburg City Council voted 5-3 to pitch in its part of the deal, $287.5 million for the ballpark and $130 million for infrastructure for the surrounding 86-acre redevelopment.
The rest of the $6.5 billion project would mainly be funded by a partnership between the Rays and the Houston-based Hines global development company.
The entire project is being billed as the largest redevelopment plan in the county's history.
Commissioner Janet Long said the impact will be felt for decades.
“This vote we are poised to take today is more than about a baseball stadium,” she said. “It is a transformational once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That isn't just for us today. It is for our future generations.”
Commissioner Dave Eggers cast one of the no votes after asking for a 30-day extension to see if the county could get a better deal.
"Think about what you can do to make this deal better, " Eggers said, "that it brings the community together a little bit more, that provides a little less debt from this county, a little less debt from the city to be used in other areas."
He was joined by Commissioner Chris Latvala.
"I want professional baseball to stay here. I want the Rays to stay here," Latvala said. "But at what price? If we were able to spread our $312 million over the course of a decade or two, I may be a yes. By paying it all upfront, we will be financing our portion at a cost of about $615 million. That will be a little over $20 million a year over the next 30 years."
The fixed-roof, 30,000-seat stadium is expected to be ready for play in spring 2028. The proposal would anchor the Rays in St. Petersburg for at least 30 years. The team's lease at Tropicana Field ends after the 2027 season, so Tuesday's vote ends nearly two decades of uncertainty over the team's future home.
Although local business and political leadership have mostly supported the investment, there have been detractors concerned about spending tax money on other community needs and the return on public investment in sports stadiums.
“The economic benefits promised by proponents of publicly funded sports stadiums fail to materialize time and time again," said Skylar Zander, the group's state director. “Studies have consistently shown that the return on investment for such projects is questionable at best, with most of the economic gains flowing to private interests rather than the general public.”
A key part of the deal is the redevelopment plan. It includes affordable housing, a hotel, a Black history museum, green space, entertainment venues, and office and retail space, including a supermarket.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch promises it will bring thousands of new jobs during construction and after.
While the stadium, which will rise just west of Tropicana Field’s footprint, is expected to be complete by 2028, the entire project will take decades to complete.
Commissioner Rene Flowers said the investment will help right a wrong from decades ago, when the mostly African American neighborhood known as the Historic Gas Plant District was bulldozed in the 1980s, before the building of Tropicana Field.
Years earlier, the city used eminent domain to acquire the land and began displacing residents and promising to build affordable housing and an industrial park. Then more homes, businesses and churches were lost when Interstate 175 was built. And in 1988, the city council voted to build the stadium there in hopes of attracting a Major League Baseball team before Tampa.
"For this construction development property, we're talking about over 30 years where this could make a true difference in the meaningful lives of people that reside in south St. Petersburg," Flowers said.
The Rays typically draw among the lowest attendance in MLB, even though the team has made the playoffs five years in a row.
Because of that, there have been years of discussion of where the Rays would play after the conclusion of the lease. That included possible moves across the bay to Tampa, or even relocation to Nashville, Charlotte or Portland. At one point, the Rays proposed splitting games between St. Petersburg and Montreal, an idea MLB rejected.
“This is quite a momentous day for our franchise, our fans and the entire Tampa Bay region -- the Rays are here to stay in St. Petersburg,’’ Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement.
The ballpark plan is part of a wave of construction or renovation projects at sports venues across the country, including the Milwaukee Brewers, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Athletics, who are planning to relocate to Las Vegas.
Like the Rays proposal, all the projects come with millions of dollars in public funding that usually draws opposition.
Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred, who recently settled the Athletics' plans after the team unsuccessful tried to get a stadium built with public money in Oakland, added: “This is a great day for the Tampa Bay Rays and their entire community,"
The Athletics, whose Oakland lease ends after this season, have agreed to play in Sacramento until their Las Vegas stadium is ready.
Information from WUSF’s Rick Mayer and the Associated Press was used in this report.
