The Pinellas County Commission comes to bat Tuesday night with a chance to give final approval to a plan to build a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays as part of one of the biggest redevelopments in Pinellas County history.
The seven-member panel will decide whether to provide about $312.5 million in bed-tax cash, the county’s investment in constructing a $1.3 billion replacement for aging Tropicana Field.
County officials say the county money will come from a 6% 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 vote is slated 12 days after the St. Petersburg City Council voted 5-3 to provide $287.5 million for the ballpark and $130 million for infrastructure related to redevelopment of the area, known as the Historic Gas Plant District.
The remaining $700 million will be funded through a partnership of the Rays and the Houston-based Hines global development company.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., but public hearing starts at 6. The stadium is listed as the 20th item on the agenda.
At a workshop last Thursday, some commissioners still had concerns about the deal, including the return on investment and holding the Rays and Hines accountable for their end of the deal.
Commissioner Dave Eggers, for instance, wondered if other projects, such as beach renourishment, would be jeopardized, but County Administrator Barry Burton allayed those concerns.
The fixed-roof 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.
A key part of the deal is the $6.5 billion project to redevelop the Gas Plant District, a once-thriving African American community that was torn down in the 1980s.
The plan includes building a Black history museum, affordable housing, a hotel, green space, a supermarket, entertainment venues, and office and retail space. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch also promises it will bring thousands of new jobs.
Although local business and political leadership have mostly supported the investment, there have been detractors, mostly concerned about spending the public money on other community needs.
The Rays typically draw among the lowest attendance in MLB, even though the team has made the playoffs five years in a row.
Information from WUSF’s Steve Newborn and the Associated Press was used in this report.
