Tampa council, still awaiting final documents, sets a Rays stadium vote for Aug. 27
By Rick Mayer
August 20, 2026 at 2:50 PM EDT
The city council voted 4-3 to approve a motion to place the stadium issue on the agenda for the meeting — despite not having a draft of the agreement, which is still stuck at the negotiating table.
The Tampa Bay Rays’ Sisyphean quest to find a “forever home” ascended a few steps on Thursday, with the Tampa City Council agreeing to vote next week on final documents covering stadium construction.
The council voted 4-3 to approve the motion to place the stadium issue on the agenda for the Aug. 27 meeting — despite not having a draft of the agreement in hand.
“What contract?” Lynn Hurtak exclaimed when Bill Carlson made the motion near the end of the four-hour evening meeting.
“I haven’t seen it,” Hurtak said.
“I haven’t seen it either,” Carlson replied.
The Rays were expected to release the documents Thursday, but Mayor Jane Castor said negotiators from the team, city and Hillsborough County were still hammering out specifics.
“We’re working hard to get it ready for the Aug. 27 meeting, but there are a lot of details to wrap up still,” Castor said.
Carlson’s motion stipulated that the documents must be in the city’s online document platform by 5 p.m. Friday.
Hurtak said she would still vote no — and she did, along with Guido Maniscalco and Charlie Miranda.
The documents will spell out the financing structure, public and private contributions, community benefits and commitments, development obligations and timelines, ownership and lease terms, and conditions and protections tied to the public funding.
"There are major deal points that the team and county are still negotiating," Carlson wrote on X.
ALSO READ: Rays select AECOM Hunt and Turner to oversee Tampa stadium construction
County Commission Chair Ken Hagan has said he would schedule a vote quickly after a city council approval, although a Tampa Bay Times report raised the possibility that Hillsborough’s part in the deal could be on the rocks.
According to the report, commissioners Christine Miller and Chris Boles were not happy with changes made to a nonbinding memorandum of understanding. The commission voted 5-2 to advance the MOU in May, with Miller and Boles voting yes.
Carlson negotiated the changes, which revamped how Tampa would contribute to the project. Without the amendments, Carlson was planning to vote no, a likely deal-breaker that could lead to the Rays relocating from the Tampa Bay area.
The Rays want to move into the new stadium by March 2029 and have developed an aggressive construction timeline that requires site work to begin by next month.
The $2.3 billion ballpark would go up on land now used by Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus in the Drew Park neighborhood. The Rays have committed more than $1.2 billion to stadium construction, with the city and county being asked to contribute nearly $1 billion combined — nearly $800 million from the county.
The Rays also committed to spend at least $8 billion to build a multi-use development surrounding the stadium. It would include a modernized Hillsborough College campus and space for businesses, residences, retail, recreation and a major hotel.
The original MOU called for $80 million from the city’s portion of the Community Investment Tax and $100 million in tax-increment financing from the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
Those elements are no longer in the agreement, according to Castor and Carlson.
The plan is now expected to include tax-increment financing (TIF) that would collect property taxes from the private development for use as a revenue stream for the city, county and a community development district around the campus property.
ALSO READ: Rays to release final documents on stadium financing. Votes expected next week
In addition, Carlson has said the agreement may include an $80 million “advance” from the city to the Rays, repaid by TIF revenue out of the CDD with the team paying interest.
The other part of the plan will require amendments to three city CRAs, which are designated blighted districts that use the growth in property tax revenue within their boundaries for redevelopment and infrastructure.
Earlier Thursday, council members — in their role as the board overseeing CRAs — scheduled a special meeting for Aug. 27, although Carlson, in a post on X, said the meeting may not be necessary “because the CRA is not directly a part of the agreement.”
“Just holding a space just in case,” said Council Chair Alan Clendenin, who made the motion at the morning CRA meeting.
Meantime, Carlson made a motion that called for the CRA attorney to draft documents by the board’s Sept. 10 meeting to “implement the CRA promises made in the Rays’ contract and to present them to the CRA board.”
They include:
The council voted 4-3 to approve the motion to place the stadium issue on the agenda for the Aug. 27 meeting — despite not having a draft of the agreement in hand.
“What contract?” Lynn Hurtak exclaimed when Bill Carlson made the motion near the end of the four-hour evening meeting.
“I haven’t seen it,” Hurtak said.
“I haven’t seen it either,” Carlson replied.
The Rays were expected to release the documents Thursday, but Mayor Jane Castor said negotiators from the team, city and Hillsborough County were still hammering out specifics.
“We’re working hard to get it ready for the Aug. 27 meeting, but there are a lot of details to wrap up still,” Castor said.
Carlson’s motion stipulated that the documents must be in the city’s online document platform by 5 p.m. Friday.
Hurtak said she would still vote no — and she did, along with Guido Maniscalco and Charlie Miranda.
The documents will spell out the financing structure, public and private contributions, community benefits and commitments, development obligations and timelines, ownership and lease terms, and conditions and protections tied to the public funding.
"There are major deal points that the team and county are still negotiating," Carlson wrote on X.
ALSO READ: Rays select AECOM Hunt and Turner to oversee Tampa stadium construction
County Commission Chair Ken Hagan has said he would schedule a vote quickly after a city council approval, although a Tampa Bay Times report raised the possibility that Hillsborough’s part in the deal could be on the rocks.
According to the report, commissioners Christine Miller and Chris Boles were not happy with changes made to a nonbinding memorandum of understanding. The commission voted 5-2 to advance the MOU in May, with Miller and Boles voting yes.
Carlson negotiated the changes, which revamped how Tampa would contribute to the project. Without the amendments, Carlson was planning to vote no, a likely deal-breaker that could lead to the Rays relocating from the Tampa Bay area.
The Rays want to move into the new stadium by March 2029 and have developed an aggressive construction timeline that requires site work to begin by next month.
The $2.3 billion ballpark would go up on land now used by Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus in the Drew Park neighborhood. The Rays have committed more than $1.2 billion to stadium construction, with the city and county being asked to contribute nearly $1 billion combined — nearly $800 million from the county.
The Rays also committed to spend at least $8 billion to build a multi-use development surrounding the stadium. It would include a modernized Hillsborough College campus and space for businesses, residences, retail, recreation and a major hotel.
The original MOU called for $80 million from the city’s portion of the Community Investment Tax and $100 million in tax-increment financing from the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
Those elements are no longer in the agreement, according to Castor and Carlson.
The plan is now expected to include tax-increment financing (TIF) that would collect property taxes from the private development for use as a revenue stream for the city, county and a community development district around the campus property.
ALSO READ: Rays to release final documents on stadium financing. Votes expected next week
In addition, Carlson has said the agreement may include an $80 million “advance” from the city to the Rays, repaid by TIF revenue out of the CDD with the team paying interest.
The other part of the plan will require amendments to three city CRAs, which are designated blighted districts that use the growth in property tax revenue within their boundaries for redevelopment and infrastructure.
Earlier Thursday, council members — in their role as the board overseeing CRAs — scheduled a special meeting for Aug. 27, although Carlson, in a post on X, said the meeting may not be necessary “because the CRA is not directly a part of the agreement.”
“Just holding a space just in case,” said Council Chair Alan Clendenin, who made the motion at the morning CRA meeting.
Meantime, Carlson made a motion that called for the CRA attorney to draft documents by the board’s Sept. 10 meeting to “implement the CRA promises made in the Rays’ contract and to present them to the CRA board.”
They include:
- Moving a portion of the tax-increment revenue from the now-thriving Downtown CRA to a citywide trust fund for needed infrastructure projects.
- Extending the CRAs for Drew Park and East Tampa for 30 years, until 2064.
- Considering the extension of the West Tampa CRA for 30 years.