State money for Rays' stadium on hold until local pacts are done, Senate budget chief says
By Rick Mayer
May 13, 2026 at 12:15 PM EDT
About $150 million sought to rebuild Hillsborough College isn't in the first spending offers. Budget committee Chair Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, says the state won't act until stadium financing is complete.
There are three clocks ticking on the Tampa Bay Rays’ effort to finance a $2.3 billion stadium. None seems to be synchronized.
The team wants more than $1 billion from local governments. With interlocal financing agreements not expected to be finalized before the team’s softened-but-important June 1 deadline, the word out of Tallahassee is that a key piece of funding may be left on base.
The stadium is slated to anchor a multi-use development on land now occupied by 70-year-old Hillsborough College. The Rays and the college are asking the state for roughly $150 million to rebuild the campus and infrastructure on the property.
As of Tuesday, that money looks off the table — until Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa approve their part of the financing, according to state Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, chair of the Senate Budget Committee.
ALSO READ: John Morgan says he'll pitch Orlando to the Rays if Tampa's effort fails
“The locals, Hillsborough County and the city, there seems to be some heartburn at the request, and until they resolve that, I don’t think the state needs to be involved,” Hooper told reporters at the Capitol, where the Legislature opened a special session to finalize a state budget.
The money for the college was not in the first budget offer on Tuesday from either the House or Senate, which are slated to vote on a spending plan on May 29. If not finalized by the start of the fiscal year, July 1, a government shutdown may occur.
That leaves about two weeks for the state or local governments to make a commitment.
State budget negotiations will continue, so an appropriation could still occur. The money could also come through a public education capital outlay, a state program that pays for major construction and infrastructure projects for schools.
The Tampa ballpark proposal has the backing of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a friend of Rays managing partner Patrick Zalupski, but his second term will end before the next legislative session.
On Wednesday, DeSantis reiterated his belief that state dollars should go only to transportation improvements or the college, but not for stadium construction. Hillsborough College president Ken Atwater said last week the school has identified nearly $80 million worth of infrastructure repairs, such as "elevators that constantly do not work."
“Do we want to sink money into rehabbing old buildings and do all this deferred maintenance, or do we just want to reimagine the campus and do something that can be really special?” DeSantis said. “That’s something that obviously supports the state’s interests.”
ALSO READ: Public has a say on the Rays' stadium proposal during a Tampa City Council workshop
Hooper’s position isn’t a surprise. Stakeholders, including Rays CEO Ken Babby, have said the state wants assurances that the county, city and team are in lockstep.
“I think the governor and the Legislature are going to give us some money, but they are waiting to see what everyone else will do,” Joe Robinson, a member of the Tampa Sports Authority, said during a May 5 city council public workshop on the stadium.
The city council meets four times before June 4, including this Thursday. The commission meets on May 20, with a budget workshop on May 27 before the next regular meeting on June 3.
City Council Chair Alan Clendenin has said an agreement is close.
"There is still a financial gap that has to be resolved, and a couple of other details, but all those items really are resolvable," he told Fan Stream Sports podcast host JP Peterson last week. "... I would say I'm 99% sure we're going to reach a deal, that this is going to come to a conclusion."
The next step would be votes before the county commission and city council.
"We'll see how that works out because politicians are politicians, but as far as the negotiations between our very qualified staff and the Rays' organization, I think that's going to reach a successful conclusion," said Clendenin, who is also on the sports authority.
While city, county and team negotiators continue working toward a memorandum of understanding, talk is brewing in Orlando about an effort to lure the Rays up Interstate 4.
Before the Zalupski-led investment team announced plans to buy the team last fall and keep it in the Tampa Bay area, the well-financed Orlando Dreamers group made no secret of its desire to bring Major League Baseball to the city’s tourist strip near SeaWorld.
Last week, one of those investors, billionaire attorney John Morgan, said he was preparing to have lunch with Zalupski to discuss a relocation should the Tampa plan fail.
Also last week, Democrat state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who is running for mayor of Orlando, said luring a team to the city would be part of her campaign platform.
ALSO READ: In reply to county, Rays push for May vote amid unresolved stadium funding issues
“The Orlando Dreamers have my full support in their effort to bring Major League Baseball to our community,” said in a Dreamers post on X. “If done right, this can create real opportunities for our residents that are fiscally responsible and bring people together in a way that reflects the spirit and growth of Orlando.”
Eskamani’s endorsement brings political clout to the effort, even if she doesn’t win the mayoral seat. She suggested to Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi that the region’s massive tourist development tax could be used as part of any needed public investment.
“Obviously, there are a lot of questions to be answered, but I’ve already been inspired by the private investment thus far,” Eskamani told Bianchi, adding, “Let’s play ball.”
DeSantis joined MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred at the college in February to support the Tampa plan, and still sees it as the best location. He acknowledged there are other cities that covet the Rays, but he and Mandred agreed it would be “bad for baseball” if the team left the state.
“I know Orlando wants it. I know Orlando, they would plow a lot of money into this. There’s no question Orange County would," DeSantis said. "Charlotte would, too. Nashville would. There are a lot of places around the country who would like an MLB franchise.”
The team wants more than $1 billion from local governments. With interlocal financing agreements not expected to be finalized before the team’s softened-but-important June 1 deadline, the word out of Tallahassee is that a key piece of funding may be left on base.
The stadium is slated to anchor a multi-use development on land now occupied by 70-year-old Hillsborough College. The Rays and the college are asking the state for roughly $150 million to rebuild the campus and infrastructure on the property.
As of Tuesday, that money looks off the table — until Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa approve their part of the financing, according to state Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, chair of the Senate Budget Committee.
ALSO READ: John Morgan says he'll pitch Orlando to the Rays if Tampa's effort fails
“The locals, Hillsborough County and the city, there seems to be some heartburn at the request, and until they resolve that, I don’t think the state needs to be involved,” Hooper told reporters at the Capitol, where the Legislature opened a special session to finalize a state budget.
The money for the college was not in the first budget offer on Tuesday from either the House or Senate, which are slated to vote on a spending plan on May 29. If not finalized by the start of the fiscal year, July 1, a government shutdown may occur.
That leaves about two weeks for the state or local governments to make a commitment.
State budget negotiations will continue, so an appropriation could still occur. The money could also come through a public education capital outlay, a state program that pays for major construction and infrastructure projects for schools.
The Tampa ballpark proposal has the backing of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a friend of Rays managing partner Patrick Zalupski, but his second term will end before the next legislative session.
On Wednesday, DeSantis reiterated his belief that state dollars should go only to transportation improvements or the college, but not for stadium construction. Hillsborough College president Ken Atwater said last week the school has identified nearly $80 million worth of infrastructure repairs, such as "elevators that constantly do not work."
“Do we want to sink money into rehabbing old buildings and do all this deferred maintenance, or do we just want to reimagine the campus and do something that can be really special?” DeSantis said. “That’s something that obviously supports the state’s interests.”
ALSO READ: Public has a say on the Rays' stadium proposal during a Tampa City Council workshop
Hooper’s position isn’t a surprise. Stakeholders, including Rays CEO Ken Babby, have said the state wants assurances that the county, city and team are in lockstep.
“I think the governor and the Legislature are going to give us some money, but they are waiting to see what everyone else will do,” Joe Robinson, a member of the Tampa Sports Authority, said during a May 5 city council public workshop on the stadium.
The city council meets four times before June 4, including this Thursday. The commission meets on May 20, with a budget workshop on May 27 before the next regular meeting on June 3.
City Council Chair Alan Clendenin has said an agreement is close.
"There is still a financial gap that has to be resolved, and a couple of other details, but all those items really are resolvable," he told Fan Stream Sports podcast host JP Peterson last week. "... I would say I'm 99% sure we're going to reach a deal, that this is going to come to a conclusion."
The next step would be votes before the county commission and city council.
"We'll see how that works out because politicians are politicians, but as far as the negotiations between our very qualified staff and the Rays' organization, I think that's going to reach a successful conclusion," said Clendenin, who is also on the sports authority.
While city, county and team negotiators continue working toward a memorandum of understanding, talk is brewing in Orlando about an effort to lure the Rays up Interstate 4.
Before the Zalupski-led investment team announced plans to buy the team last fall and keep it in the Tampa Bay area, the well-financed Orlando Dreamers group made no secret of its desire to bring Major League Baseball to the city’s tourist strip near SeaWorld.
Last week, one of those investors, billionaire attorney John Morgan, said he was preparing to have lunch with Zalupski to discuss a relocation should the Tampa plan fail.
Also last week, Democrat state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who is running for mayor of Orlando, said luring a team to the city would be part of her campaign platform.
ALSO READ: In reply to county, Rays push for May vote amid unresolved stadium funding issues
“The Orlando Dreamers have my full support in their effort to bring Major League Baseball to our community,” said in a Dreamers post on X. “If done right, this can create real opportunities for our residents that are fiscally responsible and bring people together in a way that reflects the spirit and growth of Orlando.”
Eskamani’s endorsement brings political clout to the effort, even if she doesn’t win the mayoral seat. She suggested to Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi that the region’s massive tourist development tax could be used as part of any needed public investment.
“Obviously, there are a lot of questions to be answered, but I’ve already been inspired by the private investment thus far,” Eskamani told Bianchi, adding, “Let’s play ball.”
DeSantis joined MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred at the college in February to support the Tampa plan, and still sees it as the best location. He acknowledged there are other cities that covet the Rays, but he and Mandred agreed it would be “bad for baseball” if the team left the state.
“I know Orlando wants it. I know Orlando, they would plow a lot of money into this. There’s no question Orange County would," DeSantis said. "Charlotte would, too. Nashville would. There are a lot of places around the country who would like an MLB franchise.”