Rays stadium deal in question as Tampa elected leaders express grave concerns

Tampa’s City Council sent a mixed message to the Tampa Bay Rays in a pair of votes that signaled that a deal for a new $2.3 billion ballpark in Tampa is not guaranteed — and may possibly be on the verge of collapsing.

Council members, voting on giving staff permission to start negotiating on the city’s portion in a non-binding memorandum of understanding and separately voting as the Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency to give its staff the same authority, barley approved the former and postponed the latter until next month.

The matter was over moving forward with a non-binding memorandum of understanding that calls for the team to pay about $1.32 billion for the cost of a new 31,000 seat ballpark at the site of Hillsborough College on Dale Mabry Highway. Hillsborough County would put in approximately $796 million with the city pitching in about $80 million through Community Investment Tax and the CRA about $100 million.

The vote was on authorizing further negotiations that would produce a final agreement.

Hillsborough County voted Wednesday, 5-2 to allow its staff to begin negotiations.

The first of the two votes, on the city’s portion of the funding, passed 4-3, though at times it seemed as if it was destined to fail. So much so that Rays CEO Ken Babby stepped up to the podium to plead the team’s case just before the vote was cast.

The issues dealt largely on why voter-approved CIT money was being used and whether the city was abandoning other projects in favor of helping the team.

Council members Naya Young, Charlie Miranda and Lynn Hurtak all voted against moving forward with the negotiations.

Shortly after a recess following the first vote, the council, acting in its role as the CRA, voted unanimously to delay taking up the matter until June 11, citing reservations with the agreement.

It is unclear what delaying the CRA’s ability to negotiate will mean and whether city and county staff will be able to begin talks or be forced to wait.

But even with City Council approving the negotiations there was clear — and ominous — signs a long-term deal is in peril regardless of what the parties agree to.

Council member Bill Carlson, who represents District 4 and voted to approve the negotiations, made it clear from the dais he was highly unlikely to support any city funds going toward building a new ballpark.

“My bottom line on this is that I don't believe in private sector subsidies,” he said. “I don't think it's a good idea for the government to subsidize one (development) versus the other and why is it fair that one or two developments get subsidies and all the rest of the developments don't get subsidies.”

Then he added words sure to chill Rays fans and executives. “My point is that when this comes back to us, I'm like 99.9% sure that I'm going to vote no…and I want to let everybody know that in advance.”

If the city council and the CRA fail to deliver on their funding portion of the deal, it will be just another setback in the Rays’ 20-year quest to get a new ballpark in the Tampa Bay market.

At least twice, deals for a new ballpark were announced before falling apart. Most recently that happened last year, when the previous ownership backed out of an agreement to build a stadium in St. Petersburg where the team now plays.

But if this one fails it may be the most bitter setback of all.

The team has new owners who have committed to pay 57% of the cost of the ballpark, as well as overruns, and to build a more than 150-acre mixed used development on the property now occupied by Hillsborough College, with the state paying for a new campus for the college on a portion of the site.

The plan has received wide support from the local business and governing community as well as fans. Gov. Ron DeSantis and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred endorsed it earlier this year on a visit to the campus.

The question now is will the Rays ownership and the others be able to craft a deal that will sway just four members of the council.

Babby, when talking to City Council ahead of the vote, was clear that the team had made concessions and was willing to make more to work out a deal for what it calls a “forever home.”

But he was just as clear about happens next if City Council failed to approve an agreement — or even negotiate on one.

“I would urge you to let us continue the conversations,” Babby said. “Don't send the Rays out of Tampa.”