ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As the Tampa Rays kick off another season at Tropicana Field, hanging over the opening day festivities this year is the proposal to build a whole new stadium as part of a multi-billion-dollar redevelopment in St. Petersburg.
Six months after the team and Mayor Ken Welch announced the Rays are “Here to Stay,” the deal is not done yet and we are already running into the first benchmark of the proposal’s timeline.
When the announcement was made, it lined up a “public approval process” in Q1 of this year. That has not yet kicked off.
At the center of the stadium saga is an aggressive benchmark, team leaders have said the preliminary agreement they’ve made with the city and developers is based on shovels getting in the ground by the end of this year.
As lawyers work behind the scenes, there is a lot of discussion and votes left to happen regarding the $600+ million in public funding needed for the current proposal.
$312.5 million is supposed to come from Pinellas County; The money would go towards just the new stadium, using funds from the so-called “bed/tourist tax.”
The county board could very well be the first to take action on the plans in the coming months, so 10 Tampa Bay asked all seven county commissioners if the vote happened today, would they approve of the spending plan?
Here are their responses:
Chair Kathleen Peters: "As long as the agreement has not been altered from my last update, I would support a vote in favor.”
Vice Chair Brian Scott: “My vote will depend on how willing the Rays are to negotiate the final terms.”
Janet Long: “I would be an ecstatic yes when I am given the opportunity to vote for the deal, particularly for the jobs it will create, the overall economic benefits, and the fact that the stadium will serve as a truly world-class destination for tourists and folks from all over our region to enjoy for decades to come.”
Dave Eggers: “I am hopeful there is a path forward with respect to finding a deal acceptable to me and on behalf of our residents. However, there is more to learn about the proposed terms and conditions and assumptions of risks most of which should come to light during the St. Pete council meetings next month and our own workshops in the months ahead.
Charlie Justice:“I am supportive of the county being a partner with the City of St. Petersburg in funding a new stadium for the Rays. There are questions that remain, and I look forward to working with County Administration, the city, and the team to continue our conversation and hopefully get to an agreement that everyone is comfortable with. The County’s portion will only include tourist development taxes which are significantly limited in their expenditure purpose by state law."
Chris Latvala: "Depends on what the final proposal is. Beach nourishment is my main priority, people come to Pinellas County for the beaches, I love the Rays and I want the Rays to stay here, so there are a lot of variables left to decide, and a lot of contracts left to be written.”
Renè Flowers: "At this point based on updates that we received, from the discussion between the Rays, county staff and city of St Petersburg staff, it appears things are still moving in a positive direction, I’m hopeful by the summer we will have a full presentation and be able to schedule the item on our agenda, so we can discuss them among ourselves. I’m looking forward to having all those documents in front of me and have a chance to really review those and have time to discuss those adequately and take a vote."
Aside from the county, the larger hurdle is in the city council's approval. Council members have been reviewing the preliminary agreement for the last few months and have been getting public feedback, some with concerns about taxpayer spending.
Mayor Ken Welch though remains confident the deal will ultimately come together.
“I’m very confident it will happen. Council has to do their due diligence and we are working not to get that set of agreements to them," the mayor said.
Discussions are expected to ramp up at workshop sessions at the county and city level beginning next week. We’ll keep you updated in real time as it happens.