The ball is in the hands of Hillsborough County as the Tampa Bay Rays push for public funds to support a new ballpark and mixed-use district at the Hillsborough College Dale Mabry campus, but a vote is not expected until mid-April.
Reports last week indicated the Tampa Bay Rays could be asking for over $1 billion in taxpayer funding for the project as early as this week. But Nicolas Villamil of the Tampa Bay Times reported that the earliest day Hillsborough County could consider Ray’s ballpark funding is April 15.
He cited an email from Deputy County Administrator Gregory Horwedel, and added that a vote by Tampa City Council could quickly follow a county vote.
The proposal to relocate the Rays from St. Pete to Tampa has drawn significant support from elected officials at the local and state levels, but negotiations for public funding could be more heated. If approved, the funds would be used to build out a new ballpark for the team equipped with a state-of-the-art rooftop, as well as a surrounding mixed-use district in the mold of the Atlanta Braves ballpark and the surrounding Battery District.
Hillsborough County officials have already indicated the project would likely require use of voter-approved Community Investment Tax dollars, a proposal that some Commissioners have already vocally opposed because the measure was approved without a Rays facility in mind.
Commissioners are expected to review the Rays’ proposal as part of discussions about whether Hillsborough County should formally participate in the deal, but a full funding agreement would likely require approvals from multiple governing bodies.
The city of Tampa and the state are also considering financial commitments to the Tampa Bay Rays project — although unresolved state budget discussions are largely focused on supporting Hillsborough College redevelopment as a part of the District rather than direct contribution to Rays’ facility itself.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and members of the Cabinet, sitting as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, have already voted to convey about 22 acres of state owned land to Hillsborough College for the project.
