The Tampa Bay Rays’ proposed Forever Home ballpark in Tampa appears closer than ever to a decisive vote, but the agreement is not final and the necessary public meetings have not yet been formally scheduled. Politics 101 never call for a vote before you have the votes needed to get a deal done and both Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa are ready to pass the Rays Forever Home next week.
City and county negotiators are working to finish revised documents for the proposed $2.3 billion ballpark at Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus. Tampa City Council could consider scheduling a vote as soon as Thursday, with a possible decisive Council vote on Aug. 27 and Hillsborough County action to follow.
Momentum builds for Rays stadium deal
Rays CEO Ken Babby, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan and Tampa City Council member Bill Carlson have all been publicly engaged as the negotiations enter a critical stretch.
Hagan said Tuesday on WDAE’s Pat and Aaron Show that the goal was to schedule the necessary city and county meetings for next week. He said Babby had informed him that the Rays and city had reached a point where a vote could soon be scheduled. Hagan also put his confidence level at 85 percent that the stadium project will move forward.
That is encouraging for supporters of keeping the Rays in Tampa Bay. Still, an 85 percent prediction is not a final agreement, and it is not a substitute for completed documents, public review and formal votes.
City vote is expected first
The anticipated sequence is clear: Tampa City Council would vote first, followed by the Hillsborough County Commission.
Hagan has said the county will not take up its final vote until the city approves its portion of the definitive agreement. That position followed the May sequence in which the County Commission approved a nonbinding memorandum of understanding, only for the City Council’s subsequent action to expose disagreements over the proposed financing framework.
Tampa City Council member Bill Carlson has emerged as a central figure in the revised negotiations. He spoke Tuesday to JP Peterson and said that the working framework is expected to incorporate significant elements of Carlson’s proposal, including a new tax increment financing district around the Hillsborough College redevelopment site and changes involving the existing Drew Park Community Redevelopment Area.
Reworked financing could unlock votes
The revised framework is designed to address concerns that prevented earlier consensus from becoming a final binding deal. Carlson’s ideas have focused on restructuring Tampa’s participation and sharpening the financial boundaries surrounding the project.
The previous nonbinding outline called for approximately $976 million in public contributions and more than $1.2 billion from the Rays. Hillsborough County’s contemplated contribution totaled about $796 million, including Community Investment Tax revenue, Tourist Development Tax revenue, disaster-recovery reimbursements and other county sources. Tampa’s previous share was estimated at $180 million, combining city Community Investment Tax funds and projected future revenue from the Drew Park CRA.
The exact final figures, responsibilities and legal commitments remain subject to the definitive documents. That is why the vote date matters: a public body cannot responsibly approve a project of this scale until the final terms are available for review.
Close, but not complete
The political rule is simple: do not schedule a major vote unless leaders believe they have the votes to pass it. The movement toward an Aug. 27 City Council vote, followed by potential County Commission action, is the strongest public indication yet that Tampa, Hillsborough County and the Rays believe a workable path exists.
But the deal remains one step short of reality. The City Council must first receive the revised agreement, vote on it publicly and approve it. The County Commission would then need to approve its corresponding commitments.
For now, the Rays’ Tampa Forever Home plan is not done. It is, however, closer than it has been at any point in the negotiations.
