Tampa CRA drops August Tampa Bay Rays discussion as board awaits direct negotiations

The Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency voted to remove discussion of a proposed $100 million contribution to a Tampa Bay Rays stadium project from its Aug. 20 agenda, signaling doubt that final details would be ready in time for robust discussion at the meeting.

The move does not reject the funding request or remove the CRA from the proposed deal. Instead, board members said the item should return once the agency has been directly involved in negotiations and has a completed proposal to consider.

The CRA is being asked to contribute $100 million toward redevelopment surrounding the proposed ballpark at Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus. However, Thursday’s vote leaves no scheduled date for the CRA to take up its portion of the stadium financing package.

Board members again raised concerns that the Mayor’s Office, city staff, Hillsborough County and the Rays have been negotiating the broader framework without the CRA participating as a separate party. They insist that the team directly negotiate with CRA board members, composed entirely of Tampa City Council members, if they want to strike a deal.

The removal was requested by City Council and CRA Board Member Bill Carlson, and approved with a 5-2 vote, with Board Members Alan Clendenin and Luis Viera unsuccessfully voting to keep the item on the August agenda.

Carlson said he had been briefed on one alternative under consideration: creating a home-rule tax increment financing district that would replace the Drew Park CRA after it expires. He said Hillsborough County officials acknowledged that the structure would still involve city money and require more City Council votes, not fewer.

Still, Carlson said the item should return when the Rays have negotiated with the CRA and are prepared to place a finished proposal on the agenda.

“We’re not ready to have a conversation,” Carlson said. “The next meeting, a whole bunch of people are going to show up to advocate for this. That will be too late to change the date, so why not take it off this calendar, and then we’ll address it when they’re ready?”

Board Member Lynn Hurtak said she received one call since the board’s previous discussion and has not seen evidence that the CRA is included in negotiations. She also objected to keeping the item on the agenda when board members do not expect to have an agreement ready for consideration.

“Just because it’s your emergency doesn’t make it mine,” Hurtak said. “They’re making all these plans for something they don’t even have plans for yet. So I really do believe they are putting the cart before the horse, and they’re just hoping that we take the bait. I’m just not going to do that.”

The board previously delayed the discussion until Aug. 20 under similar arguments. Several members also warned at the time that the item could be delayed again and questioned the value of keeping it on a rolling monthly agenda without completed documents. Thursday’s action removes that placeholder rather than continuing the item again.

The city and county approved the memorandum of understanding in May, but the CRA did not approve its portion before the Rays’ June 1 deadline for local governments to endorse the preliminary framework.

Negotiations have continued over the definitive agreements needed to govern construction, financing, campus redevelopment, community benefits and the Rays’ long-term commitment to the region.

Clendenin, who chairs the Tampa City Council, recently told Florida Politics that those documents are nearing completion. He also said negotiators have considered alternative structures if the proposed CRA contribution cannot secure enough support.

The removal of the August item does not indicate that the CRA has abandoned the proposal. But it reinforces that the agency does not intend to consider its contribution until it has participated directly in negotiations and received a completed agreement.

The proposed ballpark would anchor a broader mixed-use district at Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus. Plans have included housing, retail, hospitality, entertainment and educational development alongside a reconfigured college campus.

The Rays have targeted a 2029 opening, though that timeline depends on completing the definitive agreements, securing public financing and obtaining additional land-use and development approvals.

The project is moving along several separate tracks. The Tampa City Council is scheduled to consider transmitting a comprehensive-plan amendment for the college property to state officials Thursday evening. That vote concerns the site’s future land-use designation and does not approve the stadium or its financing.

The CRA discussion can return at a later meeting once negotiations have advanced and board members have a finished proposal to review.

Under the current framework, the city of Tampa would contribute $80 million from city revenue and Hillsborough County has proposed contributing up to $796 million, in addition to the $100 million asked of the CRA, bringing the total local public commitment to as much as $976 million if all agreements are ultimately signed.