Thrive
Rays bond vote becomes stadium deal do-over
Pinellas County Commissioner Dave Eggers said Thursday that some colleagues believe a Tampa Bay Rays stadium bond authorization provides a “second bite of the apple” on previously approved agreements.
Commissioners spent half of a workshop debating the deal’s merits and their best path forward during a procedural agenda review. They will formally consider approving the bond issuance for a third time Tuesday.
Eggers previously disapproved of the county’s contribution to a new ballpark in St. Petersburg; however, he said the new-look commission should recognize “that vote we did in July.” New Commissioner Vince Nowicki said the bond authorization did present a do-over, as the team cannot discuss relocation until St. Petersburg’s current use agreement ends in 2028.
“I think if we do delay this or vote ‘no,’ that would force the Rays back to the table,” Nowicki said. “And we do get another bite at the apple because they literally can’t talk to anybody else.”
In July, five of seven commissioners approved allocating $312.5 million in heavily restricted tourist development tax funding to a new $1.37 billion ballpark. All but former Commissioner Charlie Justice agreed to postpone approving the financing mechanism in Hurricane Milton’s aftermath.
The team’s temporary home away from a storm-damaged Tropicana Field dominated discourse during the Oct. 29 meeting. The commission subsequently welcomed two new members with varying levels of opposition to the stadium deal, a critical part of the Historic Gas Plant’s $6.7 billion redevelopment.
The new-look board approved a second postponement in November. The deal was thought dead before recently showing signs of life.
Commissioners, notably, have stopped discussing the team’s temporary home. However, already-signed contracts, including those with St. Petersburg, remain a hot topic.
“It seems like we just keep moving the goalposts,” Flowers said. “The bond issuance has nothing to do with the city and their negotiated contract.”
The county cannot sell the bonds until the Rays prove they have completed multiple planning and funding requirements – both aspects have a March 31 deadline. Team leadership maintains they have met initial obligations; county officials said they lack proof.
Bond authorization was once a formality. Commissioner Brian Scott, who favors the deal, called for the second postponement as two new colleagues signaled their opposition.
Commissioner Chris Scherer, who joined the board with Nowicki, expressed confusion Thursday regarding the urgency. He also noted that attorneys and staff – rather than the commissioners – would ensure the Rays met their obligations and sell the bonds.
“We’re out of it,” Scherer stressed.
A new ballpark would anchor the Historic Gas Plant’s $6.7 billion redevelopment in downtown St. Petersburg.
County administrator Barry Burton said officials would control their money in an escrow account until the team meets additional construction requirements. Commission Chairperson Kathleen Peters told Scherer, “We adopt the policy, and staff executes it. That’s not unusual.”
“Our very awesome legal team would make sure all of that is followed to the letter of the law,” Peters explained. “If they (the Rays) aren’t meeting their objectives, it comes back to us, and that’s when we make a decision.”
Eggers said Scherer examining the deal reminded him of “where we were” during two years of negotiations. “Back in June – this gets to character and trust,” Eggers said of the authorization and team obligations. “It goes both ways.”
The Rays will contribute over $700 million to the project. They must also cover cost overruns and stadium expenses excluded from the Trop’s current use agreement.
Team leadership maintains that delays caused a funding gap. The average annual inflation rate for nonresidential construction is 8%. Postponing a $1.37 billion project represents a $109.6 million increase.
Peters has said the Rays will also lose about $100 million in annual revenues by playing at a minor league stadium in Tampa. Commissioner Chris Latvala, who voted against the deal but could provide an authorization swing vote, expects the team to demand “$100 million or $200 million” in gap funding or threaten relocation.
He and several colleagues have balked at that proposition. Scott believes all parties should honor the previously agreed-upon contracts.
In response to Nowicki’s comments, Scott noted there is “no guarantee you’re going to get a better deal. You open it up, and guess what? Then they are really going to want more money.”
Scott added that “nothing in life is risk-free” and said the Rays, development firm Hines, the city and the county also face potential pitfalls throughout a generational project. He also questioned how long government officials would debate the same subject.
“We have a lot of stuff to focus on in 2025 – I don’t want this to be something hanging over our neck and weighing down every stinking meeting we have,” Scott continued. “If the Rays fail to meet their obligations by March 31, it’s on them.
“We need to get this done, and we need to move on with life.”
Darren E Ginn
December 16, 2024at5:12 pm
Cut the crap and get rid of any traces of a stadium deal and put the needed monies into our city for social programs, infrastructure, proper law enforcement, etcetera.
How despicable to give essential $$$ to Big$$$ that only makes them richer and more powerful.
Mike C
December 16, 2024at10:26 am
More churn and aspirational vanity project stuff… The jargon and hashtag buzzwords like “Generational project” or “Historic gas plant” as well as the laughable stadium oasis renderings attempt to shape a mindset of great things ahead for the city, county and its residents and visitors…in reality this is a cash grab. Naïve and incompetent leadership have really gotten our residents into a massive “generational” financial mess. ps – Well written “S”… unfortunately, some are still drinking the Kool-Aid
Ken vick
December 16, 2024at8:39 am
St Petersburg is too small of a peninsula city to accommodate any major league anything of the four major sports why any politician would want a team here and build a stadium for them you’d have to investigate that politician take any money that would be invested for this ridiculous idea of a stadium put it towards infrastructure community housing which we need desperately and the people
Jeremy
December 15, 2024at6:41 pm
The Rays are gonna sue the hell out of Pinellas county then move to another city. Thanks new commissioners for building the Nashville Raise a new stadium. They’ll also own most of the land on that site as well. SMH
Velva Heraty
December 15, 2024at6:19 pm
Thanks S. Incompetence is glaring, no doubt about it. People in the know, like former City Manager Alan DeLisle has repeatedly warned us how bad this deal is. They cleverly organized their greed around the American Sport of Baseball while drooling for the precious land around Tropicana Field. Why is this so hard for people to see clearly. Are they regressing to childhood baseball fantasies?
St. Pete is a city of less than 500,000 residents. It’s a transient tourist town full of party people most of the time. Party people who aren’t residents, 3-4 per rented apt. Most residents are struggling to pay their bills or busy fighting flooding and storms. Residents who now cannot swim off their own polluted beaches. There is still hurricane debris on 4th Ave. S along the downtown Hilton Hotel. So much for city services. It started goin downhill when the former mayor tore down the Treatment facility near old SE. That’s when the sewage started showing up everywhere. That’s when they stopped taking water pollution tests. Next was the catering to developers and the collusion to ignore building guidelines here…but hey, who cares? Let’s party on.
monah
December 15, 2024at1:29 pm
Don’t forget, this whole move toward the gas plant redevelopment was started under Kriseman, not Welch. Welch hasn’t helped the situation, but it didn’t start with him. People need to revisit and learn about the original deal made in 1998. The city should just repair the current stadium, let the Rays fulfill their current contract, and in 2028 they relinquish the land and leave! Best outcome for St. Pete.
Richard M.
December 15, 2024at11:15 am
@S you seem to be confused about this situation.
1. The Rays are funding 700 mil of the $1 billion funding. It’s not like they’re contributing half, they’re contributing more than half.
2. The cries about priorities is your own fairy tale. This money was never and will never go to those hurricane relief efforts. It specifically was restricted to tourist efforts. If you want to get up in arms, then get in arms about FEMA not being pressured enough to lend more aid.
3. This fund isn’t just for a stadium. This isn’t like last time when they built the Trop and called it a day. The entire Historic Gas Plant District is being overhauled. It’s a $6.7 billion huge project that includes expanding that accursed bridge as well as creating buildings and hotels for businesses and tourists. The stadium is just one part of this project, albeit the loudest.
Marvin Fein
December 15, 2024at7:57 am
In a deal of this magnitude, no one can assure that all of the development will happen or any of the projections will prove to be realistic. It will certainly prove to be more expensive for the government in the end because that is the way development driven deals always end. It really comes down to whether the government wants to keep a major league baseball team in the Tampa-St.Petersburg area. No matter what, they like every other municipal area that has faced that dilemma will overpay.
S
December 15, 2024at6:39 am
Ah, Tropicana Field—the ultimate taxpayer scam. Back when it was built, politicians spun fairy tales about how it would pay for itself, revitalize St. Petersburg, and make our lives better. Instead, it’s a dilapidated, half-insured wreck that’s quietly been swept under the rug. Not one politician has stepped up to declare what a fantastic investment it was. Why? Because it wasn’t. And now Mayor Ken Welch is leading the charge to build an even more expensive stadium, doubling down on failure like he’s playing with Monopoly money instead of taxpayer dollars.
Let’s talk about this so-called leadership. Mayor Welch wants you to believe this new stadium is somehow going to work out better than the first. But let’s check his track record: the current Tropicana Field was so poorly managed under city leadership that they cut its insurance coverage from $100 million to $25 million. Why? To save a laughable $275,000 a year. And then, predictably, Hurricane Milton came along, ripping the place apart and exposing just how unprepared they were. Everyone knew storms were getting worse thanks to record-high Gulf of Mexico temperatures. But hey, let’s save a few bucks and hope for the best, right?
And as if that wasn’t bad enough, let’s not forget the summer storm in August. A regular rainstorm—not even a hurricane—caused tens of millions of dollars in uninsured losses for St. Petersburg residents. Cars were destroyed, businesses flooded, and homes were left unlivable, all because the city’s stormwater system is decades behind where it should be. And who’s responsible for addressing that critical infrastructure? You guessed it: Mayor Welch and his administration. But instead of fixing the stormwater system that’s left residents high and wet, they’re focused on building a shiny new stadium. Priorities, huh?
And don’t think for a second Mayor Welch is asking for your input on this boondoggle. The new stadium proposal wasn’t even put to a public vote. Why? Because he knows taxpayers would laugh it out of the room. This isn’t about what’s best for the city; it’s about backroom deals and financial conflicts of interest. Welch and his buddies are pushing a cash grab so blatant it’s insulting, expecting you to just trust that this time they’ll get it right.
Let’s be real—Welch can’t even get the basics right. He’s failed to address stormwater infrastructure that’s been a known problem for decades. He’s done nothing to fix the fallout from the summer flood or to help residents recover their losses. But he’s more than happy to gamble away your money on an overpriced stadium for a baseball team whose attendance rivals a Tuesday night book club.
So here we are: a failed stadium in ruins, a city infrastructure in shambles, and a mayor who’s more focused on pandering to developers than protecting his own constituents. Welch has proven he can’t manage the city’s existing assets, and now he wants taxpayers to trust him with billions more? No thanks. Fool us once with Tropicana Field? Shame on them. But fool us twice with this new stadium? That’s on us—if we let it happen.
HAL FREEDMAN
December 14, 2024at6:30 pm
Have the Rays open up their books to see what their losses really are. The lack of due diligence on the part of the City & County is astounding. How do you go into a deal of this magnitude without seeing the books of the other party, to ensure everyone can realistically meet their obligations?