Storm-impacted tourism taxes enter Rays stadium debate

Pinellas County officials have touted the local tourism industry’s resiliency amid back-to-back hurricanes. Recently released metrics underscore their point.

Area lodgings collected $96.76 million in bed taxes through fiscal year 2024, just a 1.36% year-over-year decrease. Pinellas visitors generated $98 million, a new record, in 2023.

The county planned to use tourism taxes, a 6% surcharge on overnight stays, to finance its $312.5 million contribution to a new $1.37 billion Tampa Bay Rays stadium. Clearwater accounts for much of that funding; Mayor Bruce Rector used a Tourist Development Council (TDC) meeting Wednesday to throw the team – and its host city – under the proverbial bus.

“It’s vividly clear that the Tampa Bay Rays do not care about this county,” Rector said. “I wonder at times about the City of St. Petersburg – if they’re only over here because this is where the money is at.”

The Tampa Bay Rays decided to play their 2025 season in Tampa rather than Clearwater. Photo: Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Rays.

City Councilmember Copley Gerdes, a TDC member and ardent stadium supporter, did not respond to Rector’s remarks. Those followed a graphic highlighting that Clearwater more than doubled St. Petersburg’s bed tax contribution throughout the year.

However, Visit St. Pete-Clearwater’s  (VSPC) statistics reflect that Clearwater and Clearwater Beach are one city. While the barrier island has thrived as a tourist destination, downtown – across the Intracoastal Waterway – has faced myriad governmental and developmental issues.

St. Pete Beach and St. Petersburg are separate municipalities. In addition, St. Petersburg’s official municipal beach is in Treasure Island.

“It would be awesome if a Major League Baseball team that is asking for a lot of this money from this county would understand … where the money comes from that’s going to be used for funding a new stadium,” Rector said. “And show just a little bit of gratitude, a little bit of respect for where this is all coming,” he continued. “It’s not coming from St. Petersburg – it’s coming from throughout the county.”

The City of St. Petersburg will provide $287.5 million in non-ad valorem taxes to offset stadium construction costs and $130 million for site infrastructure improvements. Officials will also sell 65 acres of prime real estate at a steep discount to create the surrounding district.

The city council and county commission approved the intertwined generational projects in July. Rector co-authored an op-ed advocating for the deal with St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor earlier that month.

However, Rector’s remarks followed the Rays’ decision to play the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Tropicana Field suffered over $55 million in damage during Hurricane Milton and will not be ready for baseball until the 2026 season, at the earliest.

Rector’s comments came the morning after the commissioners postponed voting on a bond issuance to finance their stadium contribution. He and other county officials hoped the team would spend their 2025 season at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater.

The team chose Steinbrenner Field after determining that they “could not get BayCare Ballpark into a condition where it could host Major League Baseball by Opening Day in March.” Rector said Wednesday that they decided to play in Tampa without “giving us any look at all.”

Commission and TDC Chair Kathleen Peters agreed that “the baseball team doesn’t care.” She also noted that “Clearwater doesn’t host major events,” like World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Royal Rumble and the St. Petersburg Grand Prix.

The Royal Rumble, held at Tropicana Field in January, generated a $47 million economic impact. The Grand Prix draws hundreds of thousands of attendees annually.

“For as long as I can remember, there’s always been talk about, ‘All the money ends up going to south county,’” Peters said. “But there just aren’t those big, giant events in north county.”

Visit St. Pete Clearwater launched a new, successful global marketing campaign after recent storms. Image provided.

The tourism industry’s lucrative start to the calendar year coincided with the Royal Rumble in January. The county set a monthly bed tax record in March.

Eddie Kirsch, director of digital and data for VSPC, said those positive gains continued until Hurricane Helene inundated beaches in late September. Counted collections plummeted by 19.5% that month.

Kirsch said that decrease “comes with a big asterisk.” The governor extended September’s reporting until Nov. 22.

“So, we’ll have a revised number for next month’s report,” Kirsch said. “We do not expect it to be down 19.5%.”

He credited urban communities for creating a balance with another “strong beach season.” While the fiscal year totals are subject to change due to reporting delays, Kirsch said Pinellas was “really close to where we were last year.”

He said preliminary data showed “positive occupancy and rates” that were “bouncing back” in October. “It does seem that things are slowly starting to recover,” Kirsch added.

Rector called the industry’s quick recovery an “amazing testament to the preparation this county has for storms.” He credited VSPC and Peters for letting national and international stakeholders know “we’re pretty good.”

This story was edited to reflect that Clearwater and Clearwater Beach are one city.