Comm Voice
Taxpayers want public facilities fixed, not money spent on this stadium deal
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After a devastating hurricane season, it is time for the St. Petersburg City Council and Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners to reexamine their priorities.
Earlier this year, the City and County approved contracts with the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines Development teams to build a new baseball stadium and redevelop 86 acres of the Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Petersburg. This deal is expected to cost St. Petersburg and Pinellas County anywhere from $600 million (the City and County’s projection) to $2.4 billion (according to Florida Tax Watch). However, the County Commissioners and City Councilmembers must still vote to finance the deal through the sale of municipal bonds.
It is not too late for our elected officials to vote no to the proposed billion-dollar debt needed to pay for the stadium. The County Commissioners are expected to vote on the issue Nov. 19, and City Council is expected to vote Nov. 21. City Council members and County Commissioners should vote no, and send the agreements back to the City to be rebalanced in favor of taxpayers.
Heavy summer downpours and Hurricanes Helene and Milton exposed St. Petersburg’s aged infrastructure and its inability to handle increasing rainfalls and storm surge. One need look no further than the City’s collapsed seawalls, water main breaks, boil water notices and water restrictions to prevent sewage backup to understand St. Petersburg’s pressing infrastructure needs. It will cost the City millions to repair seawalls that were damaged due to Hurricane Milton, and the City’s recent “Discussion of Known Capital Improvement Need 30-year Forecast” presented to the Public Service and Infrastructure Committee on April 11, 2024 calls for approximately $5 billion in water, sewage and stormwater improvements. The problem is the City doesn’t have the money. It will have to incur more debt to ensure residents have safe drinking water, streets don’t flood in a heavy summer shower, and toilets don’t back up during a storm.
Sadly, Hurricane Milton also caused the stadium situation to worsen as well.
City taxpayers are now on the hook for $6.5 million to stabilize the storm-damaged Tropicana Field. On November 21, the St. Petersburg City Council will discuss a recent report that found it will cost an additional $55.7 million minimum to repair Tropicana Field in time for the 2026 season, only for the Rays to demolish the stadium after two seasons in order to build a $1.3 billion ballpark.
Economic studies prove that using public money to pay for the debt on stadiums always results in more taxes or fewer public services, or both. Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz asked the independent Florida Tax Watch to analyze the stadium deal. Florida Tax Watch determined “that the deal’s total costs to the City and County would be nearly $2.4 billion, rather than the estimated $600 million.” Additionally, Florida Tax Watch found that “to mitigate risk and balance the interests of the Tampa Bay Rays and local taxpayers”, the deal should require (1) the Rays to share revenues with the City as they do now; (2) a claw-back provision if the economic benefit falls short of the developers’ promises; (3) the ballpark contract should include provisions that sufficiently deter the Rays from relocating.
None of Florida Tax Watch’s recommendations were added to the final contracts.
And like the County, St. Petersburg will be left with no choice but to increase fees and taxes and/or cut services to pay for the necessary infrastructure improvements to provide basic necessities such as water and sewage.
The increased public debt will fall on residents who are already facing increasing insurance costs and many who have just lost their homes, cars, possessions and jobs. Any tax increase or service cut will just make their burdens heavier.
City Councilmembers and County Commissioners should vote no to reject the bond debts for this baseball stadium deal. It is fiscally irresponsible to increase the debt burden on residents to pay for a stadium that experts have determined will provide an inadequate return on investment to taxpayers, especially considering the extensive and critical repairs we must make to our aging and damaged infrastructure. There is still time for our elected officials to make the right decision. Our City’s future depends on it.
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. To learn more about our work on the stadium deal, visit our website at https://lwvspa.org/social-justice/.
Tom Tito
November 24, 2024at11:39 am
Excellent research by the LWV.
I fear the city council vote this past week to defer this until not later than January 9th leaves the door open for the 4 Rays boosters to vote yes on the bonds before filling the empty District 3 seat. North east St. Pete was hit hardest by flooding and those citizens could be disenfranchised by the other council members. Mike Harting won the election to that seat and leaving those residents out of the decision would be grossly unfair. The Rays could use a promise of cash donations to sway a county commission majority instead of making a deal more favorable to taxpayers.
The public is in shock over the increasingly confused nature of this deal, with city council voting to spend tens of millions of dollars repairing Tropicana for just a few short years of use before demolition, then a few hours later reversing that vote. Promised community benefits are almost all gone and the true cost is coming to light.
The Rays damaged public good will and trust with their failure to provide a clear written exit from the deal they say is over. I would love to see the Rays stay in St. Pete or somewhere here in the area, but we need a deal that’s fair to taxpayers.
Today the Tampa Bay Times used their front page to push hard for the city and county to complete this bad deal. They argue that the city gave away all rights to the 86 acres of public land as if that were a reason to complete the deal. If true that would indicate terrible judgment by the city.
We need a new appraisal of the property to expose the hidden subsidy that elected officials and even Tax Watch missed. County Commissioner Dave Eggers asked for a new appraisal. If you consider the value of the three properties closest to the Gas Plant the city appraisal is hundreds of millions less than comparable value. The others should demand that before moving forward.
Knox
November 22, 2024at12:13 pm
Thank-you for this article. Pinellas county doesn’t need a bunch of millionaires taking our money when a lot of us have no homes and are still prohibited from rebuilding.
Danny E White
November 21, 2024at3:07 pm
The stadium bed tax money comes with strong restrictions on how it can be used, funding infrastructure is prohibited, although it is badly needed and is and has been an ongoing expense. The stadium build and the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment are separate projects. The stadium is merely the anchor project around which other facilities and housing would be built. The loss of the stadium could create a major economic blow for the city and committed stakeholders, to include creating yet another ‘broken promise’ in the decades -old HGPD saga. To delay, yet again, the bond approval seems to be a wholly unnecessary power play by commissioners who have hurt feelings about the Rays TEMPORARILY moving the upcoming season to Tampa due to an act of nature resulting in severe damage that nobody saw coming and nobody could control. Yes, St Petersburg/Pinellas people who are unable to remain employed by the team as a result of the move deserve to be recognized with empathy and compassion. The team is named The Tampa Bay Rays, so, this temporary and necessary move to a facility that already meets MLB rules and standards should not be seen as a snub to their home base.
Robin Davidov
November 21, 2024at9:25 am
In addition to bed tax, $60 million of County property taxes are pledged to pay off the City’s stadium bonds. These taxpayer dollars are not restricted. Investing public bed taxes in a business deal with no guarantees of an economic return and no access to financial reports is irresponsible.
Dedric Roberts
November 20, 2024at4:28 pm
The money from the county is coming from the bed tax. That money can only be spent on tourism related expenses. The money will never be spent on services for only residents as it is not intended for such.
C. Schech
November 20, 2024at12:23 pm
I agree that City Councilmembers and County Commissioners should vote no to reject the bond debts for this baseball stadium deal until there are assurances that the return on investment favors the taxpayers. The Tax Watch’s analysis and recommendations should inform this decision. That is their responsibility.
Richard Stein
November 20, 2024at11:28 am
Thanks to the League of Women Voters for presenting the facts & studying the issue!
HAL FREEDMAN
November 20, 2024at11:18 am
Thank you LWV for your support of this important, non-partisan issue. At the very least, there should be a referendum and an item of this importance for the future of Saint Petersburg.
Jeremy T
November 20, 2024at9:26 am
Well said! Every dollar the county and state are spending should be directed to do the most good AND get the most value. Nothing about this project is wise economics and only serves to enrich a multibillion dollar private company. St Pete council and mayor did a grave disservice to their constituents by allowing the team to buy their votes.
The team could easily pay for their own facilities or share a substantial portion of profits. The fact they chose not to, have no binding obligations to remain in the area, and chose to “negotiate” with the storm-damaged area by *threats*, shows you just how greedy and amoral they really are.
Excellent work from the county. They would do well to hold fast, protect the citizens interests and reject these grifters
Christopher Lerbs
November 20, 2024at9:26 am
I am proud that St. Petersburg has a reliable source for the truth about the stadium and the historic Gas Plant District development. I’ve read all the analysis that the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area has offered from experts in urban development and publically financed stadiums. Strip away the PR noise and the conclusion is clear: this is a bad deal and it is getting worse. This is a wake-up call to voters and taxpayers.
HAL FREEDMAN
November 20, 2024at12:09 am
A referendum to determine what’s most important to taxpayers: infrastructure vs. baseball, would let the politicians off the hook. Our politicians don’t have the guts to test the issue. The stadium and Rays/Hines development project…yes, it’s a single project…might lose. After all, the newly elected County Commissioners and City Council-people were almost all anti-stadium. The public has spoken!
james gillespie
November 19, 2024at4:28 pm
THE COUNTY AND CITY SHOLD HAVE ANOTHER FINAL SHOT AT THE ISSUES GIVEN THE SIZE OF THE INVESTMENT. THE ISSUE DOES DIVIDE THE RESIDENTS AND THERE ARE DIFFFERENT VISIONS OF HOW THE CITY SHOULD GROW AND IMPROVE ITS PROFILE. ABSENT THE COURAGE TO HOLD A VOTE THE POLS CALL THE OUTCOMES.
Mike
November 19, 2024at9:34 am
Add subsidized housing and “diversity” (ie institutionalized racism) to the list of misguided priorities to stop wasting my money on!