Florida county poised to vote on financing for new $1.3B ballpark for the Rays

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - After two costly delays, the Pinellas County Commission is set to vote Tuesday on its share of financing for a new $1.3 billion Tampa Bay Rays ballpark. Rays officials say they're confident of approval this time.

The overall plan was approved by the county commission and city of St. Petersburg officials this summer, but votes on the funding for the deal had been postponed.

Earlier this month, the St. Petersburg City Council voted to approve its share of the bonds necessary to build the new 30,000-seat ballpark. Now it’s up to the county to decide whether to issue the bonds, which would be paid for by tourist taxes that can't be spent on things such as hurricane recovery.

Under the agreement, the city and county would put up about half the cost, with the Rays covering the rest, including any cost overruns.

"We’re upholding our part of the bargain," City Council Chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders said at a meeting earlier this month. "We said we were going to do this. We’re doing it. Now what you got?"

The proposal caps years of uncertainty about the Rays' future, including possible moves across the bay to Tampa, or to Nashville, Tennessee, or even to split home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal, an idea Major League Baseball rejected.

Under the stadium deal, the Rays commit to remain in St. Petersburg for another 30 years. But the Rays will play this season in Tampa at the New York Yankees' spring training site, Steinbrenner Field, because of hurricane damage to Tropicana Field.

The proposed stadium is a signature piece of a broader $6.5 billion revitalization project known as the Historic Gas Plant District, which refers to a predominantly Black neighborhood that was forced out by construction of the Trop and an interstate highway spur.

Supporters say the development would transform an 86-acre (34-hectare) tract in the city's downtown, with plans for a Black history museum, affordable housing, entertainment venues, plus office and retail space - and the promise of thousands of jobs.

"This is much, much bigger than a stadium," Pinellas County Commission Chair Kathleen Peters said at a November meeting. "It's about the investment we can make and the return on that investment that can guarantee we can keep our taxes low."

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.