The Tampa Bay Rays are one step closer to breaking ground on their new state of the art ball park after city council passed a motion to include public funds as part of their new $2.3B stadium deal. The vote was 4-3 in favour of the project at Tampa city council, and will reportedly feature $967M in public tax money.
The result comes roughly 3 months after a tentative agreement was put in place between the city and the team to green light the construction project.
“The Tampa Bay Rays are grateful for the leadership and support of the City Council members to approve an investment that, when accompanied by the private funding guaranteed by the Rays, will secure the future of Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay while creating a landmark destination neighborhood that will serve our region for generations,” Rays CEO Ken Babby told reporters.
The deal will now be further reviewed by the Hillsborough County Commissioners who will vote on the matter on Friday. The proposed stadium location will be adjacent to the Hillsborough College campus, and is nearby the Yankees spring training facility. Across the highway, one can see Raymond James Stadium, which is home to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The goal is to centralize the Rays home stadium and create a thriving sports and entertainment district for the city. The team has previously stated that the goal would be to complete construction on the new venue in three years time. The Rays lease at Tropicana Field is set to expire at the end of the 2028 season, meaning they may need to extend their stay for a year, or find a temporary home similar to what the Athletics have done as they await completion of their new stadium in Las Vegas.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.