TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday unveiled the draft framework for their plan to build a new stadium in Tampa.
The project, according to the “Memorandum of Understanding Overview,” would include the Rays, Hillsborough County, city of Tampa, Tampa Sports Authority, the Community Redevelopment Agency board, and Hillsborough College.
The new owners of the team want to build a $2.3 billion stadium on the campus of the college.
The team says it will pay for at least half of that amount. The rest, they want to come from current public funding sources, and not create any new taxes to fund the project.
Here is a break down of what that might look like.
The team is asking Hillsborough County to put up $750 million, the city of Tampa to pay $251 million, and the rest to come from other public funding sources.
The Rays have also said they would pay for design and construction overruns.
The public funding sources the team wants to tap into are the city and county tourist development tax, the Drew Park CRA, and the community investment tax.
The use of CIT funds has led to debate among county commissioners about how that money should be used.
When voters approved it, the county said the money would not be used to build a new stadium.
The Rays say they want this stadium to be built by March 1, 2029.
They say in order for that to happen, all agreements need to be signed in less than two months — buy June 1. The city and county could hold votes on a stadium deal as early as next month.
Other notes from the MOU include that the stadium lease would be for 35 years, with nearly 12,000 permanent jobs created, and improved facilities at the college.
You can read the full Memorandum of Understanding Overview below.