Hillsborough College to vote on ground lease with Rays

Hillsborough College on Wednesday will vote to approve a ground lease with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays are planning to develop a stadium and mixed-use district with restaurants, retail and new college buildings on the Dale Mabry Campus.

The college’s trustees approved a non-binding memorandum with the team in January, which laid out that the college would lease all property other than their campus area to the Rays through a long-term deal, no less than 99 years.

Hillsborough College and the Rays have been negotiating this lease since the memorandum was approved, according to an agenda for a board of trustees special meeting.

The lease will be subject to various contingencies that allow local governments to fund portions of the project. It will also include a development agreement that outlines the construction process and timelines.

The Rays have said they are hoping to complete a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County by the end of the month. Managing partner Patrick Zalupski told the Tampa Bay Times this week that the team is shooting for a done deal by as close to June 1 as possible.

The team had previously set June 1 as the date for when “definitive documents must be completed and approved by all parties.”

The team plans to pay for about $1.2 billion of the $2.3 billion ballpark.

The Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners and Tampa City Council are holding regularly scheduled meetings on May 20 and 21, respectively. It’s unclear if non-binding memorandums with the Rays will be on the agendas.

According to the college’s agenda item, the ground lease will not have a monetary cost to the college.

“If funding contingencies are met, the College will obtain significant state funding for the reconstruction of the Dale Mabry Campus,” the agenda states.

State funding might not come during this year’s ongoing special budget session, though. Clearwater Sen. Ed Hooper, who leads the senate budget committee, said this week that the state should not assign any money to the stadium project before local governments come to an agreement with the team.

A Hillsborough College spokesperson did not immediately respond to a phone call requesting comment.

Hillsborough College trustees will meet again on May 27 for a regularly scheduled board meeting.

The Tampa Bay Times Education Hub reports on Florida’s schools and universities and the students they serve. You can contribute to the hub through our journalism fund by clicking here.