The Tampa City Council will “cast a definitive vote Aug. 27″ on the Rays’ ballpark proposal, according to Nicolas Villamil of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Council member Bill Carlson said that the motion is “dependent on the deal’s definitive documents” being released by 5pm ET Friday. Carlson’s motions come “after days of speculation that the deal would soon come to a definitive vote.” Final documents have been “anticipated for days” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/20).
SHIFTING FINANCIALS: In Tampa, Nina Moske wrote negotiations on a stadium deal “would shift some financial risk from the city to the Rays.” Under the current framework, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said that the city “would contribute $80 million through a line of credit or an internal loan.” Another $100M “could come from a loan taken out by the baseball team.” Both would “likely be paid off with property tax revenues generated from the Rays’ proposed mixed-use development.” Those loans would “replace two pots of fraught city money that a previous deal tapped for the stadium: the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and the Community Investment Tax.” Castor said that the city, county and Rays “have yet to agree on every slice of the deal” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/20).