TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) – The Tampa City Council, in a marathon session Thursday, approved $80 million for a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.
The vote was 4 to 3.
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This is the first of two votes the Rays need for their new stadium.
The Hillsborough County Commission will vote on its portion of the stadium funding Friday morning in a special meeting at 9 a.m.
In the deal, the city’s public money contribution will drop from more than $100 million to $80 million, paid with a new tax district for the stadium instead of the local half-cent sales tax that many opposed.
The county will put in $796 million from different sources, up from the $750 million first agreed on back in May.
The MLB will also loan the Rays $150 million, while the team itself will spend more than $1 billion to build the new stadium and a residential commercial district next door.
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