Before the Tampa Bay Rays returned to Tropicana Field on April 6, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan shared details about the team’s upcoming stadium votes.
Hagan, who has advocated for a Rays’ stadium in Tampa for nearly two decades, told a local radio station that Hillsborough County is looking to vote on May 6, followed by a Tampa City Council vote on May 7.
“That’s not finalized, but that is our goal,” he said on WDAE, adding that he has told county staff “that every effort needs to be made to meet that timeline.”
“Time is of the essence,” Hagan said.
The Rays’ new ownership group has moved swiftly since their introductory news conference in October, saying they’d like to have a ballpark at Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus ready by the spring of 2029. Some of Hagan’s fellow commissioners, however, have said they will not allow the team’s goals to affect their process.
Commissioner Christine Miller has said she will “not be backed against a timeline,” and Commissioner Harry Cohen has said the county’s workshop, which is scheduled for April 16, will be followed by a public hearing on the topic. Commissioner Joshua Wostal has said he will motion to delay any vote he feels is scheduled without sufficient public scrutiny.
The Rays, county and city staff must finalize a proposal for local officials to consider before any workshop, public hearing or vote can be held.
“There’s really only two or three issues … that have not been resolved. Now, I will tell you, they are significant issues,” Hagan said. “We have a little work to do, but progress has been made on reaching an agreement on a term sheet. Once that happens, then we will go to the public and sit down and have an honest debate on the benefits of this overall project.”
During the Rays’ home opener on Monday, Tampa City Council chairperson Alan Clendenin, who serves on the Tampa Sports Authority with Hagan, shared a similar sentiment with the Tampa Bay Times.
“When it is finished, it’ll be released, and it will have full transparency,” he said. “Everybody will see what’s been happening behind the scenes.”
Clendenin said there is “some wiggle room” in the timeline, but “it’s not a lot.”
“The reality is,” he said, “we have smart people working on it, and they can get it across the electeds’ desks, and we can evaluate it in a meaningful way.”
Hagan and Clendenin joined Gov. Ron DeSantis, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and members of the team’s new ownership group at a Tropicana Field suite on April 6, a sign of the political posturing taking place behind the scenes as a deal is negotiated.
On WDAE, Hagan also spoke about the use of the Community Investment Tax, Hillsborough’s half-cent sales tax, in the deal.
The team’s latest financing proposal is built around $467 million from the county’s slice of the tax, despite most of the current commissioners saying it should be off-limits to new sports stadiums in 2024. Commissioners will receive an opinion from outside legal counsel on whether the tax can help pay for a county-owned stadium.
Hagan reiterated his prior stance: The tax is an essential component.
“I don’t think the deal gets done without utilizing the CIT,” he said.