{"id":306390,"date":"2026-06-13T14:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/306390\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T14:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:33:08","slug":"survey-excitement-for-new-rays-stadium-and-skepticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/306390\/","title":{"rendered":"Survey: Excitement for new Rays stadium – and skepticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many Hillsborough County residents say a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark could bring jobs and community pride, but they are skeptical about public financing with a widespread belief they have been left out of the process, according to a new survey.<\/p>\n

The survey of registered voters, released Wednesday, comes as local governments weigh contributing nearly $1 billion in subsidies for the stadium and voters prepare for a broader property tax ballot question that could sidetrack the plan.<\/p>\n

The results were compiled by researchers at Florida State University and San Jose State University using the responses of 612 active voters, with about a third living in three ZIP codes nearest the proposed Hillsborough College site in Tampa\u2019s Drew Park neighborhood.<\/p>\n

While support for the idea of a new ballpark is evident in perceptions of its benefits, respondents were more divided on whether public dollars should be used. At the same time, confidence in the decision-making process itself appears notably low.<\/p>\n

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they believe there should have been a public vote on whether taxpayer money should be used for the project.<\/p>\n

Only a small share said they trust city leaders to make the right decisions on the stadium, and just about one in five felt residents have had a real say in how the plan has unfolded.<\/p>\n

Even so, most agreed the project would bring tangible benefits. Large majorities said a new ballpark would create jobs, boost entertainment options and serve as a point of civic pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany residents recognize what a ballpark could bring,\u201d said Timothy Kellison, associate professor of sport management at Florida State University, who led the study. \u201cWhat they\u2019re less sure about is whether their voices have been part of the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

The findings come as the proposed $2.3 billion stadium \u2014 tied to a larger mixed-use development \u2014 continues moving through a complex financing structure involving the city, county and state.<\/p>\n

The plan includes contributions from multiple tax sources and reserves, alongside major private investment from the Tampa Bay Rays.<\/p>\n

Support for the financing itself was split, with roughly half of respondents opposing the use of public funds. Trust and transparency indicators were also weak, with many respondents saying local leaders have not been open about costs or responsive to nearby neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

The survey was fielded between April 16 and June 9. Researchers note there were no meaningful differences in responses collected before and after June 2, the day the Legislature placed the property tax measure on the November ballot.<\/p>\n

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Responses were collected through an online questionnaire sent to 29,634 active registered voters in Hillsborough, randomly selected from those with an email address on record in the county voter roll.
\nThe usable response rate is 2.1%. Responses were collected April 16 to June 9.
\nRespondents were grouped by those in three ZIP codes closest to the proposed stadium location (198) and elsewhere in the county (414).
\nNote that total percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding error.
\nThose who completed the survey earlier in this window did not differ significantly in their attitudes toward the project from those who completed it later.<\/p>\n

Rick Mayer is a reporter for WUSF, the bay area\u2019s NPR affiliate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many Hillsborough County residents say a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark could bring jobs and community pride, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-306390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}