{"id":352529,"date":"2026-07-26T00:01:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T00:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/352529\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T00:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T00:01:08","slug":"not-something-you-want-the-governor-weighing-in-on-byron-donalds-says-rays-stadium-deal-is-tampas-to-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/352529\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Not something you want the Governor weighing in on’: Byron Donalds says Rays stadium deal is Tampa’s to close"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Tampa officials and the region\u2019s Major League Baseball team want a Governor invested in getting a stadium deal done, the window may close in January.<\/p>\n

Gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds<\/a> plans to let the ongoing discussions<\/a> between the Tampa Bay Rays<\/a> and local officials<\/a> proceed without his input, both as a candidate and, if he\u2019s elected in November, as the state\u2019s chief executive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s between the Rays and Hillsborough County. I think that this is something that the county has to make the best decision on behalf of the people that they serve. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s something that you want the Governor weighing in on. Because then what, you\u2019re going to be doing stadium deals all over the state? I don\u2019t think that\u2019s appropriate. I think that\u2019s something for local governments to manage and control,\u201d he said at a news conference Friday.<\/p>\n

The Naples Congressman, who carries President Donald Trump\u2018s endorsement into the August Republican primary, is the front-runner to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/a>. The current Governor has been far more willing to get involved. The Legislature set aside $50 million this year for improvements to Hillsborough College\u2019s Dale Mabry campus, the site the Rays are eyeing, and DeSantis has said the state \u201ccan do more on the infrastructure,\u201d though he won\u2019t put state dollars into the stadium itself.<\/p>\n

For now, the deal Donalds would inherit is stalled in Tampa. The same seven City Council members hit pause twice Thursday, once sitting as the Council and once as the board of the city\u2019s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), a separate legal entity with identical membership.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

First, the CRA Board voted 5-2<\/a> to pull discussion of the agency\u2019s proposed $100 million contribution from its Aug. 20 agenda. Board Member Bill Carlson<\/a> requested the removal, arguing the item should return only after the Rays negotiate directly with the CRA and present a finished proposal.<\/p>\n

Board members have repeatedly argued that negotiations among the Rays, Mayor Jane Castor\u2018s administration, city staff and Hillsborough County are no substitute for direct talks with the CRA itself.<\/p>\n

Hours later, the Council voted 4-3<\/a> against transmitting a comprehensive plan amendment for the Dale Mabry campus to reviewing state agencies. The vote did not formally reject the stadium, its financing package or a binding redevelopment plan. But it blocked an anticipated state review and wiped out the September adoption hearing Hillsborough College had envisioned.<\/p>\n

The Rays and local governments have spent months assembling a roughly $2.3 billion ballpark and surrounding district<\/a> on the college\u2019s Drew Park campus, across from Raymond James Stadium. The team has pledged more than $1.2 billion plus any construction overruns. The public share would come from Hillsborough County tourist development and community investment tax revenue, along with the CRA\u2019s proposed $100 million in future Drew Park property tax collections. County Commissioners and the Council both signed off on a framework for the deal in May.<\/p>\n

The Rays\u2019 lease at Tropicana Field expires after the 2028 season, and the team wants to open in Tampa in 2029. Financing decisions could come as soon as next month, team officials have said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s votes are the latest turn in a stadium search that has dragged on for the better part of two decades. It accelerated after Hurricane Milton shredded Tropicana Field\u2019s roof in October 2024 and sent the team to Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season. Former owner Stu Sternberg walked away from a planned ballpark in St. Petersburg\u2019s Historic Gas Plant District in March 2025. A group led by Jacksonville homebuilder Patrick Zalupski bought the team for a reported $1.7 billion last fall, pledged to keep it in the region and quickly zeroed in on Tampa. The Rays returned to a repaired Trop this season.<\/p>\n

Castor sharply criticized Thursday\u2019s votes<\/a>, arguing some Council members were attempting to halt the proposal before negotiations were complete.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Rays co-owner Ken Babby<\/a> has held discussions with Carlson in an attempt to get the project back on track.<\/p>\n

And DeSantis, a noted baseball fan, is anxious for a deal to get done before he leaves office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this has got to come to a head pretty soon, one way or another,\u201d DeSantis said last month. \u201cWe\u2019ll have a discussion if somehow it doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

A.G. Gancarski and Jesse Mendoza contributed reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If Tampa officials and the region\u2019s Major League Baseball team want a Governor invested in getting a stadium…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[445,135,3815,610,115496,143427,137,136],"class_list":["post-352529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-byron-donalds","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-tampa-city-council","tag-tampa-community-redevelopment-agency","tag-tampa-cra","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352529","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=352529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}