He envisions extending the East Tampa Community Redevelopment Area<\/a>, protecting Drew Park\u2019s control over future tax revenue, and capping the amount of property-tax growth retained by the Downtown CRA \u2014 potentially redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars toward road repairs across Tampa.<\/p>\n The current framework contemplates roughly $180 million from the city and its redevelopment agency, including $80 million in Community Investment Tax revenue and $100 million in redevelopment funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not whether you go from $180 million down to $175 million,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cIt\u2019s about figuring out something else that we can put in there that would show that we\u2019re getting a net benefit to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Carlson said he raised his ideas in recent discussions with Rays CEO Ken Babby on Friday as team leaders try to regain momentum<\/a> after the City Council stalled two major pieces of the proposed ballpark and mixed-use development at the Hillsborough College Dale Mabry campus near Raymond James Stadium last week.<\/p>\n The latest talks follow two setbacks last Thursday. Sitting as the CRA Board, Council members voted 5-2<\/a> to remove discussion of the agency\u2019s proposed $100 million contribution from the Aug. 20 agenda, then voted 4-3<\/a> as the City Council against sending a sweeping land-use amendment for the Hillsborough College site to state reviewers. That procedural step was separate from final approval of the ballpark and its financing.<\/p>\n Carlson said Babby and other project partners committed to meeting with the City Council and Hillsborough County Commissioners to hear their concerns and determine whether changes could attract additional support. That outreach is still ongoing.<\/p>\n Carlson\u2019s proposals include extending the East Tampa CRA, which he said would allow the community to retain and reinvest property tax growth for a longer period. The change would not require additional money from the Rays or Hillsborough County, but could give Council members tangible returns for community residents.<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost everybody, I think, on Council \u2014 and in the community \u2014 wants to extend the life of the East Tampa CRA,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cThat\u2019s something that would cost the county nothing. It would cost the Rays nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n Carlson\u2019s most consequential proposal may involve the Downtown CRA, which he argues no longer needs to retain all of the property-tax growth generated within its boundaries.<\/p>\n Carlson argued downtown no longer has the slum and blight conditions redevelopment districts are intended to address, yet continues retaining between $30 million and $40 million annually. He said Water Street Tampa alone generates about $20 million in taxes that remain within the district.<\/p>\n Under one scenario, Carlson said Tampa could cap the Downtown CRA at 50%, initially freeing about $20 million annually for road repairs. He estimated that amount could eventually grow to about $40 million per year and generate between $600 million and $1 billion over 30 years.<\/p>\n Carlson said the effort could address what he described as a roughly $2 billion road repair backlog.<\/p>\n \u201cDowntown was a success because it\u2019s been built up,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cSo now the rest of the city should benefit from it.\u201d<\/p>\n Carlson is also seeking greater protection for Drew Park, where residents and business owners worry that future redevelopment revenue could be redirected toward the ballpark district.<\/p>\n The Drew Park CRA is scheduled to expire in 2034. Carlson said negotiators are considering replacing it with a less restrictive tax increment financing district that would capture future property-tax growth from the larger development and use it for roads, sewer, stormwater and other supporting infrastructure.<\/p>\n That revenue would flow through a Community Development District (CDD), which Carlson said would add another layer of oversight to how the money would be spent. He said the District\u2019s governing body would be subject to Florida\u2019s public records and Sunshine laws, and infrastructure contracts would have to run through the CDD.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUsually those at first are controlled by a developer, and then they hand them off to the community afterward. So what a CDD does is it provides another level of public scrutiny,\u201d Carlson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn some other cases, the city has given money to a developer because many times the private sector can get a better price to construct roads and sewers and things than the city can. But then there are questions about whether it\u2019s a way for the developer to make money. So having a CDD allows another level of public scrutiny because they are a government agency that\u2019s subject to public records in Sunshine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Carlson also wants Drew Park to retain control over the tax growth generated outside the ballpark development. He said officials could extend the existing CRA or create a replacement district that excludes the stadium site.<\/p>\n \u201cDrew Park wants to be able to manage its own future,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cSo how about you extend the life of the Drew Park CRA or you create a new CRA that does not include the ballpark area? So that Drew Park, as it develops, will be able to control its own future.\u201d<\/p>\n Carlson\u2019s comments come as Tampa elected officials tussle over not only how much public funding Tampa should contribute to the project but also how the deal has been negotiated.<\/p>\n During an appearance Tuesday on \u201cThe JP Peterson Show<\/a>,\u201d Tampa Mayor Jane Castor<\/a> pushed back on Carlson\u2019s claim that the Council had been sidelined, saying the Rays and city staff have remained available to members throughout the process. She also defended the administration\u2019s role in assembling the proposal before sending it to the City Council for approval.<\/p>\n When asked by Peterson about conflicting views with the Council, Castor said the politicking is a one-way street.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know where that \u2018we don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on\u2019 is coming from, other than political motivation, but that\u2019s just not me. I don\u2019t get involved in that,\u201d Castor said on the show.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe city team and the county team and the Rays have been working hand-in-hand \u2014 I mean, seven days a week \u2014 to try to hammer out a proposal that is equitable to all involved. Once we get a proposal, then it\u2019s presented to City Council and they vote on that. But if you think about it \u2026 you don\u2019t want to have Council crafting a deal that they\u2019re then going to vote on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Carlson offered a different account. He said several ideas he raised months ago were rejected, though neither the Rays nor Hillsborough County claimed responsibility for turning them down.<\/p>\n \u201cI proposed several creative ideas six months ago, and the Rays got back to me and said they were rejected,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cI said, \u2018Well, did you guys reject them?\u2019 They said no. I talked to the county and said, \u2018Did you guys reject them?\u2019 And they said no. So that means somebody in the Mayor\u2019s Office rejected them for no reason.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that although Council members have been briefed, they have not been able to present concerns directly to team negotiators.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the communication to date has been one way. It\u2019s the Mayor\u2019s Office telling us what\u2019s happening, it\u2019s the Rays telling us what\u2019s happening, but nobody\u2019s been listening to the ideas,\u201d Carlson said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/051122026-FCG-Ads2_728x90_Opp2-scaled-e1778784244341.jpg\")
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