{"id":376317,"date":"2026-08-20T07:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T07:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/376317\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T07:00:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T07:00:38","slug":"bill-carlson-draws-red-lines-as-rays-stadium-deal-heads-toward-tampa-hillsborough-votes-next-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/376317\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Carlson draws red lines as Rays stadium deal heads toward Tampa, Hillsborough votes next week"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal is moving toward pivotal votes next week<\/a>, even though some of the financing changes that helped revive the proposal may not be formally adopted for months.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the Tampa City Council is expected to schedule stadium-related meetings for Aug. 27. If that happens \u2014 emphasizing \u201cif\u201d \u2014 Hillsborough County Commission Chair Ken Hagan<\/a> said he plans to move quickly to schedule a County Commission vote, likely later that same day or the following morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce that is official, then I will move forward to scheduling our meeting, likely either next Thursday afternoon or Friday morning,\u201d Hagan told Florida Politics. \u201cThat\u2019s not firm, but those would be the likely dates.\u201d<\/p>\n

The definitive stadium agreements were still being finalized Wednesday morning. Hagan said county staff and the Rays are working through \u201ca couple of unresolved issues,\u201d but indicated the documents could be released this week as soon as late Wednesday or Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone \u2014 the county, the city, the Rays \u2014 we all want the documents to be released as soon as possible for transparency reasons and for there to be enough time for the public and the elected officials to review and digest them,\u201d Hagan said. \u201cBut as of right now they\u2019re not finalized, and it would be premature to release them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The timetable puts Tampa on course to act first, followed closely by Hillsborough County, as officials try to bring months of negotiations over a proposed $2.3 billion ballpark<\/a> and mixed-use redevelopment at Hillsborough College\u2019s Dale Mabry campus<\/a> to a vote.<\/p>\n

But one important piece of the compromise taking shape on the city side will have to come later. The changes may not be enough to swing every vote on Council, but they could still help push the deal across the finish line.<\/p>\n

Hagan said changes Tampa City Council Member Bill Carlson<\/a> is seeking to Tampa\u2019s Community Redevelopment Areas cannot be completed in time for next week\u2019s stadium vote.<\/p>\n

Carlson has pushed to extend the Drew Park and East Tampa CRAs while capping how much tax increment revenue flows into the Downtown CRA, a change he argues could free up future property-tax growth for roads, flood prevention and other needs elsewhere in Tampa.<\/p>\n

Carlson said that the West Tampa CRA could also become part of that broader package at the request of Hillsborough County Commissioner Gwen Myers, who has asked that the West Tampa CRA be extended as the city and county negotiate the changes.<\/p>\n

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

Carlson said the CRA changes are an effort to build support around the city by allowing neighborhoods beyond the stadium site to see a financial benefit from the negotiations.<\/p>\n

A related piece of the stadium financing plan involves a home-rule tax increment financing district around the Hillsborough College redevelopment. The TIF, which had already been under consideration, is being pushed as an alternative to using roughly $100 million from the Drew Park CRA<\/a> for the project. Instead, it would capture future property-tax growth generated by the redevelopment to cover that portion of Tampa\u2019s contribution.<\/p>\n

That is separate from the city\u2019s additional $80 million contribution<\/a>, which had previously been proposed through Community Investment Tax dollars. The TIF would not replace that piece of the deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny CRA changes or amendments will not be included in the definitive documents,\u201d Hagan said. \u201cThose require public hearings. They require a significant amount of time to work on those, so those would likely come within the next couple months.\u201d<\/p>\n

That matters because the CRA changes have been central to Carlson\u2019s push to restructure Tampa\u2019s financial participation<\/a> in the project. It also means Council could be asked to approve the stadium agreements before Carlson\u2019s preferred financing structure is formally in place \u2014 essentially requiring Council members to trust that the remaining pieces will follow.<\/p>\n

Carlson told Florida Politics Wednesday that, for him, that trust will have to be backed up in writing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe agreement is going to have to have covenants in it to require that the CRA steps be done,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cI don\u2019t think the CRA has to be a part of this agreement, but it\u2019s just like any other agreement where you say that performance on the agreement is partly dependent on some other organization doing something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlson said he will be looking for those requirements when the definitive agreements are released.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s not in there, then I don\u2019t vote \u2018yes,\u2019 or I ask them to delay it until they change it,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cThe Downtown CRA is mandatory for me. If that\u2019s not included and required, then I can\u2019t support it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlson added that Tampa\u2019s Community Investment Tax (CIT) dollars cannot return as the source of the separate city contribution. Carlson said his understanding is that negotiators have incorporated the pieces he seeks, but he has not yet seen the definitive language and expects to receive the documents at roughly the same time as the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it, for whatever reason, has the CIT in it for the city, then I can\u2019t support it either,\u201d Carlson said.<\/p>\n

Council Chair Alan Clendenin<\/a>\u00a0previously told Florida Politics on Tuesday that negotiations are moving toward the Drew Park and TIF structure<\/a> as city, county and Rays officials work to finish the agreements. Hagan said Hillsborough County has little preference over which financing mechanism Tampa ultimately chooses.<\/p>\n

But even if Carlson is brought firmly into the \u201cyes\u201d column, opposition from other Council members remains.<\/p>\n

Council Member Lynn Hurtak<\/a>, who has consistently opposed using public money for the stadium, said that nothing she has heard about Carlson\u2019s pitch has fundamentally changed the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the exact same plan just in different clothing,\u201d Hurtak told Florida Politics on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Hurtak recently met with Rays CEO Ken Babby<\/a> to discuss the project, but said she left the conversation unconvinced.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was still pretty adamant that I don\u2019t want to spend taxpayer dollars on a stadium,\u201d Hurtak said. \u201cThere are way too many unanswered questions, and I just don\u2019t see the need to be fast about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her concerns span both pieces of Tampa\u2019s proposed contribution.<\/p>\n

Hurtak said she does not object to a TIF as a financing mechanism, but wants to know details about how revenue generated within the district would be divided among the city, Hillsborough County and the Rays.<\/p>\n

She is also questioning the separate $80 million city contribution. Negotiators have sought to move that obligation away from CIT dollars, but Hurtak said that only raises questions about where the money would come from instead.<\/p>\n

That will be one of the first things she looks for when the definitive agreements are released.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t understand how taking it from a different hat is going to make a difference,\u201d Hurtak said. \u201cThe bottom line is, if you\u2019re not taking it from the CIT, then you\u2019re taking it from money that we use to make the city run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlson disputes that take. He said the earlier CIT proposal would have effectively functioned as a grant, while the new structure would treat the city\u2019s contribution as an advance that must ultimately be repaid with interest. He clarified that rather than providing $80 million upfront, the city would provide $20 million annually over four years. The precise source has not yet been locked down, he said, but could include available cash or short-term borrowing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it comes out of short-term debt or whatever bucket it comes out of, they\u2019re going to pay it back plus interest,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cEventually the city\u2019s going to get paid back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hagan said negotiators are also still working through issues involving payments, CRA-generated revenue and the community benefits agreement.<\/p>\n

Because Hillsborough County would shoulder the largest share of the local public investment, Hagan said the county wants the community benefits agreement to reflect that contribution, with a majority of the projects promised under the agreement benefiting the county.<\/p>\n

Negotiators are trying to ensure \u201cthe county receives a majority of the projects that are included in the CBA, since the county has a lion\u2019s share of the investment,\u201d Hagan said.<\/p>\n

Even if Tampa and Hillsborough approve the definitive agreements next week, those votes would not complete the stadium process until the additional pieces are approved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a win-win-win, where the Rays get what they want,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cAll the improvements are owned by the city, county or state, and we, the city, get money that we need to pay for roads and flooding and parks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal is moving toward pivotal votes next week, even though some of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[28772,52111,69824,6931,119313,129560,22641,276,30124,66713,28777,138356,135,3815,610,137,136,11123],"class_list":["post-376317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-alan-clendenin","tag-bill-carlson","tag-community-investment-tax","tag-community-redevelopment-agency","tag-drew-park","tag-gwen-myers","tag-hillsborough-college","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-ken-babby","tag-ken-hagan","tag-lynn-hurtak","tag-rays-stadium-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-tampa-city-council","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-tax-increment-financing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376317","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=376317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}