The Tampa Bay Rays have been researching a new stadium for several years, and it looks like they have finally found a suitable location in Tampa. The new $2.3 billion stadium would be located on Dale Mabry, near the Raymond James stadium and taking over a portion of Hillsborough Community College's campus. Sounds like a great plan, but where is the funding coming from?

            The Rays have generously offered to pay for a little over half of their stadium with the rest coming from Hillsborough County and City of Tampa taxpayers. Hillsborough County would be on the hook for $796 million while the City of Tampa would be contributing $180 million. The State of Florida will also have to supplement the stadium with around $150 million in renovations to the HCC campus. The County has promised no new taxes for the stadium, so where will the money come from? Sources that have been mentioned in county meetings include $30 million in federal disaster recovery money (meant for stormwater projects) and a ½ penny sales tax called the Community Investment Tax (CIT).

            The CIT was established in 1996 in support of another sports stadium project. Sold to the public as an investment in public infrastructure and facilities, the CIT added ½ penny to Hillsborough County sales tax for 30 years. Initially, the new Buccaneers stadium was to only be partially funded by the public. However, the team did not sell the agreed number of season tickets, and the approximately $165 million stadium was funded entirely by the public. The funding doesn’t stop there, $29 million in public funds were spent on upgrades in 2015 and the Tampa Sports Authority receives around $9 million each year from the CIT. This isn’t enough, in 2023 Hillsborough County contributed $2.6 million and the City of Tampa $1.3 million for operating and maintenance costs. The cost to taxpayers is huge, that money could be spent on projects that truly benefit the public.

            The CIT was supposed to be in place for 30 years; in 2024 the County asked for a renewal through 2041 from the voters. County Commissioners begged the public to extend the CIT in order to pay for needed infrastructure capital improvements. The renewal passed and the CIT is in place until 2041.

            Hillsborough County has published their planned expenditures from the CIT from December 2026 through December 2041. These include $597 million in projects for existing public facilities (including stadiums), $487.3 million for public safety and $180 million in public utilities. Hillsborough County contribution towards the Rays stadium would be $796 million, exceeding the current planned expenditures for public facilities for the next 15 years and more than the public safety and utilities budgets combined. To further stretch the County’s budget, the Buccaneers are planning $1 billion in improvements and renovations to Raymond James, around $700 million of which they want the public to pay for. Almost $1.5 billion in taxpayer money for sports stadiums! Over a billion dollars that could be used for stormwater improvements to reduce flooding, road resurfacing, schools, replacing aging water and sewer pipes, new fire stations and countless other projects that would better benefit the general public.

            Sports stadiums aren’t used by the public; they are used by people who buy tickets to events held at them. Building a stadium is just the beginning, financial contributions from the public don’t stop once it opens. 

-- Abbey Boyle

LPHC Deputy Treasurer and Legislative Committee