Hillsborough Approves $90 Million, Up to $263 Million in Tourist Tax Bonds for Rays Stadium in Outgoing Board's Final Meeting

Hillsborough County commissioners on Tuesday, Nov. 10, approved a package of financing measures for the Tampa Bay Rays' proposed ballpark at Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry campus, appropriating $90 million from the county's renewed half-cent Community Investment Tax and authorizing up to $263 million in bonds backed by tourist development tax revenue. The votes do not release any public money yet, county officials stressed, but they let the county begin the court process needed before the bonds can be sold.

The four measures came at the final meeting of the current seven-member commission, one week after Florida voters approved Amendment 3, the property tax overhaul that is expected to cut local government revenue. Several residents urged the board to rethink the stadium commitment in light of that vote. A majority of commissioners kept the project on track.

What the commission approved

According to Florida Politics, which covered the meeting, commissioners took four separate actions:

• Amended the Community Investment Tax project list to formally add the ballpark, making it eligible for money from the half-cent sales tax that also pays for roads and other infrastructure.
• Appropriated $90 million from reserves of the renewed tax to set the stadium's initial capital project budget.
• Amended the county's Tourist Development Plan to include the ballpark.
• Adopted a master bond resolution authorizing up to $263 million in bonds backed by tourist development tax revenue, the tax charged on hotel stays and other short-term lodging.

The amendment to the Community Investment Tax project list passed 5-2, with Commissioners Donna Cameron Cepeda and Joshua Wostal opposed. Florida Politics reported that Wostal left the meeting after that vote without explanation, and the three remaining measures passed 5-1, with Cameron Cepeda casting the lone dissenting vote.

County budget officials told commissioners the ballpark would be only the second project funded through the renewed tax, following an earlier $75 million allocation for ZooTampa. The renewed tax runs from December 2026 through December 2041. Any appropriation beyond the initial $90 million would require another vote of the commission.

Why no money moves yet

County Attorney Julia Mandell told the board the approvals were procedural steps, not a payout. "By approving this today, that doesn't mean we start giving the money over," she said, according to both the Tampa Bay Times and Florida Politics.

The development deal the county approved in August requires bond validation, a process in which the County Attorney's Office asks a court to declare the stadium a lawful use of the bonds and other public money. The master bond resolution directs county attorneys to pursue that validation, and bond counsel told commissioners proceedings could begin in roughly two weeks.

Several other conditions must be met before any county dollars flow to construction, according to the officials who spoke at the meeting:

• The Rays must provide proof of financing for their share of the project.
• A court must validate the tourist tax bonds.
• The commission must approve a separate resolution setting the bonds' final terms and amend its budget when the bonds are issued.
• A construction funds trust agreement, governing how county, city and team money is deposited and paid out, must come back to the board.
• Agreements covering construction, licensing and use, and community benefits still need commission approval.

Commission Chairperson Ken Hagan said some of those remaining documents will come before the board in December, the Times reported.

How the county's $796 million share adds up

Tuesday's actions are pieces of a larger commitment. Hillsborough commissioners voted 5-2 on Aug. 28 to approve the development and funding agreement for the Dale Mabry ballpark, committing roughly $796 million in public money. The Tampa City Council had approved its side of the deal 4-3 a day earlier. Florida Politics broke down the county's share as follows:

The city of Tampa has separately committed $80 million toward eligible public infrastructure, bringing the combined public contribution to about $876 million, or roughly 37% of the project's estimated $2.36 billion cost. The Rays are responsible for the remaining cost and for any construction overruns, according to Florida Politics.

The ballpark is planned as the centerpiece of a mixed-use district on the Hillsborough College campus along Dale Mabry Highway, near Raymond James Stadium. Coverage of the August vote by Axios and MLB.com described a district of about 113 acres, a stadium of at least 28,000 seats owned by the county, a 35-year commitment by the team to play there with a non-relocation agreement, and annual rent of $4 million, with the team targeting Opening Day 2029.

Amendment 3 hangs over the debate

Opponents who spoke Tuesday focused on Amendment 3, which voters passed on Nov. 3. The measure will save homesteaded property owners substantial amounts on their annual tax bills but is expected to cause a significant drop in revenue for counties like Hillsborough, which rely on property taxes for day-to-day operations.

Resident Elizabeth Braden, who wore a Hillsborough College shirt, told commissioners the county's financial picture had changed since August. "We cannot borrow hundreds of millions of dollars or lock up our sales taxes based on ghost projections from months ago," she said, according to Florida Politics. The Times quoted her calling the combination "a double whammy in the pocketbook."

Supporters argued the reverse: that the stadium and surrounding development would expand the tax base at a moment when the county needs new revenue. Speaker Doug Batista pointed to the Rays' responsibility for cost overruns and annual rent and said the county had begun planning for Amendment 3 in June, before the deal was approved. "We can't simply cut our way out of those challenges," Batista said. "We also have to find ways to grow our economy and expand our tax base."

Wostal, who supported Amendment 3, said he wondered whether some of the stadium money could instead soften the amendment's impact on the county budget. "This deal was not drafted with Amendment 3 in mind," he said, according to the Times.

A lame duck board and a new majority

Tuesday was the last meeting for the current commission. Cameron Cepeda and Wostal, the two consistent "no" votes on the stadium, were unseated in the Nov. 3 elections. Commissioners-elect Neil Manimala and Aileen Rodriguez are set to be sworn in Nov. 17, creating a Democratic majority on the board, the Times reported.

Wostal used part of his final meeting to criticize the team. He said the Rays had not followed through on promises as the deal unfolded and noted that Hillsborough College has changed its plan for relocating students during construction. The college announced last month that it would move Dale Mabry classes to downtown Tampa and an office park while the stadium is built. "I'm about to have a bunch more free time on my hands to ensure the public is completely protected from this process," Wostal said, according to the Times.

The community benefits piece

One of the outstanding documents is the community benefits agreement, a central element of the Rays' pitch. The deal calls for at least $60 million in spending in Tampa and Hillsborough on housing, jobs, public safety and other priorities. The Tampa City Council narrowly approved the city's $21 million portion in October. The county is responsible for the remaining $39 million, and commissioners have not yet voted on that share, according to Florida Politics.

That vote will now fall to the new commission. Although the August agreement passed with five votes, the new board will be handling the stadium's remaining approvals at the same time it adjusts the fiscal 2027 budget, which began Oct. 1, to reflect the effects of Amendment 3.

What's next

County attorneys are expected to file for judicial validation of the tourist tax bonds within about two weeks. The commission's December meeting, the first with Manimala and Rodriguez, is expected to include more of the remaining financing documents, and the construction funds trust agreement and community benefits agreement must still return to the board. No county money can be spent on construction until the bonds are validated, the Rays show proof of financing and those agreements are approved.