TAMPA, Fla. — While Hillsborough College and the Tampa Bay Rays begin negotiations that could ultimately lead to a new baseball stadium, many key details remain unresolved, including who would pay for what.
Tampa Bay 28 reporter Erik Waxler spoke with an expert who studies the financial agreements between professional sports teams and the cities that host them.
WATCH: Expert says Rays stadium agreement leaves major questions unanswered
University of Colorado Denver associate professor Geoffrey Propheter has studied numerous stadium deals and says the new agreement between Hillsborough College and the Rays lacks specifics.
“And that’s even by term sheet standards. Term sheets are by their nature skeletons. This skeleton is just missing some bones.”
The Hillsborough College Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved a memorandum of understanding with the Rays, formally launching negotiations. Under the proposal, the team would lease a large portion of the Dale Mabry campus to build a new stadium and mixed-use development.
Propheter said the agreement provides no information about rent terms or how costs would be divided.
It states only that the Rays “will pursue various economic incentive programs at the local and state levels.”
“The question is what the county’s tax capacity on its tourist tax looks like because that’s going to be probably the number one vehicle that they are going to look for.”
A previously failed stadium deal in Pinellas County would have required taxpayers to contribute $600 million toward a $1.3 billion project.
Propheter said any public funding in Hillsborough County could come from a sales tax or property tax.
“And the form of that, whether it’s in a CRA (Community Redevelopment Area), whether it’s in the form of direct annual outlays. I highly doubt it will be a direct annual outlay situation. Those are just politically riskier.”
If the Rays receive public funding, the team would deed the stadium to Hillsborough County, which would exempt the property from taxes.
Propheter said that would mean the county would lose potential revenue for up to 99 years compared with leasing the land to another developer.
“The college is essential, giving up a lease revenue stream of 600 million to 1.7 billion. A century is an incredibly long time. Three generations of Tampa residents, of Hillsborough County residents, are not going to have access to that land as far as a revenue-generating machine.”
Propheter said teams are often drawn to stadium projects that include additional mixed-use development because of the added revenue potential.
He also said he was surprised the agreement did not address insurance requirements, particularly in light of recent damage to Tropicana Field.
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