TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays, Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa have reached a tentative agreement on a $2.3 billion ballpark.
The stadium would be located on the site of Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry campus.
City of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a statement posted on Facebook, "This marks a historic step forward for Tampa and our entire region."
According to the definitive documents, Hillsborough County's contribution to the project has not changed. The county would contribute nearly $800 million.
Mayor Jane Castor says the City of Tampa has agreed to provide the Rays with $80 million over four years. She added no city community investment tax funding will be used.
"We have agreed to provide the Rays with $80 million dollars over four years and that will come in the form of a reimbursement for infrastructure projects that they have completed. We will not be using CIT funding...the source yet to be determined, but it will be in a form that is the most advantageous to the City Of Tampa to our taxpayers, some form line of credit or again something that advantageous to us, that funding will be paid back through the home-rule TIF that is being created with the oversight of a CDD and so that is really the funding structure as far as the city is concerned. We have been hand-in-hand with the county working on the iterations of the TIF agreement," said Mayor Jane Castor.
Copy of development agreement
Stadium Development and Funding Agreement - Tampa Bay Rays 2026.PDF by Tampa Bay 28
Tampa Bay Rays Chief Executive Officer Ken Babby said in a statement, “Together with Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa, we’ve taken some big steps this year to make a Forever Home for the Rays in our region a reality – but none bigger than the one we are taking today.”
“Today, due to the remarkable determination of many throughout this process, we have definitive documents that will serve as the framework to deliver a new ballpark, a reimagined Hillsborough College campus, and a privately financed neighborhood where we can all work, live, learn, and play," said Babby.
Mayor Castor said the Rays hope to play in a new ballpark by 2029.
"This is the biggest deal to ever come to Hillsborough County. This is a transformational project. It’s not just about baseball, but it’s recreating an entire area, turning it into a vibrant neighborhoodm creating a sports complex that will be able to link to the rest of the city with transit," said Tampa City Council Chairman Alan Clendenin.
Tampa City Council is set to vote Thursday, Aug. 27, on the $2.3 billion Tampa Bay Rays stadium project.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan has requested a special meeting on the agreement on August 28.
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