ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are here to stay in St. Petersburg, but the new stadium deal might not be a home run for taxpayers — with interest on debt, St. Pete and Pinellas County residents could end up paying more than $1 billion for the development.
Since announcing their deal for a new stadium two weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Rays pledged to pay for more than half of the new $1.2 billion stadium with the city and county evenly splitting the remaining $600 million.
But public records reveal taxpayers could end up footing the bill for nearly double that amount once the city and county pay off the debt to finance the project. Earlier this week, city officials released an outline of the numbers for the first time. While only a rough draft, it presented the same numbers we're all familiar with but also threw a curveball.
The terms specify the city would spend up to $130 million more, in what it's labeling "infrastructure", for the redevelopment of the historic Gas Plant District surrounding the stadium.
With the Rays stadium and Gas Plant infrastructure added together, the drafted summary says St. Petersburg's total contribution will be capped at $417.5 million. "Any cost overruns on the infrastructure will be the responsibility of the Rays/Hines joint venture," the draft summary says.
Back when the deal was first announced, Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters said the bed tax would be used to pay for the county's part of the bill. That tax is collected when visitors stay in Pinellas County and brings in about $92 million a year.
But the city has been tight-lipped on how they plan to finance the new ballpark, and with skyrocketing interest rates, some estimate the tab could end up costing taxpayers $1.29 billion.
The city says the finance plan is still in the early draft form and they look forward to presenting more comprehensive numbers to the city council on Oct. 26.