Joe Chillura, behind tax plan that saved the NFL in Tampa Bay, dies at 84

Joe Chillura — architect, former Hillsborough County commissioner and former Tampa City council member — died Saturday. He was 84.

Chillura is perhaps best known as the Republican leader who proposed a half-cent Community Investment Tax approved by county voters in 1996. It was used to build Raymond James Stadium, which, in turn, was the move that saved the NFL in town, with a new home for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

According to Hillsborough County's tax report on its website, the Community Investment Tax generated $2.6 billion since 1996 through the end of fiscal year 2022 "to fund a wide range of improvements of benefit to our community."