Tampa Bay Rays win final approval for new $1.2 billion stadium

The Pinellas County Commission agreed Tuesday to dedicate about $312.5 million in bed tax revenue to the construction of a new ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 5-2 vote brings to an end a yearslong effort by the team to win support in order to build a new baseball stadium replacing Tropicana Field.

What the county approved Tuesday was to move money from the tourism tax — which is earmarked for use in the industry and to benefit quality of life — to help fund a portion of the $1.2 billion stadium. The city and the team will fund the rest, with half of the money — and all the cost overruns — paid by the Rays.

The county’s portion will come in the form of revenue bonds tied to the bed tax which, county officials told commissioners, is money that does not directly benefit residents because of how the tourism tax is structured by law.

The property for the ballpark and two parking garages will be owned by the county which will lease it to the city. The city will then sublease it to the Rays for 30 years, with an option to extend beyond that.

Thursday’s vote followed St. Petersburg’s City Council approval of a larger package that makes up an 86-acre redevelopment plan.

What the city approved was a package that included12 agreements between the team, its development partner Hines and the city allowing the administration to execute the contracts and move forward for the redevelopment. The agreements included the funding and details for the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant district and a stadium operating agreement.