TAMPA, Fla. — A divided Tampa City Council on Thursday signed off on a community benefits agreement with the Tampa Bay Rays, moving the team’s planned Drew Park ballpark a step closer. The vote was 4-3, with Lynn Hurtak, Charlie Miranda and Guido Maniscalco voting no.
Under the deal, which Mayor Jane Castor’s administration negotiated with the team, the Rays will put $21 million into Tampa. That money is one piece of a larger $60 million commitment to community projects in the city and Hillsborough County spread over 35 years. The city will get its share in installments, and the timing of the first payment drew much of the debate.
Part of the money, $600,000, goes into a fund for Drew Park and nearby blocks to pay for drainage, sidewalks and traffic calming. A vendor program will give businesses near the site a chance to work on the stadium. The city also plans to spend its share on affordable housing around the ballpark, minority- and women-owned business participation, road and transit upgrades, and youth, education and veterans programs. Council member Luis Viera said the benefits needed to reach neighborhoods across a city of 420,000 people.
Separate road work around the site, which would bring a new overpass plus wider lanes on both Air Cargo Road and Tampa Bay Road, is estimated at $30 million to $40 million. The Rays want the stadium open by 2029. Hillsborough County, which would get $39 million for approving the ballpark, takes up the deal on Nov. 10.
The stadium is planned on Hillsborough College land at the Dale Mabry campus, and the move is already unsettling the school. At a trustees meeting Wednesday, students and faculty said they still lack details about shuttles and spring classes. The college dropped a plan for a temporary building on campus and now plans to send five health care programs to a University of South Florida center downtown and most other classes to Tampa Bay Park, an office complex about 1.5 miles away. College President Ken Atwater acknowledged the shift will inconvenience students but said classes in permanent buildings will serve them better.
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