Everything you need to know before tomorrow’s Pinellas County meeting on the new Rays Stadium bonds

The settlement to construct a brand new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays hit a roadblock lately, because the Pinellas County Fee has delayed a vote on issuing bonds that might assist pay for what could be crew’s new dwelling discipline.

The present deal requires Pinellas County to contribute $312.5 million, which is addition to the $287.5 million in bonds from the Metropolis of St. Petersburg. With out the county funds, in line with the Rays, the deal is probably going lifeless.

The County Fee had voted 5 to 2 in favor of supporting the stadium this previous summer season, however they delayed approving the primary sequence of bonds in late October, and because of this of the November 5 election the Fee composition has modified.

Each of the sooner “no” votes, Dave Eggers and Chris Latvala, stay on the Fee however two of the “sure” votes are gone, changed by new members (Vince Nowicki and Chis Scherer) who’re thought of unfavorable to stadium funding.

These new commissioners will likely be sworn in at the beginning of the November 19 assembly during which the difficulty of stadium funding will likely be mentioned, and might want to rapidly study precisely what it’s they’re voting for.

Tourism Improvement Primer: The place does Pinellas County’s cash come from, and what can it’s used for?

The Tuesday vote is on whether or not to imagine debt to assist the constructing of a brand new stadium in St. Pete. The entire debt after curiosity could be far above the $312.5 million that goes on to the stadium. But when it have been to be issued below the rules for self-supporting income bonds and notes, native tax payers are unlikely to bear the burden of the debt.

The cash that might be used to again the bonds for the stadium doesn’t come from normal tax income collected by the county by means of gross sales or property taxes, however fairly from income generated by means of the county’s lodging tax.

For those who keep at a resort or trip rental in Pinellas County, along with the usual gross sales tax you pay one other 6% tax that is named a Vacationer Improvement Tax (TDT). It’s truly a sequence of taxes that counties can select to impose on in a single day stays.

By state regulation, these TDT revenues can solely be used for objects that should assist tourism. Nearly all of the funds (60% within the case of Pinellas County) are used for tourism promotion — this consists of funding and staffing Go to St. Pete-Clearwater, which runs nation extensive advertising campaigns designed to encourage extra in a single day visits to the county.

The rest of the income can be utilized for funding in occasions and capital items which might be a minimum of tourism-adjacent.

Seaside nourishment is a key price range merchandise for any coastal neighborhood. Seashores are an infinite draw for vacationers , but when we go away issues as much as Mom Nature we discover that the sand from one seashore will get routinely washed away and dumped some other place. Storms can speed up seashore erosion and extra excessive storms can enhance the monetary burden of seashore preservation.*

However once we go down the listing of Pinellas County wants — improved roads and transit; inexpensive housing; higher colleges; safety in opposition to flooding — these aren’t objects that may be coated by resort taxes.

In recent times the state has loosened its tips a bit to allow some extra infrastructure and transportation spending, however these outlays nonetheless should meet the wants of vacationers, so for instance masking the prices of the “trolley” that drives between the seashores could be allowed, however paying for transit enhancements to assist space commuters wouldn’t be.

Paying to renovate, or borrowing to construct skilled sports activities amenities? Nicely that isn’t solely allowed, however it’s particularly named as a goal of the Tourism Improvement Tax (bear in mind, I’d mentioned it was a sequence of taxes). Two p.c of the Pinellas County resort tax is the Skilled Sports activities Franchise Facility Tax and the Further Sports activities Franchise Facility tax, which particularly names stadium/enviornment growth as its aim. (To be clear, the county isn’t required to make use of two p.c of its resort tax income on sports activities amenities.) So there isn’t any query that cash CAN be used for skilled sports activities amenities.

In line with the Tampa Bay Instances, the county tourism board had constructed up a big surplus of funds, since Pinellas tourism had recovered after the early months of the pandemic however the tourism board had not resumed its grant applications. As of this previous Might, thanks to those reserves and strong resort tax assortment, the county administrator believed that the county might pay for seashore nourishment and a brand new baseball stadium, in extra to potential investments in renovation/enlargement of the Dali Museum and the Phillies minor league and spring coaching complicated.

It’s doable that Hurricanes Helene and Milton may have led to decrease tax collections, or will enhance the prices of seashore nourishment, which might certainly put a stadium funding in jeopardy — the present price range forecast does already embody a dramatic spike in seashore nourishment spending for 2026. However at this level, we don’t know whether or not resort tax collections will fall under projections, nor do we all know whether or not or how a lot the earlier seashore nourishment estimates will must be elevated. [Note: we reached out to Visit St. Pete/Clearwater asking for recent expenditure information, but as of publication we had not received the information]. With out this info, it’s onerous to find out whether or not the county’s Tourism Improvement Tax could be inadequate to pay for a brand new stadium.

Why would the County cease the bonds from being issued?

I can perceive why elected officers could be reluctant to make use of taxpayer {dollars} to fund a baseball stadium, and specifically a stadium to deal with a crew owned by very rich individuals who will use this public funding to get wealthier.

For instance, St. Pete councilmember Richie Floyd has been a constant “no” vote on the stadium as a result of he’s in opposition to offering subsidies to massive enterprise, throughout the board. If a neighborhood authorities merely mentioned “sorry, we gained’t try this” I personally could be sympathetic, and even supportive.

However let’s be clear: this isn’t the place of the Pinellas County Fee, both by their previous coverage or their feedback on-line and to the media.

The Fee’s reluctance to assist this endeavor can’t be because of their concern about utilizing tax {dollars} to assist a non-public enterprise, as a result of your entire goal of the Vacationer Improvement Tax is to assist the personal hospitality business by selling native tourism, and since the Fee has offered funds towards the renovation of the Blue Jays facility (and appears poised to do the identical for the Phillies).

A number of county commissioners and different native officers have expressed dismay that the Rays will play in Tampa in 2025 whereas Tropicana Discipline is renovated, however that looks like a pink herring.

Steinbrenner Discipline, which was renovated in 2017, has higher amenities, higher entry to transportation, and a bigger capability than both of the minor league stadiums in Pinellas County. And Baycare Park, dwelling of Phillies spring coaching, was itself flooded in the course of the hurricanes, and is present process an lively cleanup. It’s not but clear whether or not MLB or the MLBPA would have conform to a full season of video games at both Pinellas based mostly venue.

The Blue Jays stadium is positioned in a largely residential neighborhood and the affect of a full main league season there may very well be problematic. And if the Phillies complicated have been able to host a full season of main league baseball, why is the crew asking the county for $40 million in upgrades?

In order that leads us to ask: if Pinellas County has strong resort tax revenues and reserves, and if resort tax revenues can’t be used to fulfill probably the most urgent wants of Pinellas County residents, why not use these funds to assist construct a brand new stadium in St. Petersburg and be certain that main league baseball stays within the county previous 2028?

Would the county fee be keen about supporting minor league baseball within the space, however unwilling to assist main league baseball?

One of many lead Commissioners in opposition to the bonds being issued introduced this morning that he’s trying ahead to assembly with the Rays within the close to future, so the Tuesday vote might end in one other rescheduling to permit for extra conversations, however the motive for these talks isn’t instantly clear.

Proper now the Fee math doesn’t look nice for Rays stadium funding, however for all the concentrate on tomorrow’s assembly, it ought to be famous the precise deadline to drift the stadium bonds is March, 2025.

So it’s value taking note of each to vote tomorrow, and to the precise causes given for both approving or denying the issuance of bond, in the event that they get any airtime.

The Fee will meet on Tuesday, November 19, at 2:00 PM. This hyperlink additionally supplies details about learn how to supply feedback both earlier than or on Zoom in the course of the assembly.

You will discover the agenda right here; stadium funding is Merchandise 22. The assembly will likely be livestreamed on the County Fee YouTube channel.

*Pinellas seashore nourishment is prone to be extra pricey within the coming years for one more motive. The federal Military Corps of Engineers will typically cowl over half of the associated fee for seashore nourishment, however they require easements to have the ability to entry personal property in an effort to have entry to seashore areas. Many Pinellas County house owners of beachfront property have balked at offering these easements, and the County has determined it might fairly spend thousands and thousands extra of its personal cash to protect its seashores than struggle with landowners over easements. Learn extra about this battle right here.