Overview
- The team and local officials unveiled a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday that outlines a $2.3 billion stadium and district on Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus.
- The plan caps local public support at about $976 million — $796 million from Hillsborough County and $180 million from Tampa — with the Rays covering the rest and all cost overruns.
- City and county boards plan to take up the MOU next week, a step the Rays say is needed to keep a 2029 opening on track after the club’s Tropicana Field lease ends in 2028.
- The public share would rely on specific revenue streams — a local community investment tax, hotel bed taxes and bonds — that must be approved in court through a bond validation process and are designed not to tap general funds.
- State leaders have drawn lines, with Sen. Ed Hooper urging a pause on college-related money and Gov. Ron DeSantis ruling out direct stadium dollars while backing possible road and campus work, as open issues on safeguards, disclosures and community benefits move to formal negotiations.