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$1.3 billion Rays stadium preliminarily approved by St. Pete City Council, final vote set for July
St. Pete Rising ^ | June 14, 2024

Posted on 06/15/2024 2:23:17 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican

Who's picking up the tab for the new Tampa Bay Rays's $1.3 billion ballpark, where’s that funding is coming from, and other lingering questions were answered this week during a seven-hour-long discussion.

On Wednesday morning, St. Pete City Councilmembers, Mayor Ken Welch, and Rays executives hashed out the details of the stadium agreement during a Committee of the Whole workshop meeting.

On Thursday, St. Petersburg City Council preliminarily voted 5-3 to approve a development agreement for the new Rays stadium. The opposing votes came from Councilmembers Lisset Hanewicz, John Muhammad, and Richie Floyd.

Also passed were ordinances that will rezone 24 acres of the Historic Gas Plant District, and modify the Intown West Redevelopment Plan to accomodate the new stadium.

Another Committee of the Whole workshop is slated for July 9th and a second hearing and final vote is scheduled for July 11th.

Designed by architectural firm Populous, the enclosed stadium is set to be the most intimate in Major League Baseball (MLB) with a capacity of 30,000.

The latest renderings presented during the meeting showed a fixed glass roof and large windows and porches spanning across the walls, allowing natural daylight to pour in while keeping the stadium climate-controlled.

Per the current agreement, St. Pete will fund $287.5 million, Pinellas County will contribute $312.5 million, and the Rays are responsible for the remaining $700 million to cover the construction of the stadium that will anchor the redevelopment of the 86-acre Gas Plant District.

(Excerpt) Read more at stpeterising.com ...


TOPICS: Sports
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1 posted on 06/15/2024 2:23:17 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

If every town/city said NO, we’d still have major league sports, the owners just wouldn’t be worth as much, and they would probably worry a lot less about virtue-signalling and wokeness


2 posted on 06/15/2024 2:25:44 PM PDT by PGR88
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To: PGR88

Yeah, except some team owners use this as blackmail. “Get us a new stadium, or we move to another city/state.” Amazing how often that works.


3 posted on 06/15/2024 2:27:14 PM PDT by CatOwner (Don't expect anyone, even conservatives, to have your back when the SHTF in 2021 and beyond.)
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To: CatOwner

St. Pete almost ended up with the Giants.

The real question: What does Ron DeSantis think?


4 posted on 06/15/2024 2:34:53 PM PDT by DIRTYSECRET
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To: CatOwner

Let em move - I’ve found a peace in divorcing myself from sports over the past 10 years. Only thing I still watch is Army-Navy (Go Navy USNA ‘89)...everthing else including the olympics and college Bball (Indiana native) which I used to really get into has gone by the wayside.


5 posted on 06/15/2024 2:36:53 PM PDT by reed13k
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To: reed13k
Let em move - I’ve found a peace in divorcing myself from sports over the past 10 years.

I like fantasy football so the gambling aspect is there if you're into that.

Otherwise, I'm not paying attention. I'm a casual fan, I'll tune into a game occasionally.

P.S. I think the Super Bowl jumped the shark this year with the whole Taylor Swift lovefest.

6 posted on 06/15/2024 2:39:29 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

Every city that has a “—- Rising” theme is ultra liberal.


7 posted on 06/15/2024 2:40:45 PM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Couch cushion money for local gubbmints. The Rays are actually a good investment, as opposed to section 8 housing, etc.


8 posted on 06/15/2024 2:41:24 PM PDT by FLNittany (Autotune is jealous of Karen Carpenter)
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To: MinorityRepublican
St. Pete will fund $287.5 million, Pinellas County will contribute $312.5 million,..

The level of payoffs and kickbacks to council members must be astounding.

9 posted on 06/15/2024 2:42:40 PM PDT by Gaffer
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To: reed13k

I do like March Madness for men’s college basketball, but not much else these days.


10 posted on 06/15/2024 2:43:15 PM PDT by CatOwner (Don't expect anyone, even conservatives, to have your back when the SHTF in 2021 and beyond.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Does anyone go to the games? What a waste of money, let the owners pay for it.
I imagine a small place that seats about 25,000 will be just right.


11 posted on 06/15/2024 2:46:10 PM PDT by Captain Peter Blood
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To: CatOwner

Indeed.


12 posted on 06/15/2024 2:47:38 PM PDT by No name given (Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: reed13k

I know how you feel.


13 posted on 06/15/2024 2:48:13 PM PDT by No name given (Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: DIRTYSECRET

<>The real question: What does Ron DeSantis think?<>

IIRC, DeSantis denied state funding a couple years ago.


14 posted on 06/15/2024 2:48:55 PM PDT by Jacquerie (ArticleVBlog.com)
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To: FLNittany
The Rays are actually a good investment.

No.

15 posted on 06/15/2024 2:50:51 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: Captain Peter Blood
Does anyone go to the games? What a waste of money, let the owners pay for it. I imagine a small place that seats about 25,000 will be just right.

1,000 is just right. Only the Elite can go to the games now. Luxury suites with pools and jazzucis at the stadium.

16 posted on 06/15/2024 2:53:42 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

Being in St. Petersburg is part of their problem. They’d draw better in Tampa.

Of course, an ideal ballpark site in Tampa is already occupied. By the Yankees — and the Tampa Tarpons, their farm club. It’s called Steinbrenner Field.


17 posted on 06/15/2024 2:54:32 PM PDT by TBP (Decent people cannot fathom the amoral cruelty of the Biden regime.)
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To: All

Bread and Circuses....

Too bad that the Taxpayers are forced to provide the ‘bread’ for the circus venues to keep themselves mind numbed.


18 posted on 06/15/2024 2:55:25 PM PDT by LegendHasIt
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To: MinorityRepublican

Making the seating capacity smaller is a stupid way to do MLB’s business. You don’t encourage people to become fans by limiting the seating and pricing them out of it.


19 posted on 06/15/2024 2:57:01 PM PDT by TBP (Decent people cannot fathom the amoral cruelty of the Biden regime.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

If having a new stadium is so important, then let the fans who go to the games pay for it.


20 posted on 06/15/2024 2:59:54 PM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
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