Here’s where Pinellas County commissioners stand on a Rays stadium deal
It’s been nearly six months since local leaders and the Tampa Bay Rays announced they had a preliminary deal to redevelop Tropicana Field and the 65 acres around it. Since then, Pinellas County commissioners have been in a holding pattern.
They’ll eventually vote on whether to spend $312.5 million in tourist tax dollars on the stadium itself; the county won’t have a say in the surrounding development. When that will happen is anybody’s guess: County Administrator Barry Burton said last week that he has no timeline.
Things could heat up soon, though. St. Petersburg officials said last month they hope to bring finished documents to the City Council at meetings in April, and county commissioners said they’ll be watching those meetings closely.
“Much of this is out of our hands at this point,” County Commission Chairperson Kathleen Peters said in a text message last week. She didn’t respond to follow-up questions via text.
While they wait, here’s what the other commissioners told the Tampa Bay Times about where they stand.
Janet Long
What she’s saying: Long has been perhaps the most outspoken commissioner in favor of the deal. “I’m continuing to try to do my part to keep it on the front burner,” she said in an interview after a recent County Commission meeting where she asked when commissioners might get to vote. She also referenced the opposition that’s emerged against the project. “I’m not blind that there’s a small group of people trying to undo our hard work.”
The upshot: “Given the deal goes down like we have talked about it, I’m a yes vote, because I think it’s in the best interest of the whole region,” Long said.
Brian Scott
What he’s saying: Scott fundamentally agrees with people who oppose public subsidies for stadiums, he said. But the county puts money toward private businesses in the name of economic development all the time, he said. In this case, the fact that the county would spend tourist tax dollars, which have a limited range of uses, puts him at ease. Trying to understand where regular constituents stand on the deal has been tricky: “When I’m out in public talking to people, I find a lot of people think the deal’s already been done,” he said.
The upshot: “If we had it in front of us today, I would probably vote yes,” he said — with one caveat. The publicly released terms have the Rays paying the county $1 million a year for the use of the land, but there’s no escalation clause. “In thirty years, that million dollars is not going to be the same million dollars it is today,” he said.
Charlie Justice
What he’s saying: Justice, who lives in St. Petersburg, said he believes there’s consensus among commissioners to spend tourist tax dollars on a stadium project. He’s most interested now in how the county might look at financing its contribution. “I think what we want to do is look at, if everyone’s satisfied with that number, how we break that up,” he said. “Is it all bonded over 30 years? Do we pay some up front and finance the rest?”
The upshot: “I would say I’m leaning in support of it,” he said. “I think some of the questions that we have outstanding are real reasonable questions, and if we can get those to a satisfactory point let’s move forward.”
Dave Eggers
What he’s saying: Eggers is content to trust the process, sitting tight while legal teams for the county, city and Rays continue to hammer at the details. “Probably we’ll learn a lot from listening to one of the meetings down at the (City) Council,” he said.
The upshot: Eggers doesn’t know and won’t make a decision until he has all the details in front of him, he said.“I go into something like this, I try to be positive and optimistic,” he said. “I’m looking for good reasons to move that decision-making process in a positive way. But sometimes you hit roadblocks. I’m not looking to find negativity — I’m looking to see if there’s a way to make this make sense.”
Chris Latvala
What he’s saying: Latvala sees the Rays as an asset to Pinellas County, he said. But he also noted other priorities for how the county spends its tourist tax dollars. “Personally, I want the Rays to stay in Pinellas County,” he said. “It’s important for Pinellas County and for our region that they stay. But for me, our beaches drive tourism, and beach nourishment for me comes first and foremost.”
The upshot: Latvala wouldn’t say how he’s leaning. But he finds it interesting that supporters and opponents alike are spread across the political spectrum. “If they joined together, coming from the different political spectrums, I think they certainly can be quite the force,” he said of the opposition. “I don’t know if that will happen or not.”
Rene Flowers
What she’s saying: Flowers is a fixture of St. Petersburg: She’s lived in the city her whole life and served on the City Council and Pinellas County School Board before becoming a county commissioner. So people know her — and lately, she said, they’ve stopped her to ask about the Rays wherever she goes, whether that’s church or the grocery store. Most of what they want to know, though, has to do not with the stadium itself but with the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District, which is in the city’s hands. “I’m trying to stay in my lane,” she said.
The upshot: She didn’t want to say how she’d vote today. She supports the project in general, she said, but wants to make sure that the financial details add up to a community benefit. “We’ve got to take the emotion out of the document,” she said. “We’ve got to take the personal personalities out of it. And for me, I’m looking at where the numbers fall.”
