{"id":128495,"date":"2024-11-21T18:13:51","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T11:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=128495"},"modified":"2024-11-21T18:13:51","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T11:13:51","slug":"amid-fresh-turmoil-will-st-petersburg-approve-rays-stadium-financing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=128495","title":{"rendered":"Amid fresh turmoil, will St. Petersburg approve Rays stadium financing?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"\">Months ago, when St. Petersburg and Pinellas County officials voted to approve deals with the Tampa Bay Rays for a new downtown ballpark and surrounding redevelopment, the message was triumphant: The team was \u201chere to stay,\u201d and remaining approvals on how the city and county would finance their portions were little more than formalities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">In reality, the path between the done deal and breaking ground has been far more troubled \u2014 unsettled by Hurricane Milton\u2019s devastation of Tropicana Field, the Rays\u2019 decision to play next season in Tampa, an election and spats between the team and public officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">On Tuesday, ahead of a planned County Commission vote on financing, the team said it was no longer on track to finish a stadium for the 2028 season and could not afford to move ahead with the plan. It blamed commissioners for postponing the vote, which had originally been set for October. A few hours later, commissioners voted to delay it again, to Dec. 17.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Now it\u2019s the City Council\u2019s turn. Its members voted 5-3 to approve the deal in July. On Thursday afternoon, they\u2019re scheduled to vote on finalizing their own bonds to pay for the city\u2019s share of the stadium and construction, as well as for roads and sewers in the surrounding Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment. In a separate vote, they\u2019ll be asked to approve tens of millions of dollars in spending on Tropicana Field repairs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Compared to the county, there\u2019s less strife at the city level. City and Rays leaders haven\u2019t openly taken shots at each other in recent weeks. As with the County Commission, voters elected two new City Council members \u2014 one a stadium skeptic, the other supported by a stadium-opposition group \u2014 earlier this month. Unlike the commission, where new members have already started their jobs, the council doesn\u2019t swear in its newcomers until January. It is down one member, as former District 3 member Ed Montanari \u2014 a supporter \u2014 resigned earlier this month as part of his candidacy for a state House seat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Otherwise, Thursday\u2019s decision-makers will be the same officials who made the decision in July, and who signaled where they stood on the deal early and often. Here\u2019s a reminder of where they\u2019ve landed:<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h1\">Copley Gerdes<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">Gerdes has been a staunch supporter of the stadium project from the beginning and voted \u201cyes\u201d in July. He\u2019s also the nephew of City Administrator Rob Gerdes, who led the city\u2019s end of the negotiations.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h1\">Brandi Gabbard<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">Gabbard voted \u201cyes\u201d on the deal in July. Though she occasionally criticized details of the deal and pushed for changes \u2014 such as guarantees for a childcare facility and grocery store in the Historic Gas Plant District \u2014 she also has consistently backed the project and voted against slowing down the approval process leading up to this summer\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fXDgxBh article start my-32\">\n<div class=\"fXDgxBh__content\">\n<div class=\"fXDgxBh__stage--start\">\n<h2 class=\"fXDgxBh__headline\">Spend your days with Hayes<\/h2>\n<p class=\"fXDgxBh__subheadline\">Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletter<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fXDgxBh__stage--finish\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 25\" class=\"fXDgxBh__success-icon\"><path d=\"M9.6 18.326L3.6 12.326L5.292 10.622L9.6 14.93L18.708 5.82205L20.4 7.52605L9.6 18.326ZM12 0.32605C10.4241 0.32605 8.86371 0.636439 7.4078 1.2395C5.95189 1.84255 4.62902 2.72647 3.51472 3.84077C1.26428 6.09121 0 9.14345 0 12.326C0 15.5086 1.26428 18.5609 3.51472 20.8113C4.62902 21.9256 5.95189 22.8095 7.4078 23.4126C8.86371 24.0157 10.4241 24.326 12 24.326C15.1826 24.326 18.2348 23.0618 20.4853 20.8113C22.7357 18.5609 24 15.5086 24 12.326C24 10.7502 23.6896 9.18976 23.0866 7.73385C22.4835 6.27794 21.5996 4.95507 20.4853 3.84077C19.371 2.72647 18.0481 1.84255 16.5922 1.2395C15.1363 0.636439 13.5759 0.32605 12 0.32605Z\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"fXDgxBh__headline\">You\u2019re all signed\u00a0up!<\/h2>\n<p class=\"fXDgxBh__blurb\">Want more of our free, weekly newsletters\u00a0in\u00a0your\u00a0inbox?<!-- --> <strong>Let\u2019s\u00a0get\u00a0started.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/newsletters\/\" class=\"ui__button--call-to-action\" data-tbtevent=\"link\" data-tbtcategory=\"Newsletter Sign Up Form\" data-tbtlabel=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;All newsletters link&quot;}\">Explore all your options<svg viewbox=\"0 0 19 19\" class=\"fXDgxBh__link-icon\"><path d=\"M18.2334 9.32605C18.2334 11.713 17.2852 14.0022 15.5974 15.69C13.9095 17.3778 11.6203 18.326 9.2334 18.326C8.0515 18.326 6.88118 18.0933 5.78925 17.641C4.69732 17.1887 3.70516 16.5257 2.86944 15.69C1.18161 14.0022 0.233398 11.713 0.233398 9.32605C0.233398 6.9391 1.18161 4.64992 2.86944 2.96209C4.55726 1.27426 6.84645 0.32605 9.2334 0.32605C10.4153 0.32605 11.5856 0.558842 12.6775 1.01113C13.7695 1.46343 14.7616 2.12636 15.5974 2.96209C16.4331 3.79782 17.096 4.78997 17.5483 5.8819C18.0006 6.97383 18.2334 8.14415 18.2334 9.32605ZM3.8334 10.226H11.0334L7.8834 13.376L9.1614 14.654L14.4894 9.32605L9.1614 3.99805L7.8834 5.27605L11.0334 8.42605H3.8334V10.226Z\"\/><\/svg><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"\">Last month, as the cost of repairing Tropicana Field came into focus, Gabbard expressed some hesitancy about spending money to fix a stadium meant to be torn down in a few years. But she was clear that her feelings on the Trop have nothing to do with where she stands on the new stadium.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h1\">Lisset Hanewicz<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">Hanewicz has long been one of the stadium project\u2019s most vocal critics, and she voted against it. A former federal prosecutor, she repeatedly said she was worried that loopholes in the deal would allow the Rays to benefit from the deal and leave the city high and dry; leading up to this summer\u2019s vote, she wrote that the \u201clegal terms of the agreement leave the city unprotected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">That subject could be back on the table now: On Tuesday, Rob Gerdes told county commissioners that the city has \u201ca concern about the team leaving and the redevelopment remaining in their hands.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h1\">Deborah Figgs-Sanders<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">Figgs-Sanders, the council\u2019s chairperson during its year of Rays debates, has consistently backed the new stadium and surrounding redevelopment. During Tuesday\u2019s County Commission meeting, outgoing commission chairperson Kathleen Peters referred to Figgs-Sanders as the face of the deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">She was involved in the vetting of the Rays\u2019 promised community benefits \u2014 a crucial element of the deal, with the redevelopment meant to pay homage to and make amends for the Black community razed for what\u2019s now Tropicana Field. A political action committee funded by the Rays supported her recent reelection campaign, which she won by nearly 30 points.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h1\">Gina Driscoll<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">Driscoll at one point positioned herself as a swing vote, saying that the deal didn\u2019t go far enough on the Rays\u2019 affordable housing commitments or the penalties the team would face if it failed to deliver on its promises. She also criticized the pace of council meetings leading up to the vote, which she said was rushed. But she was happy with the deal as a whole and voted \u201cyes\u201d in July, and she hasn\u2019t publicly signaled any discontent since then.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h1\">John Muhammad<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">Muhammad \u2014 who served a partial term after his predecessor stepped down and opted not to run for election this year \u2014 voted against the deal. He opposed the sale of the 65 acres of public land surrounding the stadium site, which the Rays are set to develop as the Historic Gas Plant District, and he said he feared the city\u2019s contributions to the project would ultimately weigh too heavily on taxpayers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">It wasn\u2019t clear Wednesday whether Muhammad planned on attending Thursday\u2019s meeting: He was scheduled to speak at the opening of a new food bank in Jordan Park at the same time Thursday afternoon, according to an event announcement. He didn\u2019t immediately return a phone call and text message seeking comment Wednesday.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h1\">Richie Floyd<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">Floyd was the third vote against the deal, a position he signaled early: He declined to attend an event celebrating the preliminary agreement in September 2023 because of his opposition to public subsidies for private corporations. He criticized the scope of the Rays\u2019 affordable housing commitments and the use of tax dollars in the deal, and recently he\u2019s opposed publicly funding repairs to the Trop as the fate of baseball in St. Petersburg looks uncertain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Floyd was also skeptical that the Rays\u2019 commitment to covering cost overruns would hold up \u2014 a prediction that resonated Tuesday as the Rays called for a new deal amid the team\u2019s professed inability to afford the current commitment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><i>Staff writer Colleen Wright contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/news\/st-petersburg\/2024\/11\/20\/amid-fresh-turmoil-will-st-petersburg-approve-rays-stadium-financing\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Months ago, when St. Petersburg and Pinellas County officials voted to approve deals with the Tampa Bay Rays for a new downtown ballpark and surrounding redevelopment, the message was triumphant: &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=128495\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=128495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=128495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=128495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=128495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}