The Rays, St. Petersburg, and Pinellas County have signed a deal with the Rays to build a new stadium. The deal calls for St. Pete to put up $287.5 million, the county $312.5 million, and the Rays $700 million. The Rays are required to pay cost overruns.
Now the Rays say the costs have gone up but they cannot afford to pay them.
Where are we? The city and the county have said they cannot pay any more, and the Rays say they won’t. The deal is at a stalemate.
So, while they dither, let’s not forget that voters rejected the deal long before it was ever signed.
Poll results confirm strong St. Petersburg voter opposition to Rays/Hines deal.
- 74% – The deal is unfair.
- 82% – Deal should require approval of voters.
- 79% – Rays should pay rent. (Current deal – Rays pay no taxes and the city gets no rent).
- 83% – Rays should share revenue. (Current deal – city puts up $287.5 million and gets no share of revenue).
- 86% – Rays should not get to buy additional 64 acres for development unless they pay fair market value. (Current deal – Rays buy land without a current appraisal of land value.)
- 72% – Deal should be renegotiated.
Isn’t it time to move on from a stadium in St. Petersburg. Read my thoughts.
READ THE FULL POLL FROM MASON DIXON:
READ THE MASON DIXON PRESS RELEASE:
