Hillsborough County vote on Tampa Bay Rays ballpark proposal not expected until mid-April

The ball is in the hands of Hillsborough County as the Tampa Bay Rays push for public funds to support a new ballpark and mixed-use district at the Hillsborough College Dale Mabry campus, but a vote is not expected until mid-April.

Reports last week indicated the Tampa Bay Rays could be asking for over $1 billion in taxpayer funding for the project as early as this week. But Nicolas Villamil of the Tampa Bay Times reported that the earliest day Hillsborough County could consider Ray’s ballpark funding is April 15.

He cited an email from Deputy County Administrator Gregory Horwedel, and added that a vote by Tampa City Council could quickly follow a county vote.

The proposal to relocate the Rays from St. Pete to Tampa has drawn significant support from elected officials at the local and state levels, but negotiations for public funding could be more heated. If approved, the funds would be used to build out a new ballpark for the team equipped with a state-of-the-art rooftop, as well as a surrounding mixed-use district in the mold of the Atlanta Braves ballpark and the surrounding Battery District.




https://floridapolitics.com/archives/785804-hillsborough-county-vote-on-tampa-bay-rays-ballpark-proposal-not-expected-until-mid-april/