CLEARWATER -- The other shoe has dropped in the campaign to get a new ballpark in place for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Pinellas County Commissioners voted 5-2 Tuesday afternoon to approve committing $312 million in tourist tax money for a share of the costs to build the stadium at the current 86 acres of Tropicana Field. The no votes came from Commissioners Dave Eggers and Chris Latvala. Eggers describes himself as "as big a fan as their is" but insists the site is undervalued and that the Rays should be paying a larger piece of the cost, to give them incentive to accelerate development. "I'm not going to support this deal, I'm going to support the effort to bring a better deal." Eggers compared his vote to the Rays' move to trade players now, in the hope of developing more prospects. Eggers and Latvala expressed doubts about the county paying its share in cash and taking on debt to cover it.
Latvala insisted "the Rays are my team" but pointed to the cost of $20 million a year over 30 years to finance the debt, calling it a "subsidy to a billionaire." He says that becomes a risk facing the potential expenses of beach renourishment after a serious hurricane.
Commissioner Rene Flowers spoke extensively about the history of the Gas Plant site, with business sites being condemned or sold for less than market value when she was a teenager, thanks to their being declared "blighted" properties. Flowers said her family and the family of St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch were the only people present for the discussion who had lost family assets to the removal of the historically African-American Gas Plant neighborhood for Tropicana Field. "I wonder where my family would be if we were paid fair value for our property... we'd be millionaires right now," Flowers said. "No hands raised to my community for what we lost, with all those properties vacant for so many years."
"Is everything (we want) part of this deal? It is not," Flowers said, saying her "yes" vote is based on a complex contractual agreement with the Rays.
Commissioner Janet Long calls the deal "the biggest opportunity in the entire region" and insists that the Gas Plant redevelopment will become a "world-class destination" if the city and county do it right.
The vote follows approval by the St. Petersburg City Council earlier this month.
Photo: Rays-Hines