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Joe Henderson: Outsiders should butt out of discussion on a new stadium for Rays

 
Stuart Sternberg, center, speaking here before the St. Petersburg City Council in 2017, announced in February that the Tampa Bay Rays want to see a new stadium built in Ybor City. Sternberg is the team's principal owner. [Times files]
Stuart Sternberg, center, speaking here before the St. Petersburg City Council in 2017, announced in February that the Tampa Bay Rays want to see a new stadium built in Ybor City. Sternberg is the team's principal owner. [Times files]
Published March 22, 2018

No one knows if a new ball yard will ever be built near Ybor City for the Rays.

If it ever happens though, I make this prediction and will stand by it: It won't be anything like the taxpayer giveaway used to build Raymond James Stadium for the Bucs.

I mention this for two reasons.

First, Opening Day at Tropicana Field for the Rays' 20th anniversary season is only a few days away — March 29 for those of you keeping score at home. And by, oh, April 15, we'll probably be writing again how lousy home attendance is at the Trop.

And second, the group called Americans for Prosperity — funded by the Koch brothers, who, judging from the fact they are billionaires, seem to fit the prosperity profile — has interjected itself into the question of how to pay for the stadium.

Hint: As the lead story in the Metro section of your Tampa Bay Times reported Wednesday, the prosperous ones want to make sure no taxpayer dough is used for a stadium here.

They plan an aggressive pitch to local residents aimed at pressuring Hillsborough County commissioners into saying nay when baseball starts demanding public funding.

You can call it a pre-emptive strike, since no one has a clue yet how much a stadium will cost, much less how to pay for it. Estimates have fluctuated wildly, but they have one thing in common. They have all come in at far above the $150 million that Rays owner Stu Sternberg originally suggested he might chip in toward construction.

It's really none of AFP's business if a stadium is built here. For that matter, it's none of Tallahassee's business either, although that hasn't stopped lawmakers from voicing serious harrumphs about public financing for major sports venues.

I agree with that stance mostly, but there are ways to get this done while keeping local folks from being stuck with a huge bill.

I like the idea of using part of the county's tax on hotel rooms for this. It's also okay with me to use special taxing districts to bridge the gap. That would allow the tax money generated by a stadium and the surrounding development to go toward paying for the stadium.

That's a model used around the world to pay for big-ticket items.

Yet, AFP and some lawmakers would want to take that away, too. While the idea of saying to the Rays, "You build it, you pay for it," has a lot of appeal, I think we all know that won't happen.

The deal the Bucs signed 22 years ago to use part of a half-cent sales tax hike to build Ray Jay keeps reverberating with the Rays. Well, it should. It was a corporate giveaway for a billionaire and his family.

However, what always is overlooked is the fact voters approved the tax increase 53-47 percent in a record turnout. They knew the terms. They knew the Bucs would get rich(er) off that lease. They approved it anyway because, in my opinion, voters decided they wanted football.

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Well, we can debate the wisdom of that – especially after last season – but it was community decision. Lawmakers have proposed at times to even take that option away, and that's just wrong.

So, here's my recommendation.

Wait and see what financing plan finally emerges, then study it closely. That is several months away at best.

Then, let the elected officials know how you feel.

If community sentiment is overwhelmingly against whatever plan is presented, so be it. But as with the Bucs, I believe a majority of folks in this county want baseball and will support a reasonable, balanced plan for a modern stadium.

Thanks for checking in Americans For Prosperity, but I think this community is perfectly capable of handling this by itself.

In this case, things in Tampa would go better without Koch.