Florida county votes to OK financing for new $1.3B Rays ballpark - ESPN

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After a nearly two-month delay, the Pinellas County Commission voted Tuesday in favor of its share of financing for a new $1.3 billion Tampa Bay Rays ballpark, part of a plan to keep the team in St. Petersburg for another 30 years.

The overall plan, with its slogan «Here To Stay,» was approved by the county commission and city of St. Petersburg officials this summer, but votes on the funding for the deal have proven more contentious and were delayed.

Earlier this month, the St. Petersburg City Council voted to approve its share of the bonds necessary to build the new 30,000-seat ballpark. The county vote Tuesday was 5-2 for bonds that would be funded by tourist or «bed» taxes that cannot be spent on things such as hurricane recovery.

Under the agreement, the city and county would put up about half the cost, with the Rays covering the rest, including any cost overruns.

«We're upholding our part of the bargain,» City Council Chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders said at a meeting earlier this month. «We said we were going to do this. We're doing it. Now what you got?»

The county's share of bond financing approved Tuesday is about $312.5 million. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred met recently with several skeptical commissioners to stress the project's importance and the league's desire to keep a team in the Tampa Bay region.

«He is committed to this market. Rob Manfred is the reason I am voting yes on this today,» said Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala.

The proposal caps years of uncertainty about the Rays' future, including possible moves across the bay to Tampa, or to Nashville, Tennessee, or even to split home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal, an idea Major League Baseball rejected.

Under the