So we learned a lot yesterday. Or did we. The Tampa Bay released their plan to pay for a $450-million waterfront stadium. You can read our story here.
And here's some questions and answers related to the plan:
Does the Rays’ financing plan cover all of the stadium costs?
The Rays say yes, including improving and moving Bayshore Drive.
Who would pay for any cost overruns at the new stadium?
The Rays, but only if they oversee construction.
Would the Rays pay rent at a new stadium?
Lease terms have not been discussed. The team pays rent at Tropicana Field based on the number of tickets sold. The Rays said Thursday they expect a lease agreement for a new ballpark would include similar or better terms for the city.
What parking spaces do the Rays want to buy?
The team would pay the city upfront for 2,500 off-street parking spaces downtown that are now unused on game nights. The Rays would then sell those spaces to season ticket holders. Specific lots might include those at The Pier and in city parking garages downtown.
Would the Rays own those spaces?
No. They would simply purchase the ability to park in those spots on game nights. They then would resell those parking spaces to fans.
Does that cover the $55-million cost the team has attached to parking revenue?
No. The Rays say they will still need to find $20-million more. One possibility, they said, is a $1 per car surcharge for game-day parking.
What’s the city’s risk?
$75-million for construction. That risk, the Rays say, would be offset by taxes generated by redeveloping the Tropicana Field site.
What’s the county’s risk?
$100-million for construction. The Rays say that money also would be offset by the site’s redevelopment.
The city must have a referendum on the plan, but does the county?
No. The city’s referendum would deal with moving the stadium to the waterfront. It is not needed to approve the financing plan.
What is needed to approve the financing plan?
The Pinellas County Commission and City Council have to approve it. Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch attended Thursday’s presentation. The Rays said they want to meet with the commission as soon as next week.
So what's next? For the city, it's pouring over the numbers in more detail. For the Times, we're reaching out to four of the leading sports ecomonists or stadium experts to rate the financing plan. We should have that in the newspaper tomorrow. We're asking the experts, Andrew Zimbalist, Victor Matheson, Mark Rosentraub abd Neil deMause to rate the financing plan based off of the poll question a couple posts down.
We're planning to publish the online results along with a couple of good comments in Saturday's paper as well. If you have something worth saying about the financing plan (and can keep it to a few sentences) please post that here. It'd be even better if you were willing to attach your name and where you're from to your post.
I'll be back with last week's poll results in a bit. I know we more than 1,000 votes this week!
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