Hillsborough County To Vote Friday on Rays "Bad Deal" Stadium Funding

Hillsborough County has scheduled a "special" BOCC meeting on Friday, 8/28/26 at 9am to vote on the latest public funding agreement for a new Rays Stadium. The County finally released their 184 page agenda that includes the 180 page agreement today. 

Apparently, the county commissioners expect their constituents and the taxpayers to read and fully digest the monstrosity of an agreement in less than 48 hours before they vote. Or....they expect their constituents and the taxpayers will not have the time to read and digest how at least a Billion dollars (direct funding plus debt) of their tax dollars will be used to enrich Billionaire baseball owners.

Looks like the "Pass the funding agreement first to then see what's actually in it" attitude.

The public can weigh in during public comment either in person or virtually by registering here or signing up in person before 9am on Friday.

Public Funding:

• City of Tampa 

•  $80M "payable from City legally available non ad valorem revenues in four (4) annual installments" beginning January 1, 2027. (Supposedly Tampa claimed they would not use CIT funds so where is available non ad valorem coming from - inquiring minds want to know.)

• Hillsborough County will contribute $796M of direct funding (that excludes debt payments)

• Community Investment Tax Renewal (CIT)
• County will hand the Rays upfront $360M of CIT revenues in 4 installments of $90M
• County commissioners specifically told voters and taxpayers in 2024 that the CIT Renewal would NOT be used for ANY new Stadium. They lied.

• Tourist Development Tax  
• County will bond out (aka Debt) $263M of TDT for 35 years (total interest payments over 35 years will cost hundreds of millions of dollars)
• County will raid the TDT reserves of $40M
• BOCC Chair Ken Hagan is Chair of the Tourist Development Council who oversees the spending of the TDT (how convenient)
• Tampa Mayor Jane Castor is on the Board of the Tourist Development Council (how convenient
• Section 3.10 of the Funding Agreement includes the County "understands" the Rays will be requesting additional TDT revenue in the future.
• "Section 3.10 Additional TDT Contribution Requests. The County understands that it is StadCo intent to request from the County additional contributions of the one percent high tourism impact tourist development tax authorized by section 125.0104(3)(m), Florida Statutes. The County will consider, subject to all due and proper requirements of Applicable Law, such requests in a manner consistent with its consideration of such requests from other similarly situated professional sports teams located in Hillsborough County. Any County approval will be subject to separate written agreement by and between StadCo and the County and subject to approval by the Board of County Commissioners in its sole and absolute discretion." 
• More tax dollars to the Rays will be a big black hole of never ending handouts. 

• County will hand the Rays $103M by raiding the Countywide General Fund Cash Reserves. 
• The mystery (so much for transparency) $103M the County does not specify the funding source for in the agreement but the County previously presented they would use these reserves

• The same Cash Reserves Fund that Commissioner Ken Hagan has scoldingly told the public for years could not be used to fund roads and infrastructure (primary responsibility of local government) because using the Reserve funds would negatively impact the County's bond/credit rating.
• But use those funds for a Stadium and it's A-OK...

• $30M HUD Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR 
• According to HUD's website, the intent of CDBG-DR grants:

• Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant funds are appropriated by Congress and allocated by HUD to rebuild disaster-impacted areas and provide crucial seed money to start the long-term recovery process. These flexible grants help cities, counties, Indian tribes, and States recover from Presidentially declared disasters, especially in low-income areas, subject to availability of supplemental appropriations. Since CDBG-DR assistance may fund a broad range of recovery activities, HUD can help communities and neighborhoods that otherwise might not recover due to limited resources.

• As Florida continues to recover throughout the state from numerous hurricanes, we are investigating whether the use of this grant to help fund a baseball stadium is an appropriate use of these disaster recovery funds. 

There is a clause in this funding agreement regarding if there is an "Unavailability of Public Contribution Amount" resulting from the illegality of the use of all or any portion of the Public Contribution Amount. The Rays will be notified and the City and County will propose an "Alternative Funding Arrangement" aka they will go find other revenue sources to use aka that Stadium will get built...

The Tax-Increment Financing (TIF) will encompass a new Ballpark Community Development District (CDD) which it appears the CDD will issue bonds. The incremental property tax growth will pay back the debt service first and maintain, repair and improve public infrastructure within the CDD District - which is all in the city of Tampa.

Subsidizing a new baseball stadium while the County has neglected its roads and infrastructure for years is fiscal irresponsibility and bad governance. 

This is a bad deal, especially for taxpayers in unincorporated Hillsborough. While the County hands the Rays a Billion dollars of County tax dollars, it is the city of Tampa who will benefit.  

The dishonesty, deception and lack of public transparency by Ken Hagan and County staff is appalling. Hagan, as Chair of the BOCC and Chair of the TDC, empowered him to manipulate with insiders the creation of this Stadium Subsidy Scam. 

It is intentional misfeasance to be committing tax revenues for a new stadium without knowing whether Amendment 3 is passed or not. 

At the very least, this contentious issue should be on the ballot and let voters decide not 7 county commissioners.

Email all the commissioners here and tell them to VOTE NO!

County Shows Taxpayers The Rays Stadium Shiny Hood - Taxpayers Lift Hood And Find a Dirty Greasy Slimy Engine With Missing Parts

Taxpayers look under the Shiny Hood

The public gets shown the Rays Stadium's Shiny Hood. 

When Taxpayers Lift the Shiny Hood, they find a Dirty Greasy Slimy Engine with Missing Parts.

Yet last week Hillsborough County commissioners (5-2) and Tampa city council (4-3) voted to approve the Ray's Stadium Shiny Hood Memorandum of Demands. 

County Commissioners Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller asked NO questions about what's under the Ray's Stadium Shiny Hood. They condescendingly said the Stadium's Shiny Hood was enough to approve moving the Rays Memorandum of Demand along for "further negotiating" 

They were bluffing. The Rays "Kingpin Ken" called it a "Monumental Day" because he knew....

Further negotiating will not come.

Immediately after their Memorandum of Demand was approved, the Rays publicly claimed they are done negotiating. They will not contribute a dime more to their New Stadium.

The only thing left is for the County and Tampa to ram the Rays Stadium Shiny Hood through the Process ASAP.

Under the Rays Stadium Shiny Hood, we find this dirt:

• Rays confiscate 85% of CIT funds from the County and 61% from Tampa in the First year of the Tax
• Rays confiscate 71% of CIT funds from the County and 53% from Tampa over the first FOUR years of the Tax

This is basic information under the Rays Stadium Shiny Hood that County staff, Hagan, Myers, Boles & Miller are hiding from the public.  They know it would spark even more outrage, especially from voters who were told the CIT would NOT fund any New Stadium.

Lifting the Shiny Hood, we find a lot of grime, grease and missing major parts that need major repair work.

Major part missing: Hillsborough County and Tampa refuse to provide the opportunity costs of pushing at least $1.5 BILLION taxpayer dollars (includes debt cost) to the Rays for a New Stadium. Adding in those costs will destroy the fairy dust and unicorn "economic development" narrative.

Some grime: Miller confused the Rays Stadium with the Bucs Stadium. The Bucs Stadium was funded by specifically placing that funding question on the ballot in 1996 that was passed. She cannot equate the two without asking that the Rays Stadium funding be placed on the 2026 ballot and let the people vote.

Very greasy: The Rays Public-Private Partnership is being created by 5 county commissioners who will allow:

• The Rays to jump to the head of the line to confiscate your CIT funds that voters were promised would NOT be used for any New Stadium
• The Rays to raid $103 MILLION of the County's Cash Reserves that Rays "Kingpin Ken" Hagan lectured could never be touched and never be used to fund the County's neglected roads. Roads are an "Essential Core Function of Local Government aka a NEED" but suddenly it's A-OK to raid them for a New Stadium that is "NOT an Essential Core Function of Local Government aka a WANT".
• The Rays to be handed a massive amount of Tourist Taxes Upfront that is Bonded while Taxpayers get hundreds of millions of dollars of debt costs for decades 
• The Rays to get back ALL - dollar for dollar - the Stadium District CRA property taxes that exceeds the debt service which is totally unfair to the rest of the County's taxpayers.
• County/Cit to get No Naming Rights Revenue or an Equity Stake to help protect Taxpayers who are being forced without a referendum vote to UPFRONT pay for about half the Stadium cost and incur debt for decades.

We'll help answer the following Missing Parts that Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller refused to ask about:

1. What would happen when the State eliminates/reduces property taxes on homesteaded property? 

Easy Answer: The Bad Deal totally falls apart.   

2. The Rays get "their" tax dollars UPFRONT so what happens during economic downturns over the next 15 years and the CIT and Tourist Tax tank? 

 Answer: Bondholders must be paid FIRST, projects promised voters in 2024 delayed or ignored, and delayed projects will cost taxpayers more with inflation (That happened when the last 20 years of 1996 CIT were bonded out in 2007 and the Big Recession hit in 2008). Roads and infrastructure will continue to be neglected.

3. What happens to the projects promised to voters in 2024 simply due to the elimination of sales tax on commercial leases? Answer: Revenue will be at least 8-10% less and with the Rays grabbing "their" share UPFRONT, it will negatively impact those projects.

4. What CIT revenue growth is actually being used with funding the New Stadium? 

Answer: The County has thrown out CIT revenue growth rates like they are darts on a dart board. CIT growth rates have ranged from 3% (what voters were told in 2024) to 3.6% claimed earlier this year after the commercial lease sales tax was eliminated to 4.1% which the Rays claimed and now being used by the County to an absurd 6.1%  

The public has no idea what the actual numbers are under the Rays Stadium Shiny Hood. 

It appears the County throws out whatever growth rate they need at the time for whatever number they are looking for. Did they mislead voters in 2024? Were they intentionally trying to create a slush fund?

Hillsborough County has already lost 2 lawsuits related to misleading voters related to referendums. Did they learn anything?

The Rays Stadium Shiny Hood of Demands have been exposed. The engine under that Hood is Dirty, Greasy Slimy and Missing Major Parts.

The Rays were never going to negotiate further. They got 5 county commissioners and 4 Tampa city council members to approve the Rays Demands by looking at their Stadium Shiny Hood. That's all they wanted.

What was approved last week wasn't to continue negotiating but to Continue the Process to ram the Rays Stadium Shiny Hood Bad Deal through ASAP.

The Taxpayers get stuck with the Dirty, Greasy, Slimy Engine under the Rays Stadium Shiny Hood that's Missing Parts and needs Major Repairs.

Not a good week for Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller. They  either got hoodwinked or were all in on the Rays Stadium Shiny Hood Charade.

Commissioners Get Played By The Rays or Just Bow Down to the Rays "Kingpin Ken"?

Today's Tampa Bay Times Headline

Arrogance drips off the Rays CEO as he admits the Rays were never going to further negotiate and their current Memorandum of Demand Bad Deal is it - take it or leave it.

Local media knew it as local news headlines claimed the County had approved the MOU like it's a done deal.

With this headline being the most laughable:

The Rays and their "Kingpin Ken" used the Non-Binding" (Wink Wink Nod Nod) Memorandum of Demand to flush out and bind four other commissioners to move the Bad Deal forward.

This is why the Rays "Kingpin Ken" wanted to ram a vote through on the Sketchy Stadium Subsidy Scheme that has too little transparency, too many questions and too many issues unresolved.

Disregarding Rays "Kingpin Ken" who will do and say anything for a new taxpayer funded Rays Stadium, the other four commissioners - Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller - gave up the County's only leverage to negotiate a better deal and an equity stake.

Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller voted to approve the Rays Memorandum of Demand that allows the Rays to jump to the head of the line and loot the County's CIT renewal funds Upfront - before a dime of those funds are used for promised road and infrastructure projects.

Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller voted to approve the Rays confiscating $103 MILLION of Cash Reserves - the rainy day fund that "Kingpin Ken" always claimed could never be used for roads - an "essential core function of government" as Boles claimed when he campaigned in 2024.

But the Rays "Kingpin Ken" is A-OK with the Rays taking those Reserves just as Hurricane season is to begin.

All those claims by Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller that this was to just keep the negotiations appears to have been all a Ruse.

 

The Rays say their Demand for the County''s CIT funds, Property Taxes, Cash Reserves, Tourist Taxes and the forcing of massive Debt on taxpayers for decades is the End All Deal and it will not change.

We fully expected Rays "Kingpin Ken" to allow such fiscal malfeasance. But Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller should have said NO and sent the Rays Demand Memo back to the drawing board.

Bad policies, especially those negotiated behind closed doors with little transparency and lots of questions unanswered, should be stopped ASAP not pushed forward.

Seems eerily similar to "We have to pass the [Obamacare} bill so that you can find out what is in it".....

Two years ago a super majority of Hillsborough County commissioners, including Ken Hagan, promised voters in 2024 that NO CIT renewal funds would be used to fund ANY NEW Stadium.

Two years later on May 20, 2026 BOCC a super majority of Hillsborough County commissioners - Hagan, Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller - violated that promise. 

The Bad Deal also violates the 2024 campaign commitments made by Boles and Miller who have already filed to run again in 2028.

Were Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller played by the Rays and "Kingpin Ken". If so that is incompetence and bad judgment reflecting poor governance.

Were Myers, Cohen, Boles and Miller just bowing down to the Rays "Kingpin Ken" for whatever reason? If so, that is unethical governance that reeks of impropriety.

The Rays threw their Memorandum of Demand to the County and the City to get approved ASAP knowing full well they were done with negotiating about the public funding. 

Trust has been destroyed!  

While Taxpayers Suffer Consequences of Bad Judgment, Bloated Budgets and Bureaucracy, Rays Want Taxpayer Billions For A New Stadium

Commissioner Ken Hagan plays round of Golf at the
Valspar Golf Tournament with Rays Billionaire Owner
Patrick Zalupski (pic from TBBJ)

Hillsborough County commissioner Ken Hagan plays a round of golf at the Valspar Golf Tournament with Rays Billionaire owner Patrick Zalupski. Hagan then tells the Tampa Bay Business Journal that Taxpayers won't "feel" the costs of a new Rays Stadium. 👀👀

Hagan appointed himself in 2010 to lead the charge for a new Rays stadium. He's maintained being a commissioner for 24 way too long years by using a loophole to jump back and forth between single district and countywide seats.

Why wouldn't Hagan abide by the intent of the term limits in the County Charter?  Because he wants his legacy - a new Taxpayer funded Rays Stadium.  

Hillsborough County's budget was ballooning over the last decade or so with property tax revenues skyrocketing. However, NONE aka ZERO of the rising property tax revenues were being used to fund roads. County constituents kept demanding roads be properly funded using the existing revenue stream that was skyrocketing.

Thus, Hagan could have been a hero years ago to his constituents and taxpayers if he would have championed properly funding roads as the county budget ballooned. 

Hagan did not listen and instead kept advocating for new sales tax hikes instead of funding roads with existing rising revenues.

While roads and infrastructure were neglected and the County kept raising your water, sewer and garbage fees, Hagan has been pushing for a new taxpayer funded Rays stadium for 16 years. He has wanted another sales tax hike so he could help fund the stadium with other County revenues and a renewed CIT tax.

www.eyeontampabay.com/2017/11/the-day-hagan-became-candidate-hagan-r_20.html

As growth occurred and traffic congestion exploded, Hagan kept publicly scolding us that Cash Reserves cannot be used to fund roads because it would impact the County’s bond rating. Now Hagan is A-OK with the Rays raiding $103M of Cash Reserves - just as Hurricane season begins - to fund a New Rays Stadium.

www.eyeontampabay.com/2016/06/taxpayers-beware-sales-tax-hike-is-for.html

To the detriment of taxpayers, Hagan has a history of bad judgment. 

It was Hagan who pushed the county commissioners in 2007 to bond out the last 20 years of the 1996 CIT tax. Voters were told in 1996 those funds would be spent in 10 year increments on capital improvements and not be bonded out to incur massive debt. 

Hagan and Mike Merrill claimed in 2007 there would be so much CIT revenue that all the projects promised could be funded together with paying off the bond holders. 

The very next year the Recession hit Florida big in 2008. The CIT revenue tanked but the bond holders had to be paid first and projects promised could not be funded. 

CIT never recovered enough to fund what was promised due to the huge amount of debt Hagan caused the County to incur.

Hagan also led the charge in 2015-2016 for the corrupt Go Hillsborough (GH) sales tax hike for transit and trains. Like the Stadium deal, GH was orchestrated behind the scenes with little transparency. It was so corrupt it caused a law enforcement investigation and forced changes to County policies regarding lobbyists.

www.eyeontampabay.com/2018/08/the-three-faces-of-hagan.html

By January 2015 with the tax hike GH campaign underway, District Rays Candidate Hagan and his alter ego Tax Hike Hagan had his baseball and tax hike agenda both lined up. The District Rays Candidate Hagan had gotten his secret baseball committee created and got the county to hire an expensive NY baseball law firm Foley and Lardner to negotiate with the Rays.

From FY2020 to FY2023, the County Administrator departments - the County Bureaucracy - increased its operating costs from $1.1 BILLION to $1.8 BILLION. The County's Bureaucracy grew by $700 MILLION, a 61% increase in 4 years at an annual growth rate of 17.2% which is way over population growth plus inflation. 

That is un-excusable and fiscally irresponsible.

http://www.eyeontampabay.com/2023/06/hillsborough-county-blows-through-all.html

After a DOGE audit of Hillsborough County last year, Florida's CFO Blaise Ingoglia stated "

The taxpayers of this county should be outraged at the level of property taxes they are putting into the public coffers, only for it to be wasted by bureaucrats and career politicians

Abusive use of local property tax revenues is why DeSantis is looking to call a summer special session in July or August about putting a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate or reduce property taxes on homesteaded properties on the November ballot. 

If the Amendment gets on the ballot and passes with at least 60%, the Rays deal will totally fall apart.

Hagan clearly stated his support for NOT using CIT renewal funds for new Stadium at the CIT renewal public hearing in 2024:

I COMPLETELY SUPPORTED ELIMINATING A COMMUNITY STADIUM OR STADIUMS BEING BUILT WITH THE TAX, TOTALLY FINE WITH THAT.

It is now obvious that claim was one big lie to pacify voters to pass the renewal tax. A lot of Hagan's claims throughout the years have come with an expiration date.

Hillsborough County has been abusing taxpayers for way too long. We cannot believe Hagan and those commissioners who pompously pontificate to the public with scripted bravado about a Rays Stadium being the miracle drug for "economic development" (not economic prosperity). 

The buzzword "Economic Development" often results in prosperity only among a small elite. It does NOT equate to Economic Prosperity that is tangible improvements for ALL residents. 

If Stadiums were the miracle revenue drug, Hillsborough County taxpayers has been paying for 3 stadiums for decades - RayJay, the Arena and Steinbrenner Field.

With 3 such revenue miracle drugs, the roads should be paved in gold and flooding fixed long ago. Yet the County's roads and infrastructure continued to be neglected.

Commissioner Boles voted to approve the Rays Memorandum of Demand at yesterday's BOCC meeting. We will find out soon whether Commissioner Boles actually meant what he told voters in 2024 when he campaigned on:

It’s more important now than ever to stop wasteful spending and unnecessary costs in Hillsborough County’s budget. I am committed to focusing on the essential core functions of government: ensuring adequate public safety, enhancing our roadways, developing infrastructure to support sustainable growth, and maintaining fiscal responsibility with taxpayer funds.

Boles' Goals included: Invest in infrastructure to reduce traffic and address flooding and Keep a balanced budget, eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in government 

Commissioner Miller also voted to approve the Rays Memorandum of Demand yesterday. We will find out soon whether Commissioner Miller, who campaigned in 2024 as a "Conservative" Republican who claimed she was "committed to meeting the NEEDS [Not WANTS] of the community and advocated for funding critical roads and infrastructure" actually meant it.

A new Rays Stadium is a WANT NOT A NEED. Spending $1.5 BILLION of taxpayer dollars to pay for a new Stadium is NOT FUNDING AN ESSENTIAL CORE FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT. Front loading a Billionaire's new Stadium with Taxpayer dollars forcing Taxpayers to the back of the line for the crumbs is even worse.  

Boles and Miller have already filed to run again in 2028. They may have to replace their campaign literature.

There are too many NEEDS in Hillsborough County that must be funded FIRST. For the Rays to race across the Howard Frankland Bridge and demand they jump to the head of the line to get your tax dollars First and Upfront is outrageous.

After witnessing all the massive fraud recently, taxpayers are sick of being the punching bag for crony politicians, bloated County staff, and pay offs to special interests.

The electorate is sick of pontificating politicians who lie to them.

Those across the political spectrum from Conservatives to Progressives vigorously oppose the Rays Stadium Subsidy Scam.

Because it's a Bad Deal.

Siren Warning: Rays Will Loot CIT funds, Raid Cash Reserves and Confiscate Property Tax Revenues with Circular Taxpayer Financing

Do elementary school math. The proposed Rays Stadium Subsidy Scheme will loot a super super majority of taxpayers 2024 CIT renewal funds in the first 4 years of the tax.

Siren blares as Rays loot CIT

Hillsborough County Commission will vote on Wednesday  whether to approve the Rays "Memorandum of Demand" for your tax dollars to build a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays. 

If county commissioners rubber stamp their approval, the Tampa City Council will rubber stamp theirs ASAP thereafter. 

Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa are running a dishonest disinformation campaign for the Rays. Below is what is being presented publicly on Wednesday.

The County is NOT telling the public the actual percentage of "estimated" CIT  funds they will "throw" to the Rays for a New Stadium.  

Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa know that if they show the percentages (graphics above), it will spark more public outrage. Voters and taxpayers were told in 2024 "they" were getting "their" infrastructure improvements FIRST NOT providing FRONT LOADING funding for a $2.3 BILLION New Rays Stadium.

Basic Math the County is NOT telling the Public Wednesday about
how much UPFRONT CIT funds are front loading a New Rays Stadium

What else is "conveniently" missing from the County's 4 years of Local Funding Framework chart?  The Rays' Cash Flow which adds to the County's deceptive disinformation campaign. 

The County is voting Wednesday whether to move forward on spending over a Billion dollars of your tax dollars but they are not telling you where the Rays funding is coming from. What is the Rays cash flow, where is it coming from and are they spending at least $500M in the first year? 

This lack of transparency is dishonest, deceptive and unscrupulous.

The CIT is a half percent sales tax that was initially approved by voters in 1996 to build the Bucs RayJay stadium, fund roads and needed infrastructure and build schools. 

City and County CIT funds are already used to maintain three stadiums in Hillsborough County: RayJay, the hockey Arena and Steinbrenner field.

As reported here, voters were promised in 2024 the CIT would NOT be used for any New Stadium. There was NO funding for anything related to any New Stadium, infrastructure or otherwise, in either the County or city of Tampa's list of projects they told voters would be funded by the CIT renewal. 

Even with promises to NOT fund a new stadium, the 2024 CIT referendum barely passed 51.57 to 48.43. This reflects a big trust issue voters have with local elected officials regarding how the County and city of Tampa spend their tax dollars. 

Today due to the elimination of the commercial lease sales tax, CIT revenue projections are reduced from the get go by approximately 8-10% per year from what voters were told in 2024. That reduces the  CIT revenues the County had expected to receive by hundreds of millions of dollars over the term of the 15 year tax.

Also missing from the County's Local Funding Chart is the Revenue side. Voters were told in 2024 the CIT would generate a total of $3.764 BILLION over its 15 year term. The County has never publicly adjusted that revenue forecast after the commercial lease sales tax was eliminated. More dishonesty, lack of transparency and unscrupulousness.

Less revenue generated will already impact projects promised voters in 2024. But the Rays demand they be FIRST in line to get a super super majority of YOUR CIT dollars UpFront. 

Due to sales tax revenue volatility, CIT revenues declined during the last 2 fiscal years - before losing the commercial lease tax funds. 

CIT revenues declined even with the Rays playing their home games at Steinbrenner field last year. 

But there's no CIT shortfall backstop from the Rays.

Risky Business.

Now, the "powers to be" are trying to evade a lawsuit by using semantics claiming your tax dollars are funding the Rays "New BallPark"... like the County is funding a little league baseball field not a Rays Stadium bleachers, walls, roof, etc.

Someone forgot to CYA on the use of "BallPark" instead of Stadium because the Rays agenda item on Wednesday's headlines as a NEW STADIUM PROJECT.  

But Houston There Is a Another Problem!

As reported here

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just sat down with the Tampa Sports Authority, Hillsborough County, and the City of Tampa to discuss a billion-dollar renovation of Raymond James Stadium.

Stadium funding stops being a one-time infrastructure investment. It becomes a permanent line item. Schools, roads, hospitals, all competing with the same tax dollars that keep a football team from leaving town.

Hillsborough already committed almost $600 MILLION of CIT taxes to fund "Public Facilities" that includes maintenance of RayJay, Steinbrenner Field and the hockeyArena. Tampa already committed $165 MILLION of CIT taxes to fund maintenance of RayJay and the hockey Arena.

Along with infrastructure and public safety needs, the Rays, the Bucs, the Lightning and the Yankees will all feed off the same budget and the same tax dollars. The math does not work. 

This shady sketchy stadium subsidy scheme allows the Rays to raid $103 MILLION from the County's Cash Reserves just as Hurricane Season begins. How ironic that it's been Ken Hagan who has lectured the public for years the County must keep its Reserves high to keep the County's credit/bond rating. 

What's also missing from the County's Local Funding chart is the bonding debt and interest costs forced on taxpayers for decades. Bonding the Tourist Tax only will cost taxpayers between $240 and $280 MILLION in interest payments. If CIT was also bonded, those interest costs could approach $1.55 BILLION.

The Rays get circular financing by the taxpayers. The taxpayers foot the bill to hand the Rays hundreds of millions of dollars Upfront. The increased property tax revenues that exceed the debt service for their Stadium District Community Redevelopment District (CRA) will keep circling back to the Rays. 

 

The County continues their deceptive disinformation campaign for the Rays on Wednesday. They dishonestly leave out critical information to intentionally deceive the public. 

This backdoor Stadium Subsidy Scheme is a slap in the face to voters and taxpayers. 

Concerned about the County allowing the Rays to loot your CIT funds UPFRONT, raid the County's Cash Reserves, and the taxpayers circular financing that benefit the Rays Billionaire owners? 

Want the County to honor their 2024 Promise that CIT renewal funds NOT fund a Billionaire's Ballpark?

Want Roads, Infrastructure and Public Safety Funded FIRST, NOT a New Stadium? 

Contact All the Hillsborough County Commissioners NOW before Wednesday's meeting.

Sign up to speak in person or virtually at Wednesday's meeting.

 

Voter Betrayal, Payoffs & Massive Taxpayer Debt So Rays Can Get "Their" Stadium Funding Upfront and FIRST

Game on! 

Hillsborough County commissioners set to vote whether to approve the latest Rays "Memorandum of Demand" at the May 20th BOCC meeting.

Fearful of a lawsuit, semantics is now being used by Hillsborough County and city of Tampa to defend their use of CIT funds for a Rays stadium. 

As we reported here, Ken Hagan and majority of county commissioners told voters in 2024 that the CIT renewal funds would NOT be used to fund any NEW Stadium. They specifically removed "Community Stadium" from the referendum ballot language.

Below is from the February 2024 Hillsborough County CIT Workshop:

According to the latest "Memorandum of Demand" from the Rays, 

The CIT Contribution Amount may only be spent on Public Use Areas, and only if each of the County’s and City’s respective CIT project list, is amended, following respective public hearings, to include the New Ballpark Project as a “public facility”. 

In other words, the Rays demand "they" get "their" infrastructure UPFRONT and FIRST.

The 2024 CIT renewal ballot language included no wording in it to fund anything for any NEW stadium.  Hillsborough County and city of Tampa provided voters with a list of projects the CIT renewal tax would fund before the election. Those lists included NO funding related to any new Rays Stadium to gain voter support. The County and city of Tampa knew voters would reject using CIT to fund anything related to a New Rays Stadium.

Now they are using word games to subvert the intent of the voters they misled in 2024. 

While the "Rays infrastructure" gets priority with YOUR CIT funds, projects such as the Lithia Pinecrest and CR29 intersection have been delayed. This project, delayed for years, will not complete until at least 2033 years after the Rays have gotten "their" infrastructure projects completed. 

Many CIT projects could be at risk if CIT revenues fall and/or bondholders must be paid first.  

Thanks to Commissioner Wostal for documenting a comparison of changes made since the Rays April 9th "Memorandum of Demand" he addressed to Hillsborough County Taxpayers. It is not a pretty picture for taxpayers.

• If CIT revenues do not meet projections, there is NO Rays-secured shortfall backstop - aka the County must rob Peter (other projects) to pay Paul (the Rays).
• Rays Demand an additional $103M of County funds in addition to the CIT, CRA (your property tax revenue used to enrich the Rays owners) and Tourist tax funds.
• There is NO Documented Revenue Source for where the funds will come from
• Wostal indicates the additional $103M will likely come from the County's Property Tax General Fund that are the most flexible funds that only requires a simple commission majority vote, no public hearing needed.
• Bonding of the Tourist Tax only will cost taxpayers between $240 MILLION  and $280 MILLION in interest payments.
• Bonding of the Tourist Tax and CIT will cost taxpayers between $500 MILLION and $600 MILLION in interest payments.
• Total Interest payments forced on Taxpayers could be approximately $1.55 BILLION not including Bond Issuance Costs and Pre-Pricing Rate-Rise Risk Costs.
• Public Funding Cap does NOT include bond and risk costs to the Taxpayers.
• Rays get credited back on a dollar-for-dollar basis, future increased property tax revenues that exceed scheduled debt service for the CRA Bonds.
• Rays will retain ALL revenue from tickets, suites, sponsorships, concessions, special events, merchandise, broadcasting rights, royalties, licensing fees, concession fees, non-public parking and ALL naming rights revenue.

Where is the Rays Upfront CIT funds coming from if the County does not Bond out that revenue stream? Will they raid the County Reserves or raid more of your Property Tax Revenues?

Beware of the legal jargon use of the word "OR" instead of "AND" when the Rays "Memorandum of Demand" claims:

Funding from the CIT hereunder shall be implemented so as not to impact any public funds allocated for public infrastructure improvements or public safety within the region, including fire protection, law enforcement and emergency medical services. Using the word "OR" means either one but not both. Using the word "AND" means to include both. The County and city of Tampa are trying to skirt a lawsuit by including this claim. However, the voters were told BOTH much needed backlogged infrastructure AND public safety would be funded by the 2024 CIT Renewal.  It appears this claim is to sway (perhaps Payoff??) Commissioner Chris Boles who spent 28 years as a Hillsborough County firefighter and was an Officer and Spokesperson for the County's Firefighter's Union. Every single First Responder's Organization in Hillsborough County, including the Firefighter's Union, the Police Benevolent Association and Sheriff Chronister endorsed Boles in 2024. They were all a large part of his donor base. We have a good idea where he will land if having to choose between public safety OR infrastructure funding.   Boles 2024 campaign website states: It’s more important now than ever to stop wasteful spending and unnecessary costs in Hillsborough County’s budget. I am committed to focusing on the essential core functions of government: ensuring adequate public safety, enhancing our roadways, developing infrastructure to support sustainable growth, and maintaining fiscal responsibility with taxpayer funds. We need to bring critical thinking and common sense back to our government,” Boles continues. We will find out on the 20th whether Boles thinks spending a couple Billion dollars of tax dollars and interest for a new Rays stadium is a "core function of government". We'll find out if he thinks it is fiscally responsible for taxpayers to fund the Rays sketchy stadium subsidy deal and incur massive debt for decades. And we'll find out if he likes the use of the word "Or". The Rays have never specified where their own financing is coming from that begs the question whether they actually have a financing scheme. Their latest "Memorandum of Demand" states the Rays will give public funders access to their own financing information prior to "commitment of public funds". This is absurd! Could you even apply for a mortgage and not provide the mortgage company with your income information?  Perhaps this is the Rays "Give Us Your Tax Dollars Upfront and we'll run to the Bank/Investors and get our financing" moment. The Rays want it all - Your CIT, your Tourist Taxes and your Property Taxes all Upfront and loaded with taxpayer debt. If one is actually critically thinking about the Rays "Memorandum of Demand", as Commissioner Boles claims he will do, they would JUST SAY NO!  If the County and the City approves the Rays sketchy stadium subsidy scheme, they will: Break their promises to the voters Put a massive debt repayment burden on taxpayers Be ramming thru the Ray's demands to meet the Rays timeline using a process of backroom dealing and too little transparency Instead of approving the Rays Risky Business, the commissioners should be calling Three Strikes Rays and you are Out!  And remember INTENT means something!

Rays Fret But Sketchy Stadium Subsidies Hammer Taxpayers With Massive Debt

The fiscal deception keeps looming as the Rays threaten to look at "alternatives" if Hillsborough County refuses their funding demands for a new stadium.

The irresponsibility of subsidizing the Rays Billionaires is enormous. Taxpayers will get sucker punched at the Local, State and Federal levels and hammered with massive amounts of debt. 

                                The Rays Proposal To Fund New Stadium                                                          Rays get your $ NOW, Taxpayers Get Debt For Decades                                   

The Rays want your local CIT funds, the local Stadium CRA property tax funds and your federal HUD money - all to go into their coffers. They want your government owned land and for you as a State taxpayer to pay to relocate HCC.

The Rays get massive amounts of your tax dollars upfront and You the Taxpayer gets massive amounts of DEBT for decades. 

DEBT IS SUNK COSTS!

The Stadium fiscal egregiousness continues. 

At the February 24, 2024 CIT Workshop, Hillsborough County staff presented revenue projections of a renewed CIT tax. The County projected a first year revenue baseline of $200 MILLION with a growth rate of 3% per year over the term of the renewal tax.

However, in 2024 sales tax was still being collected on commercial leases. 

Last year the State legislature totally eliminated sales tax on commercial leases. That alone reduces the original projected baseline of a renewed CIT tax by at least 8-9%, from $200M to approximately $184M. 

Suddenly when the District Rays county commissioner Ken Hagan threw an agenda item on at the last minute for the 2/4/2026 BOCC meeting, Hagan began claiming there was going to be "Surplus" CIT revenue. Hagan began pushing that a CIT "Surplus", an amount over the "initial" (but incorrect) $200M revenue forecast, could fund the Rays stadium.

Problem is there is NO surplus. 

The baseline revenue's been reduced. Even with a higher growth rate of 3.7% (the Rays wanted 4%), the CIT revenue expected to be collected is already allocated. No such "Surplus" claim had ever been made before because such claim is vaporware.

Apparently, Hagan and/or the County either failed to inform the Rays of the revenue projection reduction, or they did and the Rays ignored it. The Rays continue using the inflated revenue baseline in their sales pitch.

No one gave Ken Hagan the authority to start claiming there was a CIT "Surplus".  Hagan has zero authority to tell the Rays there are "Surplus" CIT funds available for a new Stadium.

The County admitted at the 4/16/2026 CIT Workshop that CIT revenues have declined.

Before elimination of sales tax on commercial leases, CIT revenues in FY2025 were less than FY2024.

FY2026 CIT revenues are less than during same time FY2025. And the FY2026 decline is greater than the 8-9% from the commercial lease sales tax elimination.

Sales tax are most vulnerable to economic downturns. Massive debt is a huge taxpayer burden. When the sales tax tanks, the bondholders have priority and must be paid first.

What happens if Florida eliminates property taxes from homesteaded property? The Stadium District CRA revenue would tank and not be able to cover its debt repayment. Has Ken Hagan or the County thought thru that "what if"?

The proposed Rays Stadium Subsidy Scam is selling snake oil to the taxpayers. 

There is NO CIT "Surplus".  The sketchy stadium finances are riddled with wrong information, too many unknowns and debt, debt and more debt that will hammer taxpayers for decades. 

And Taxpayers Beware! 

When projects promised cannot be funded, watch for the County to put a new tax hike referendum on the 2028 ballot.

Contact the county commissioners and tell them to reject the proposed Sketchy Stadium Subsidy Scam now because it will burden taxpayers for decades.

Stadium Subsidies Double With Costly Curve Balls Thrown At Taxpayers As Rays Timeline Looms

St. Louis Federal Reserve

Lots of curve balls hitting as the Rays June 1 deadline looms, including the taxpayer's subsidy for a new Rays stadium has doubled to over $2 BILLION.

And probably higher.

Bonds will be issued to fund a new stadium. None of the financial analysis presented includes the interest and debt costs the taxpayers will be forced to pay the bondholders. That curve ball adds hundreds of millions of dollars to the taxpayer's bill.

Vulnerable sales tax revenues tank first when there's an economic downturn. 

It's not Hillsborough County's first rodeo dealing with tanking CIT tax revenues while enriching bondholders. It happened in 2007 when Ken Hagan pushed the then commissioners to bond out the last 20 years of the 1996 CIT funds and the big recession hit in 2008.

Remember voters were told in 1996 those funds would NOT be bonded out but spent in 10 year increments on roads and new infrastructure.

CIT revenues tanked in 2008 and taxpayers were forced to pay the bondholders first instead of funding projects they were promised. 

That was the beginning of the end of Hillsborough County properly funding roads. No wonder almost 20 years later, county roads are such a mess. 

Voters were told specifically by super majority of county commissioners in 2024, including Ken Hagan, that the renewed CIT funds would NOT be used for any NEW stadium. 

Deja Vu? Another curve ball now hitting the taxpayers in the face.

Remember the 2018 All for Transportation tax hike referendum ballot language was ruled Unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court. The 2022 All for Transportation 2.0 tax hike referendum ballot language was ruled misleading by a District Court judge. It was allowed to remain on the ballot when appealed by the County, and thankfully defeated at the ballot box.

More curve balls will hit the taxpayers in the face if lawsuits are filed against the County regarding the 2024 CIT renewal referendum if commissioners vote to use CIT for the Rays stadium.

Another curve ball is what are the opportunity costs of subsidizing a stadium benefiting the city of Tampa that neglects the rest of Hillsborough County? Does anyone know? What economic growth would occur more fairly throughout the entire county if taxpayers were not handing Billions to the Tampa centric Billionaires? Why hasn't such analysis been done and publicly presented? 

The HCC land has not been appraised. No one has told taxpayers what it will cost to move HCC to a new location. We're also all state taxpayers so we'll be paying for all those costs too. There's no "free" lunch as another curve ball hits the taxpayers in the face.

A "Stadium District" CRA will be created that forces the increase in property tax revenues to stay in the District. This is unfair to the rest of the County and city of Tampa taxpayers - because those funds would normally be distributed more fairly to benefit those throughout the County and city of Tampa. CRA's are known for corruption and benefiting crony donors and another curve ball that hits taxpayers in the face. 

The touted economic benefits of publicly funding sports stadiums is selling snake oil. 

From the St. Louis Federal Reserve:  

In spite of all of these economic arguments, economists generally oppose subsidizing professional sports stadiums. When surveyed, 86 percent of economists agreed that “local and state governments in the U.S. should eliminate subsidies to professional sports franchises.”

They [Economists] often stress that estimations of the economic impact of sports stadiums are exaggerated because they fail to recognize opportunity costs. Consumers who spend money on sporting events would likely spend the money on other forms of entertainment, which has a similar economic impact. Rather than subsidizing sports stadiums, governments could finance other projects such as infrastructure or education that have the potential to increase productivity and promote economic growth.

Hillsborough County stated in 2024 that a renewed CIT half percent sales tax would generate $200M in the first year and grow 3% per year over the life of the tax. At that time sales tax was still being collected for commercial leases.

The State legislature eliminated sales tax for commercial leases effective 10/1/2025. At the Stadium workshop this month, the County reduced the CIT revenue estimates by 8% that was estimated to come from commercial leases, stated the economy had slowed but increased the CIT revenue growth rate to 3.7%....at the request of the Rays who actually wanted to show a 4% growth rate.

The end game of lower CIT revenue, even with a higher projected growth, is there is NO CIT surplus. Why didn't the County tell the Rays the $200M initial baseline revenue was wrong? Claiming there will be a CIT surplus is not true and another curve ball hitting the taxpayers in the face.  

The most alarming curve ball presented at the Stadium Workshop was for the Rays to loot the County's Cash Reserves. This has never been discussed publicly before and apparently astonished some commissioners.   

The irony in all the years of Ken Hagan claiming the County must protect its Reserves to protect its credit rating. 

Unless the Rays get to loot them.... 

The County recently told the Rays they cannot "complete the deal" by the Rays June 1 dateline due to their process to finalize takes 60-90 days. 

The Rays are still demanding a vote by the commissioners to approve the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in May.

But public opinion opposes the use of taxpayer funds to build a new Rays stadium and subsidize development to enrich the Rays Billionaire owners.

And this is the arrogance of Ken Hagan, who's been pursuing a new Rays stadium since 2010, treats the taxpayers:

The county also wants the Rays to cover a $75 million shortfall in public funding outlined during the workshop.

“I say somewhat jokingly, on a $2.3 billion project, that’s almost a rounding error,” Hagan told WDAE.

The taxpayer costs have doubled, the deal is still sketchy with too many unknowns and the costly curve balls keep coming to hit the taxpayers in the face.

This Stadium deal is selling Snake Oil.

And the real joke will be on taxpayers stuck funding another Billionaire's stadium black hole if the Rays Stadium Subsidy Scam is not stopped now.

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Contact county commissioners 

Liars Trying To Use Renewed CIT Funds for a New Rays Stadium

Lies, Lies, Lies and More Lies!

Hillsborough County voters and taxpayers are facing a crisis of lies regarding the use of CIT funds for a new stadium.

The chicken or the egg??? Did the Rays approach Hillsborough County or did Commissioner Ken Hagan approach the Rays about using funds from the 15 year CIT (Community Investment Tax) renewal for a new Rays stadium?

A good bet it was a mutual approach. The Rays want a new stadium, Ken Hagan wants a new stadium and they both want taxpayers to subsidize it. 

Hagan's been so hell-bent on a new stadium that he has refused to honor the intent of term limits in the Hillsborough County Charter. For 24 too long years, Hagan used a loophole to keep leap frogging back and forth between single district and countywide commission seats to keep pursuing a new Rays stadium....even though he should have been term limited years ago.  

There is a major problem with the County trying to use the new CIT tax dollars for a new Rays stadium and a land grab that enriches the Rays new Billionaire owners. 

Intent.

The voters were told in 2024, the renewed CIT would NOT be used for a new sports stadium. The renewed tax would be used for much needed infrastructure and public safety in the growing county.