Florida cabinet okays Hillsborough College land for Tampa Bay Rays stadium

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida cabinet voted on Tuesday to give Hillsborough College 22 acres of non-conservation land for a Rays baseball stadium in Tampa

The Rays are in talks with Hillsborough College to build a stadium at the 113-acre Dale Mabry campus, which would also include a mixed-use entertainment district and renovated college buildings

The college signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Rays in January. It stipulates that Hillsborough College will lease a section of their property to the Rays and retain ownership over redeveloped college buildings.

The state could take back the land transfer if “components” of the stadium or surrounding development’s construction do not exist within five years of the transfer, according to the agenda item. The Rays say they want to have a stadium ready in three years.

“In its current state ownership, what’s today largely just a bunch of parking lots will be completely renovated to a live, work, entertain district that you know is going to have significant economic benefit to the state,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said. DeSantis expressed his support for the project this month and said the state is “looking to help” fund new college buildings.

“At the press conference, I was asked: ‘How much is this land worth?’ Honestly, I don’t know that it’s worth very much outside of this proposal,” DeSantis said. “Because a home builder would not put a subdivision there, no way. People would do commercial buildings right there now. In order to make this something that’s special, it really has to be something unique like this.”

The project still has hurdles, DeSantis said.

The Rays have said they will pay 50% of the stadium cost, which could reach $2.3 billion. The rest of the money will need to come from the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County’s public funding sources.

The project’s vision is compelling, DeSantis said, and makes sense from the state’s perspective.

Rays CEO Ken Babby said the team is grateful for the land transfer.

“The support by Governor DeSantis and the Cabinet today underlines our belief in the power of this generational project, and the many lasting benefits it will deliver,” he said. “Our momentum is real and growing, thanks to the remarkable spirit of community and statewide partnership that our ownership group has been privileged to experience from the start.”

Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said afterward that he voted for it “to ensure the negotiations go forward.”

Ingoglia has been traveling the state over the last several months alleging that local governments have been overspending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.

“I have traditionally not liked taxpayer subsidies for major league sports teams,” Ingoglia told reporters. “I just want to make sure the taxpayers are being looked out for here.”

He said he supported the Rays staying in Florida and didn’t know how a $50 million appropriation in the Senate to relocate Hillsborough College buildings would be spent. The House’s budget does not include the spending.

“If we’re going to be developing an area of the state using taxpayer dollars — which I don’t necessarily agree with anyway — but if that’s going to happen, then make sure that there’s some sort of economic return that is tangible and that can be measured and can be sold higher to the people,” he said.