Overview
- Hillsborough commissioners today reviewed a framework of non‑general fund sources — hotel bed taxes, special assessments, CRA revenues and ticket surcharges — to cover the public share.
- A nonbinding MOU gives the Rays a 180‑day exclusive window to negotiate redevelopment of Hillsborough College’s 113‑acre Dale Mabry campus for a ballpark and mixed‑use district.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will convey the campus land to the college and assist with infrastructure and facility relocations, stopping short of direct stadium funding.
- Rays ownership has pledged to pay at least 50% of stadium construction and to assume cost overruns, repairs, maintenance and future capital improvements.
- MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred backed the plan but emphasized urgency, noting alternatives elsewhere in Florida, as the club targets a 2029 opening with initial renderings due soon.