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There is no reason for an unfair deal.​

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There is no reason for St. Petersburg to sell valuable land at less than fair value. 

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There is no reason to provide stadium subsidies without a fair share of the profits. 

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Subsidies and discounts that will cost every person in St. Petersburg $6,000.

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We can keep baseball and get a fair deal - we need to renegotiate.  

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• The 86 acres are very valuable and ready for development - with or without the Rays.  We all know it and the Rays know it. 

• Baseball does not drive economic growth or create good paying jobs - it's not needed for the property to be successfully developed. We all know it and the Rays know it.

• Hines is an excellent developer, but the city can find other equally qualified developers to work with - at a fair price.  Rays and Hines and the city know it.  ​

• Baseball is not going to leave Tampa Bay, the 11th-largest TV market in the U.S. The Rays know it and Major League Baseball knows it.  ​

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Why it matters

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With a fair deal St. Petersburg will have $1.6 billion more resources to spend on important priorities:

 

• Flooding problems: the city needs to spend more than $5 billion for sewer and stormwater improvements to prevent flooding in many neighborhoods - and it does not project to have all the money it will need.  

• Affordable/Workforce housing: the city is becoming unaffordable.  Where will we get the workers for our stores and restaurants if the cost of housing is too high?  Where will companies that want to move here find employees?   The city could establish a $250 million Citywide Affordable/Workforce Housing Trust to underwrite new construction, and also help residents buy and fix up homes – providing jobs to local contractors. 

• Education: we have too many kids who don't get any degrees or certifications after high school.  Who is going to pay for their health care and to keep them out of trouble - the taxpayers.   The city could create a $50 million College Opportunity Fund, providing college scholarships leading to good jobs for 2,500 students who would not be able to go to college otherwise.

• Intentional Equity: the city could make a more significant commitment to the Black community than the $50 million in the Rays/Hines proposal (which proposal sets out no dates certain to fund their commitment.) 

• Daycare and Pre-school Funds: the city could underwrite these costs for parents of young children so that they can hold down jobs or go to school.  

• Primary Health Care Facilities: the city could provide better primary health care options rather than people without health insurance having to go to emergency rooms.  

• Fresh Food Markets: The city could provide underwriting for fresh food markets in areas that are currently food deserts.  

• A $75 million new municipal services building.  

• Tax relief.   

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With a fair deal, Pinellas county will have $800 million more resources to spend on more important priorities:

 

• Real estate taxes to spend on education and other county needs. 

• Tourist Development Tax that should be spent on promoting the activities that are most in demand – restaurants, the beaches, museums. (Not baseball – mentioned by only 3% of visitors.)​​​

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And many so many more considerations to be discussed and addressed:

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• The land is being sold to Rays/Hines for a price well below its market value.  

• The city receives no rent from the Rays nor any other revenue from the stadium, including stadium naming rights and TV revenue, etc. The Rays ownership keeps all revenue.  (The county receives an insignificant $1 million per year licensing payment.)   

• The stadium property does not pay real estate taxes. 

• Bond risk – St. Petersburg is borrowing $704 million – jeopardizing its credit rating and its ability to borrow in the future in the event of an emergency.   

• Traffic and parking congestion in the Gas Plant area from baseball will be a negative influence on development of the rest of the Gas Plant site and will be a headache to the residents and businesses in the surrounding area.   

• 80% of nearly 800 St. Petersburg respondents to the recent League of Women Voters of St. Petersburg poll agree that the proposed Rays/Hines deal needs to be renegotiated.   

• St. Petersburg has a once in a lifetime windfall of value from the Gas Plant site, worth an estimated $700 million, that is being gambled on a single baseball-centric project.   

• The risk if the Rays cease operations. The property will be encumbered with a massive unusable building in the heart of the 86-acre development.