Friday, October 6, 2023
New Rays stadium deal could end up costing taxpayers more than $1B
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
New plans detail finances of Rays stadium deal
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
How St. Pete and Pinellas County will fund plans for new Rays stadium
Tampa Bay Rays Announce Historic Development Agreement, Partnership With St. Petersburg
Monday, September 18, 2023
Major announcement expected on new Rays stadium
Monday, July 3, 2023
Rays New Stadium *BIDDING WAR* starting?
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Rays fans weigh in on the team's future home as leaders look to finalize a deal
Sunday, February 12, 2023
Raybor: The Monstor That Won't Go Away
Friday, February 10, 2023
From the Devil's Own Mouth
Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan still thinks it's 50/50 that the Rays end up in Tampa
Ken Hagan says that he was not surprised by the Rays redevelopment deal, and that this is a good thing for the team and the area. Pat (iHeart Radio's Pat and Aaron Show) asks him if this makes Tampa more aggressive, and Ken Hagan says he doesn't blame him and others for thinking that Tampa isn't being aggressive. He says that the Tampa Bay Rays know that they need to be in Tampa, and that they are waiting for all the info from the Pinellas side to come through. He says they won't be able to go into a bidding war with St. Petersburg, and that Major League Baseball and the Tampa Bay Rays know that. He goes on to say that it would be a huge black eye on the area if they were to lose the team.
Listen to the Ken Hagan interview HERE
In this interview, Ken Hagan unabashedly states that Pinellas County would be able to invest more in a new stadium than Hillsborugh County because they collect more in their "bed tax" than Hillsborough County does. This is a clear indication that Hillsborough County would use public funds to help pay for the new stadium.
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Rays not ready to commit to St. Pete despite mayor choosing team's own plan to redevelop Tropicana Field site
On Friday, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan said talks with the Rays are progressing. He said Tampa officials met with the team last week and the Rays have chosen a future stadium site in Ybor City.
"Things are progressing," he told FOX 13's sports director Scott Smith. "We met with the Rays as recently as last week. It’s critically important that the Rays remain in Tampa Bay, so I’m confident they will, at the same time, I’m also confident that the Rays will choose Tampa. They’ve hand-selected a site in Ybor City. We’re excited about it and I think the discussions will certainly intensify here in the weeks to come."
That location, according to Hagan, is the Ybor Harbor, a 33-acre piece of land sitting along the Ybor Channel, next to Port Tampa Bay. The property was recently purchased by real estate investor Darryl Shaw.
Read More HERE
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Monday, June 6, 2022
5 Tampa Bay Rays players forgo Pride-themed jerseys
Friday, June 3, 2022
Ron DeSantis PUNISHES Tampa Bay Rays
Sunday, April 24, 2022
Rays Prop in Ybor City
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Ray's Stadium in Ybor $799 Million (Roof not included)
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Ray's in Ybor City falling into place
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor ($350 million) Corporate Welfare
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
FBI Eyeing Public Corruption Throughout Florida
That’s the word from Lawrence Keefe, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, and sources at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Maddox and Paige Carter-Smith have agreed to cooperate with law enforcement authorities about other possible misdeeds in Tallahassee and Leon County.
A sentencing date for the pair has been set for Nov. 19. They could receive up to 25 years in prison on fraud and income tax charges for their role in helping ride share giant Uber get a favorable ordinance in exchange for cash and accepting payments from a developer that turned out to be an FBI front company.
But Lawrence Keefe, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, declared the Maddox investigation should put all Florida public officials on notice.
“A public office is a sacred trust,” Keefe told the Tallahassee Democrat in the wake of the Maddox and Carter-Smith plea deals.
The FBI never discusses its ongoing investigations but the agency should look at Hillsborough County if it isn’t already.
In his 2018 re-election campaign, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan solicited and accepted donations from real estate interests that stand to benefit from construction of a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays in Ybor City.
St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field, considered antiquated by 2019 standards, has been the home of the Rays since they first took the field in 1998. Despite recent success, attendance has perennially stood at or near the bottom of the 30 major league baseball teams.
Owner Stuart Sternberg has maintained that a new stadium will solve the team’s attendance woes and found a ready and more-then-willing ally in Hagan. Talks between the Rays, Hillsborough County, and the City of Tampa struck out last year when it was determined no public funding existed to finance a $850 million stadium in Ybor, even with Sternberg willing to chip in $200 million.
Ybor City as the site for a new Rays home has always been puzzling. Low and middle income families would be displaced. One of the country’s iconic historic districts would be destroyed. And the rationale for any projected attendance increase never has been documented.
But Darryl Shaw, who acquired thousands of acres around Ybor, and Jeff Vinik, whose Water Street Tampa project is in nearby Channelside, would reap benefits from the increased traffic generated by a new ballpark.
Sternberg’s latest canard—sharing the franchise with the city of Montreal—has not being taken seriously by most observers. St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman did not disguise his disdain for the scheme. His initial response:
“The Rays cannot explore playing any Major League Baseball games in Montreal or anywhere else for that matter prior to 2028, without reaching a formal memorandum of understanding with the City of St. Petersburg,” Kriseman said. “Ultimately, such a decision is up to me. And I have no intention of bringing this latest idea to our city council to consider. In fact, I believe this is getting a bit silly.”
The City of St. Petersburg continues to investigate whether or not Sternberg violated the terms of his lease agreement which decrees he must get permission to discuss relocation with representatives of other geographical entities.
As for Hagan, he continues to promote Ybor City for a Rays Stadium, despite the fanciful prospect of sharing a split season with Montreal. Hagan and Sternberg, at least publicly, are a minority of two in that respect.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the Maddox plea deal, federal law enforcement authorities have put Florida politicians on notice that violations of that “sacred
trust” will be prosecuted.
By Jim Bleyer