Developer Darryl Shaw's vision for Ybor Harbor gets initial approval

The Ybor Harbor development project has received initial approval from Tampa City Council, with a few reservations.

It would be located on the Ybor Channel, a site once proposed for a baseball stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.

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Rays’ stadium, development district to exceed initial cost estimates

A report from Florida TaxWatch raised concerns about the real cost of the project to the city and the county, which is estimated to be a total of $2.4 billion, not $600 million, when accounting for parking garages, infrastructure support and lost revenues.....Read More

Opponents of proposed $1.3 billion Rays stadium argue it's 'No Home Run'

The newly-formed "No Home Run" group is pushing back on the proposed public spending for the redevelopment deal, which includes a new baseball stadium.

As talks in St. Petersburg City Council are expected to heat up in the coming weeks, some residents are joining together to push back on the proposed new $1.3 billion stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays and the multi-billion-dollar redevelopment alongside it.

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New Rays stadium deal could end up costing taxpayers more than $1B

The Tampa Bay Rays are here to stay in St. Petersburg, but the new stadium deal might not be a home run for taxpayers — with interest on debt, St. Pete and Pinellas County residents could end up paying more than $1 billion for the development.....MORE

New plans detail finances of Rays stadium deal

Some are already voicing concerns about the new stadium.

“The lie that is being told is that it is more important to build the city’s future around a baseball team rather than around the people,” one community member said.

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Mayor, residents looking ahead after Rays pass on Ybor City

"I'm very pro-development. I just wasn't pro-stadium," said Ybor City historian Joe Howden. "What the stadium would have represented for us is a huge increase in traffic, a huge increase in problems dealing with the neighborhood."

Both the mayor and Howden tell ABC Action News they're looking forward to the area's future, including the completion of the Gas Worx development, a Brightline station, and the possibility of other professional sports teams coming to town.

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How St. Pete and Pinellas County will fund plans for new Rays stadium

The city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County will be left with a $600 million price tag as part of a deal to build a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium.....MORE

Tampa Bay Rays Announce Historic Development Agreement, Partnership With St. Petersburg

The Tampa Bay Rays announced today that a historic agreement has been reached with the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County to move forward with a new state-of-the-art ballpark and a transformational development by the Hines Historic Gas Plant Partnership on the 86-acre site where the team’s current stadium sits.....MORE

Major announcement expected on new Rays stadium

Tampa Bay Rays to stay? MLB team to announce new stadium deal in downtown St. Pete

After years of back and forth regarding the fate of the Tampa Bay Rays — whether they would stay in St. Petersburg or build a new stadium elsewhere — it looks like the Rays may be here to stay. 

St. Petersburg city spokesperson Erica Riggins confirmed the Tampa Bay Rays are set to announce a deal Tuesday for a new stadium downtown. The Tampa Bay Times was the first to report the news.

More HERE

Rays New Stadium *BIDDING WAR* starting?

RAYBOR: To Be or Not To Be

Plans to redevelop Ybor Harbor don’t include a baseball stadium for the Rays

A Tampa mega-developer filed plans with the city on Thursday to redevelop the Ybor Harbor area into a "dynamic new 33-acre mixed-use waterfront development" surrounding Ybor Channel and located just south of Adamo Drive.

According to a news release, the site, owned by Darryl Shaw, could include up to 6 million square feet of residential, office, hotel and retail space.

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New renderings show baseball stadium in proposed 'GasWorx' District that would link Ybor and Channelside

The City of Tampa released new renderings of a one-of-a-kind baseball stadium in the middle of the proposed GasWorx District, which would link Ybor and Channelside. 

The design shows the stadium just South of Ybor City and the Selmon Expressway, and just east of the Channel that is now home to a shipping hub [Ybor Harbor].

Tampa developer Darryl Shaw plans to turn 25 acres of industrial land into a so-called "GasWorx" District. The renderings show a stadium amidst the mixed-use development.

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St. Pete and Tampa make their best pitches to Tampa Bay Rays

The renderings for a new Rays stadium near Ybor City

Tampa-Hillsborough still says it's negotiating aggressively with the Rays, and that they had a productive discussion as recently as last Thursday.

They plan on pitching a proposal that places the stadium on property owned by developer Darryl Shaw near Ybor City.

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Rays fans weigh in on the team's future home as leaders look to finalize a deal

The Tampa Bay Rays are off to a strong start, selling out Tropicana Field for its season opener. But the team’s time at the Trop is ticking. Rays leadership expects a deal for a new stadium to be finalized by the end of this year. If not, leaders said the team may look for a new home outside of Tampa Bay.

Stuart Sternberg, principal owner of the Rays, told our partners at the Tampa Bay Times that the team is in talks with officials from both St. Petersburg and Tampa about a new stadium. He added that he feels optimistic the team can stay in Tampa Bay, which they’ve called home since 1998.

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Raybor: The Monstor That Won't Go Away

The negotiations to entice the Tampa Bay Rays to a new stadium near Ybor City are still ongoing but now are being conducted by the Tampa Sports Authority behind closed doors and beyond public scrutiny.

This writer wants to know....what is more disturbing, the look of the new proposed Tampa Bay Rays stadium (pictured above) or the hundreds of baseball fans, having no concept of the cultural beauty of Historic Ybor, who will be invading 7th Avenue several nights a week during the baseball season?

In 2018 we came razor close to closing a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays to move to Ybor City  but a concerted public pushback convinced the Hillsborough County Commission to nix the deal. 

Now we are again faced with the looming prospect of the monster called Raybor reappearing in the neighborhood. Will we again see RAYBOR banners hanging from the 2nd floor balconies of Historic Ybor buildings? One of the more prominent real estate developers in Tampa, Darryl Shaw, is gobbling up properties, including the site of the proposed stadium, in and around Ybor City with the clear intent of gentrifying the neighborhood and a major league baseball stadium would be a glaring benchmark of this gentrification.

This stadium would cost over $1 billion and a large portion, perhaps half, of that would be funded by public funds, primarily the county bed tax. This is money that should be earmarked for the benefit of the local economy and not a cashcow for wealthy property owners and investors in the Tampa Bay Rays franchise. Numerous academic studies conclude that major sports stadiums are of little or no benefit to the local economies where they are built. In fact, money spent at sports stadiums that would often be spent in local entertainment establishments ends up instead in the hands of land owners, investors, athletes and other sports personnel, where it has no impact on the local economy at all.

I only hope that I, and others, have the energy to fight another round against Raybor.

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.

New renderings show baseball stadium in proposed 'GasWorx' District that would link Ybor and Channelside

 

"The City of Tampa released new renderings of a one-of-a-kind baseball stadium in the middle of the proposed GasWorx District, which would link Ybor and Channelside. 

The design shows the stadium just South of Ybor City and the Selmon Expressway, and just east of the Channel that is now home to a shipping hub.

The owner of the site, Darryl Shaw, did not want to comment on this stadium design, which came from a firm in Kansas City. The Rays, which had that design made, did not want to comment either.

More HERE

‘Prepared to negotiate’: Hillsborough unfazed after St. Pete chooses Rays redevelopment plans for Tropicana

 

Negotiators trying to bring a stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays to Hillsborough County say they are unfazed by Monday's announcement that St. Petersburg chose the team's proposed plan for redeveloping the Tropicana Field location. 

"Their attendance would be much higher, and the revenue generated would be much higher and much greater in Tampa and Hillsborough County," said Hillsborough Commissioner Ken Hagan.

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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

Ray's in Ybor City falling into place

Pieces are falling into place for the Rays to train at a new complex in Pasco County and play 40 home games a year in a new Ybor City stadium. more