YBOR Gentrification

Slowly but very surely, Historic Ybor City is being infected by gentrification. The Tampa Park Apartments at the southwest corner of 7th Avenue and Nuccio Parkway has opted to end their Section 8 contract with HUD and is in the process of evicting tenants who rely on government assistance (article HERE). This property is immediately north of the site where the new Rays stadium was, and still is, proposed to be built. Currently secret negotiations are still ongoing between the Rays franchise owners, St. Petersburg and the Tampa Sports Authority and the plan was originally to develop about 4 million square feet of properties surrounding the stadium and, I'm sure that is still in the fix. That 4 million square feet would include everything from 6th Ave. south to Adamo Dr. and Nuccio Pkwy. west to 22nd St., basically everything south of 7th Ave.

Just because you can't see it now, doesn't mean the RAYBOR beast isn't just over the horizon.

FBI Eyeing Public Corruption Throughout Florida

The guilty pleas entered last week by former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox and a confidante is not the end of public corruption investigations in 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

Beat the Drum Spread the Word The RAYBOR scam isn't over

As anyone who has been seriously following the Tampa Bay Rays franchise's efforts to move their baseball team to Hillsborough County knows, the intricacies of the negotiations between the Rays and both St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County have been very complex, confusing and uncertain. One thing that is clear though is that these negotiations are far from over. 

I'll start with a video containing excerpts from the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) January 9 meeting, which makes it obvious that our County Commission has postured itself to continue negotiations with the Rays to entice them to move the team to Hillsborough County. To avoid claims of  my taking comments of the commissioners out of context, the video of the complete meeting can be found HERE (The motion and discussion begins at 3:28:24).

I'd like to give a shout out to Noah Pransky of WTSP for his relentless pursuit of the truth behind the secret negotiations being held between Ken Hagan and the Tampa Bay Rays, negotiations so secret even fellow commissioners were left in the dark. Thanks to Mr. Pransky, the Ybor activists were able to organize and react to Hagan's attempts to close a deal using $500 million of public funds to build the Rays stadium in the heart of Ybor City. We must stay on our guard though because Hagan, who secretly revealed the Ybor location to influential friends of his before it was made public, has openly stated that negotiations WILL continue under the umbrella of the Tampa Sports Authority (TSA), of which he is a board member and whose activities are even further outside the light of the Sunshine Laws.

So what can happen now? The Tampa Bay Rays, who have a contract with St. Petersburg which terminates in 2027 will most likely go back to the St. Petersburg City Council and present an ultimatum, threatening to sell the Rays team to another owner, as they did in 2010 to begin these negotiations in the first place, the intent being to coerce them into extending their time for negotiations with Hillsborough County. It seems more than a coincidence that the lawyer, Irwin Raij, originally retained by Hillsborough County and now retained by the TSA, is also a consultant for a group in Portland, Oregon who is looking to bring baseball to Portland. There are also those who were given inside information who have most likely invested heavily in properties in Ybor City on the promise of a Rays stadium there. They are not going to be too anxious to give up on the deal.

By the efforts of a good investigative reporter and the dedication of the Ybor activists who faced the BOCC and whose "shot across the bow" made it clear that we would not allow our county to appropriate a half billion dollars of public funds without the word being spread to the citizens of what was being done, we managed to throw a rather big wrench into efforts to scam an unwitting public.

Lastly, for those who really love Ybor City, I want to bring something to your attention. Part of the plan to build the new Rays stadium in Ybor City would most likely rely on revenues from  4 million square feet of new development in the area of the stadium. Using an online mapping tool, I measured the area of land that would be the most obvious location for this new development, bounded between 6th Ave. to Adamo Dr. and Nuccio Pkwy to 22nd St., and found it to be almost exactly 4 million square feet. As Ken Hagan admitted in his interview with Sports Talk Florida, this new development, modeled after the Atlanta Braves deal, which was also conducted secretly, would consist of new restaurants, bars, retail spaces, and high-rise hotels and apartment buildings. It is completely absurd to pretend that this new development would not drastically change, perhaps destroy, the culture and historical value of Ybor City.

In conclusion, I find it mind boggling that so many people, including at least one candidate for Mayor of Tampa, choose to believe the word of those who have the most financial interests at stake when they claim that the "Rays deal is finished" rather than clearly documented evidence that this is far from the truth, It isn't over.

AND WE MUST STAY VIGILANT!

What we don't know CAN hurt us!

During the last BOCC meeting (1/9/19), several statements were made that indicate that our county commission not only intended to conduct negotiations with the Tampa Bay Rays out of the view of the public, who they expected to bare half of the billion dollars of constructing a new stadium in Ybor City, but that they intend to CONTINUE negotiations without public scrutiny. All text in white are directly from the official closed caption scripts of the commission meeting.

Mariella Smith: Over four years ago in October of 2014, a working group was formed to explore the potential of having a stadium in Hillsborough County. Commissioner Hagan was designated as the county's representative, the mayor represented the city of Tampa and we had a representative from the sports authority and some private interest were on that working group. Things are very different now than they were when this working group was formed over four years ago. Things are different now than they were when we last discussed this. Some of the main reasons for having a working group that could operate out of the sunshine no longer apply. For example, they selected their preferred site location and that is public knowledge now. The county has presented a proposed funding framework and that is public knowledge and with all that public information, the public has been wanting to be more involved in the discussions and have more input.

This working group was obviously never meant to "explore the potential of having a baseball stadium in Hillsborough County"; it's purpose was to secretely negotiate a financial deal with the RAYS franchise. Commissioner Smith describes the working group as one whose intent was to work outside the state sunshine laws, i.e. without public knowledge, and how information discovered by a local news media outlet made the negotiations known to the public. Because of the public becoming aware of those negotiations and the resulting backlash against a Rays stadium, Commissioner Smith rightfully felt that this secret working group no longer applied and should be disbanded.

Ken Hagan: I completely agree with those comments. Working within the confines of the sunshine law can be challenging.

Commissioner Hagan affirmed the difficulty of conducting business in the light of public scrutiny. OF COURSE IT IS when you know that the public would disapprove of what is being negotiated. On more than one occasion Ken Hagan stated clearly that he intended for the process used by the Atlanta Braves franchise to relocate their stadium to be the blueprint for how he planned to conduct the process for the Rays franchise move to Tampa. The Atlanta Braves process was conducted completely in secret and even approved by the Cobb County Commission secretly. The president of the Atlanta Braves, John Schuerholz, later admitted that the deal had to be in private to avoid a public backlash (HERE). Ken Hagan intended to keep the Rays negotiations secret from the public for the same reason. How is that even close to being ethical for a commission whose sole purpose is to represent the needs of the people of Hillsborough County?

Less Miller:  And the other thing, our attorney is still having conversations both with the baseball commissioner and with Stu Sternberg. I didn't want you to leave here thinking all conversations have stopped because until the Rays sign a contract with Saint Pete or some other city, from our point of view, keeping the lines open are important and, in particular, our attorney wanted both the baseball commissioner and Stu to know that we, in fact, when we said we had private investment money, [w]e did. He offered to provide that to the baseball commissioner as evidence because the commissioner wrote a rather unpleasant letter to us saying he didn't think we had the money. We did have private investors who provide a proposal. He wanted Stu to know that as well. We had our 50% and I didn't want anybody to think....(at this point, Less Miller was cut off by another commissioner)

Here, Les Miller, placating those with financial interests, makes it clear that negotiations WILL continue, and continue outside the state sunshine laws. He also stresses that 50% of the cost for building the stadium has been committed by private interests but neglects to mention that the other 50% would come from public funds. The baseball commissioner was right in saying that we didn't have the money. That other 50%, that $500 million, would be OUR money and the commission, by voting to continue the working group and continue negotiations outside our sunshine laws, are effectively saying that our voice doesn't matter in decisions concerning how OUR money is to be spent. If they are allowed to continue this debacle unopposed, it will benefit only a select few individuals at our expense. Public funds are intended to be used to benefit the PUBLIC and not enrich a few. Independent studies overwhelmingly show that major sports venues DO NOT economically benefit the communities in which they operate.

WHAT DO WE DO WHEN THEY STEAL OUR MONEY?!

RAYBOR IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL DAMN IT!

For the last regular meeting of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, held on January 9, there was an item (Item F-8), which was added as an addendum to the agenda as the last item for discussion. Yesterday, Item F-8 was listed as an agenda item "F-8 Discussion concerning the County's representation in any future negotiations with the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team regarding a stadium in the County.". Today, the official agenda (HERE) shows that Item F-8 has been deleted and relisted at the end of the agenda as "F-8 Off the Agenda". The discussion DID take place at the end of the Commission meeting, as you will see in the following videos, so it WAS officially addressed during the meeting. The following videos and texts will clearly show that the negotiations to bring the Rays franchise here to Hillsborough County and very possibly the original selected site in Ybor City are still very much active and still being held outside public scrutiny. During the discussion Mariella Smith, one of our new commissioners, placed a motion to disband the commission's involvement in the "informal" work group created in 2015 to negotiate with the Rays. In a 4-3 vote, Commissioner Smith's motion was defeated (Commissioners Hagan, Miller, Murman and Overman voted to retain the Commission's active involvement in the work group and therefore continuing negotiations). It was mentioned during the discussions that the contract for the legal firm hired by the Commission to represent them during their involvement in the negotiations will be taken over by the Tampa Sports Authority. Ken Hagen stated "The TSA assumed Council's contract and any future negotiations will be led by the TSA.". The TSA has no obligation to make public any of their proceedings.

I will present here segments of the video of this County Commission meeting, touching on the most pertinent statements during the discussion. With each segment, I will give some commentary of the VERY obvious implications that arose. The full video of the meeting can be found HERE and the Item F-8 discussion begins at 3:28:24 in the video.

In the first video excerpt, Mariella Smith explains why the working group, which was intended to work "out of the sunshine" is no longer needed.

In this excerpt, Ken Hagan explains why Commissioner Smith's intended motion is "moot" and, as he has many times, expressed that he is not and never was a "negotiator" during the dealings with the Rays. Hagan, quite obviously does not want negotiations to end because he, the County Administrator, Mike Merrill, and other friends of his, who were given information withheld from the public, have made serious financial investments into the success of a Rays stadium in Ybor. At the end of the video, I have added an excerpt from a radio interview Hagan did in 2017* (HERE) which clearly shows that he was taking a lead in the negotiations with the owner and manager of the Rays and that he was having private meetings with both. Though he stresses that he was never "officially" a negotiator, he was definitely a negotiator, if not the lead negotiator.

Pat Kemp states that things have changed since the last meeting, alluding to the fact that much of what the Commission intended to keep secret was ultimately reported by local media and that the public, namely the Ybor 6, responded. She also explains that even she, a commissioner on the board, had difficulties obtaining information from the working group. Les Miller then asks Commissioner Smith, "Do you think a motion is necessary at this point?", seemingly trying to encourage Mariella Smith to retract her motion. She doesn't but instead places the motion before the board.

And that leaves a couple final comments and the vote. Ken Hagan again tries to counter the motion by offending Commissioner Smith and calling it "meaningless", in a patronizing and insulting way. He then contradicts his "meaningless" comment by explaining that voting Yes on the motion might effectively "kill the deal" with the Rays. Les Miller climbs onto the misogynistic challenge to Commissioner Smith by calling the motion "fruitless" and "not appropriate". The motion is then voted on and defeated. Kimberly Overman, had she been the progressive she purports to be, could have been the vote to help kill the negotiations with the Rays but, instead voted to NOT disband the working group.

To wrap it all up, our County Commission is making it clear that negotiations are going to continue with the Rays franchise and that, because their plans for secrecy were thwarted by a local media outlet and the appearance of several citizens at the last meeting, voicing their clear opposition to RAYBOR, future negotiations will be conducted even further from the public eye. The negotiations are being handed chiefly to the Tampa Sports Authority in order to further conceal from the public what they are doing, in effect moving the back room dealing to a back room in the back of the back room. During the discussion, both Mike Merrill and Les Miller stated that "We have the money!" but they continue to ignore that they have only private investor's money, which amounts to 50% of the projected cost of a new stadium and ignoring that they ultimately intend to use $500 million, or more, of taxpayer funds to make up the other 50%.. Besides the private investments to partially fund the cost of the stadium, there is is also money invested in properties in the area surrounding the originally proposed Ybor City site and I have no doubt that the continuing negotiations will focus on Ybor City.

We have GOT to continue to pressure the officials in our government to listen to the citizens they are sworn to serve and end forever any further negotiations to move the Rays to Hillsborough County, and especially to Ybor City, and to realize that the voters of this county will NEVER accept having to fund half of the third most expensive stadium ever built, yet the smallest stadium in all Major League Baseball, smaller even than Tropicana Field. It would be doomed to fail and destroy Ybor City along with it.

* Correction: Ken Hagan's interview with Sports Talk Florida took place on May 31, 2017 instead of in 2015 as I mistakenly stated.

Asher’s Choice for Activist of the Year

I have two choices for Activist of the Year! 

First I want to recognize Dayna Lazarus for her tireless efforts to advocate for equitable transit and social justice. Our community is stronger thanks to her work! 

My second choice honors Glen Eich for his outstanding job in galvanizing the “Ybor 6” to oppose the Rays Stadium being built in Ybor — his efforts helped to save historic Ybor from becoming drowned in commercialist chaos. Thank you Dayna and Glen!

The Proposed Gentrification of Ybor City by the Tampa Bay Rays

Tomorrow morning I, along with several others, will be speaking before the Hillsborough County Board of County Commission in opposition to the proposed relocation of the Tampa Bay Rays to a new stadium in Ybor City. This is the graphic I plan to put on their overhead projector and the speech I plan to give.

Come on out to the meeting if you can and support those who are fighting to preserve the Ybor City community. The commission meeting is at 9:00am on the second floor of the County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd.

10 News Report on Ken Hagan's criminal behavior

Negotiations with a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays franchise are still being held behind closed doors by Corrupt County Commissioner Ken Hagan and the Rays have a deadline of December 31 to close a deal.

I have been trying to obtain the agenda for the next Board of County Commissioners public meeting on December 5 but, conveniently, the person who posts their agendas is on vacation until Nov. 28. From now until Dec. 5, I will be gathering as much information as I can concerning these illegal secret negotiations and will hopefully create an event aimed at allowing the people of Hillsborough County to voice our objections to this corrupt and illegal process. It is already clear that most of the funding for this new stadium would be obtained from public funds, whether by imposing a new county tax or diverting monies from existing public funds, such as the entertainment tax or tourism tax funds. Either would be stealing funds that were meant to improve conditions for the citizens of Hillsborough and not to enrich land developer friends of Ken Hagan and Rays shareholders.

I will keep the readers of the Ybor City Stogie posted.

Ken Hagan Racketeering Charges?

For years, county commissioner Ken Hagan has been negotiating a new Rays stadium behind closed doors, going so far to preserve secrecy that he refused to turn over public records even when the law required it.

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However, the secret details of where Hagan and the Rays were planning to put a new stadium were not secret to every member of the public – one key developer was given access to the information that should have been 
available to all.

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The developer used that information to buy land at a discounted rate, put himself in position to profit off the new stadium announcement, then became a significant contributor to Commissioner Hagan’s re-election campaign. At no time were Hagan’s fellow commissioners – or members of the public who requested the public documents – provided the maps. MORE

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"This arrangement to have Ken Hagan represent the entire Commission in negotiations with the Rays was approved by the BOCC before I became a commissioner. After I became a commissioner, I objected to this arrangement and urged that the County Adminstrator represent the BOCC in these negotiations instead. The only other commissioner in support of me was Comm. Stacy White." Pat Kemp

The Rays can afford to build their own stadium!

The Rays baseball team—with a long history of terrible attendance—is worth $900 million according to Forbes magazine. They are in the process of signing a $1.2 billion television rights contract which means they will get $120 million a year for 10 years in free money just for being here. Source

Sky U. White: I do not support building the new Rays Stadium in Ybor City

VOTE SKY U. WHITE

Rays New Stadium Presentation in Ybor City

Unveiling of plans for a shiny new $892 million stadium in Ybor City by the Tampa Bay Rays organization Tuesday struck out on the key question: a funding source.

The presentation is seen by many—supporters, opponents, and skeptics alike—as an effort to gain converts. more

By Jim Bleyer

Koch-backed group takes aim at Tampa Bay Rays stadium plan

Something we agree with the Koch brothers on!

Boycott Proponents of Taxpayer Subsidized Rays Stadium

Remember this?

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George W. Bush and the Texas Rangers

When he bought the team, the Rangers were playing in an old minor-league stadium. It didn’t have the fancy sky boxes and other amenities that helped make other franchises much more profitable. As a result, the team couldn’t compete with other big-city teams for good players. But the new owners weren’t willing to finance the construction of a new ballpark. They decided to hit up taxpayers for the money.

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First, the new owners threatened to move the team out of Arlington, Texas, sending local officials scurrying to put together a deal they couldn’t refuse. Under the resulting agreement, the taxpayers of Arlington would raise $135 million, the bulk of the cost of construction, through a hike in sales taxes. During a campaign to sell the sales tax increase to Arlington voters, then-mayor Richard Greene said the team owners would put $50 million of their own money into the deal up front. It didn’t quite work out that way; the owners raised a hefty portion of their down payment from fans, through a one dollar surcharge on tickets. 

The city spent $150,000 on an advertising campaign to persuade voters. Opponents of the deal couldn’t compete with glossy brochures, telemarketing calls, and a “Hands Around Arlington Day.” On Jan. 19, 1991, citizens of Arlington voted two-to-one to approve a sales-tax increase dedicated to building the new park. here

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And this: Minnesota taxpayers, $348 million — or about $616 million, including interest over three decades.  here

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Las Vegas for the Raiders?  $750 million taxpayer subsidy. here

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It can be done. Check this out. Chargers love LA. here. Great job San Diego!

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Join the revolt here

Rays Hoopla Has Started In Ybor

Beware Tampa/Hillsborough 

we are about  to get screwed!

The main drivers of the stadium are Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan who has enriched his developer friends during his 16-year tenure in office, and the Tampa Bay Times that has at least two “investors,” Jeff Vinik and Darryl Shaw, who will make a real estate windfall into the hundreds of millions.

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Mr. Mayor we don't use pencils on this side and there won't be any burden on taxpayers because taxpayers aren't giving you, Ken Hagan, The Rays or MLB nothing.

Do the math, We did

Rays Coming To Ybor

Fake News: Our fearless leader Corporate Welfare king Commissioner Ken Hagan and his corporate cronies will unveil a plan to build us a new Rays stadium in Ybor. 

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Beware the catch! "The guarantee of sponsorships and ticket sales will be a major factor in how much the team will contribute toward a stadium." 

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Hillsborough County taxpayers will not have to hand out a dime for construction of the new stadium or the surrounding infrastructure.
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Thank you Mr. Hagan and your corporate friends. To us Tampeños who don't like baseball this will be a great addition to our beloved Ybor!

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here

MLB And Ken Hagan's Fleecing Of Hillsborough County

Hillsborough County taxpayers, take a look around.  If you can’t find the sucker, it’s you.

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Anyone favoring a new taxpayer-funded stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays is either in the cabal of grifters that will share in the $600M+ windfall or baseball aficianados that have bought into the sport’s bribery/blackmail playbook.

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It’s a game plan designed to enrich team owners, local real estate interests, bond attorneys, and public officials who expedite the travesty.  In Tampa, that public official is Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan who negotiated with landowners and the Rays in secret, then last week presented his fellow commissioners with what amounted to a fait accompli as to the new Rays site in Ybor City.

here

Tampa Bay Rays Corporate Welfare

By Guest Blogger Jim Bleyer of The Tampa Bay Beat

A land deal that would cost Hillsborough County taxpayers an estimated $600 million to enrich corporate interests, at least one public official, and Tampa Bay Times investors was suddenly unveiled yesterday to an unsuspecting public. It’s an unraveling plot that is worthy of the duplicity, corruption, and intrigue found in
 “24” or “House of Cards.”

County Commissioner Ken Hagan, who never met a developer  he didn’t embrace, for months conducted negotiations in secret.  He was quoted by the Times as saying that “the community has reached an agreement with land owners” to gain site control of about 
14 acres there.

But is Hagan speaking “for the community?”  Not a peep out of the other six county commissioners, County Administrator Mike Merrill, or any member of the Tampa City Council.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn told the media he was “surprised” by the development but added, “the location makes sense.”  Tampa Bay Beat doesn’t buy Buckhorn’s feigned ignorance.

A nonprofit corporation was created in order that all communications and dealings could be kept under wraps, an obvious gambit to avert Florida’s Government in the Sunshine Law. According to the Florida Department of State’s Division of Corporations, corporate papers were filed by Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP.

It is a given in Tampa political circles that Buckhorn will lobby for the Shumaker firm, whose wheelhouse is land use,  as soon as he leaves office in 2019.

Local bloggers from throughout the political spectrum oppose the funnelling of tax dollars for a new Rays stadium.  Only the Times and other pay-for play media entities have remained silent or supported the money grab.

WTSP’s Noah Pransky has led the charge in shining a light on the cloaked stadium negotiations with his Shadow of the Stadium blog. Two weeks ago, Sharon Calvert’s Eye on Tampa Bay ran a comprehensive analysis of the pitfalls involved in any stadium deal.  The Ybor City Stogie has for years opposed tax dollars being used to finance a Rays stadium.
Tampa Bay Beat last week reported that real estate baron Darryl Shaw, who stands to reap at least $100 million from a stadium relocation to Ybor City, is one of the secret “investors” who bailed out the Tampa Bay Times earlier this year.

Shaw has entered into an option agreement with a nonprofit led by Tampa lawyer Ronald Christaldi, who represents Shumaker, and prominent businessman Charles Sykes. It can transfer the site to the county, Rays or any other entity, should the team agree to move to Tampa.

The machinations that could lead to a $600 million taxpayer ripoff are shielded from public record.

The under-the-table scheme faces a ton of hurdles.

—The Rays and owner Stuart Sternberg—and Major League Baseball—must decide if they want to be associated with an unethical and possibly illegal contrivance let alone whether or not the Ybor site is even suitable.

—Then there are other public officials, either running for office again or conscious of their legacy, who are responsible to the public but have yet to weigh in on Hagan’s proposal.

—A portion of the proposed parcel is owned by TECO, a utility presumably regulated by the State of Florida.  It must consent in order for the proposal to become less unfeasible.

—Then there is a law enforcement aspect. State Attorney Andrew Warren and/or the FDLE could very well investigate the entire process to ensure the letter of the law was followed at every turn.  And if even a scintilla of any transaction, negotiation, or funding occurred across state lines or internationally, the FBI would have a stake.

The Internal Revenue Service has received a complaint challenging the nonprofit status of the Poynter Institute, parent of the Tampa Bay Times. If the IRS perceives the newly created “nonprofit” as an artiface, that corporation could end up being taxed and its records subject to disclosure.

The Times, not wanting to alienate Shaw and any other investor that will benefit from the deal, has not questioned the secret negotiations or the wisdom of dropping a half-empty monstrosity onto Ybor’s fabled landscape.

“But once the search started, the Channel District-Ybor site emerged as the top contender,” reported the once-trusted Times late yesterday. Besides Shaw, Jeff Vinik, who is developing 50 acres in Channelside, has been identified as a Times investor.

Shaw and Vinik have contributed to Hagan’s 2018 bid for a fifth term on the county commission.

Tampa Bay Rays Donated To Ken Hagan

Tampa Bay Rays principal owner, Stu Sternberg, donated $1,000 to the 2018 re-election campaign of Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, the county's biggest cheerleader for a new Rays stadium in Tampa. 

here
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We all know Mr. Hagan well. He wants to use public dollars to finance a new home for the MLB club.

New Rays Stadium In Ybor City?

Ken Hagan sald that somewhere with easy downtown access like Channelside or Ybor City would be prime candidates for the new ball park.

No Baseball fans here, but we think that is a great idea. He does not mention who would pay for it. more