Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik's real estate development company on Friday "bought 4.12 acres of vacant downtown land" near Amalie Arena, and "though there could be several uses, ... supporting a baseball stadium doesn't appear to be one of them," according to Jamal Thalji of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Tampa Bay Sports & Entertainment Exec VP & General Counsel Jim Shimberg, who also serves as COO of Vinik's Strategic Property Partners, said, "We believe this property is a solid long-term investment." Thalji noted Vinik "already owns more than 25 acres on the east side of the expressway, along with the lease to Amalie Arena, Channelside Bay Plaza and the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina in the southern corner of downtown Tampa." This is the "first time Vinik has acquired downtown property west of the overpass that runs through the city." Vinik on Wednesday is "planning to unveil his long-awaited master plan for redeveloping that area." Shimberg said that this latest acquisition "will not be a part of that unveiling" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 12/13).
THE SIXTH CENTS: Thalji wrote the Rays "face nothing but obstacles in searching for a new home in Tampa." The St. Petersburg City Council "has yet to bless a deal to let the Rays look outside Pinellas County." A ballpark "won't be an easy fit in Hillsborough County, either." Taxpayers "seem to have little appetite for helping to pay" for a new ballpark. Politicians, however, "always seem to find a way." One of those ways "may involve tourists." Visitors to Pinellas and Hillsborough counties "pay a 5-cent tax for every dollar they spend on hotel rooms, rentals, RV parks and campgrounds." Thalji: "But what if tourists paid 6 cents instead?" Under state law, tourist taxes "can help pay for infrastructure projects -- like, say, a new" ballpark. Officials from both Pinellas and Hillsborough county governments said that state law "would allow an expanded bed tax to help finance a stadium." Elected officials have acknowledged that, "though the sixth cent does not yet exist, they're already considering it as a possible funding source" for a ballpark. The sixth cent alone "cannot build a new stadium," though it "could pay off" $80-100M of the construction costs. But a new ballpark "is expected to cost at least" $500M (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 12/13).
