Rays Pledge Lump Sum Toward Downtown Ballpark
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Rays Willing To Pay $150M Lump Sum Instead
Of Yearly Rent Payments For New Ballpark |
The Rays are "willing to contribute their $150[M] share for a proposed downtown ballpark in a lump sum instead of yearly rent payments," according to Aaron Sharockman of the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES. The Rays previously had planned to pay the city $10M a year in rent to cover a third of the $450M stadium cost, but Rays Senior VP/Development Michael Kalt said that the new contribution "makes no difference to the team's proposal." He noted that the funding will come from a "private team loan." Critics of the old proposal were concerned the city "could be left responsible if something went wrong," but with the Rays borrowing money up front that concern is "virtually eliminated." However, with the Rays in January abandoning possible state funding for the project, team officials admitted that they still have "more questions than answers." The team "appears ready to rely solely on the successful redevelopment of Tropicana Field to make up the difference." The Rays are "hoping to collect as much as $300[M] through the sale of the 86-acre property along with the city and county property taxes generated on the site." Rays President Matt Silverman said that the team will "not know if the sale of Tropicana Field can create the money needed for a new ballpark before March 18, when developers' offers for the site are opened by the city" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 2/20)
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