For years, the Tampa Bay Rays have been making an attempt to get taxpayers to construct them a brand new ballpark. It doesn’t matter the place the ballpark is positioned. They may go to Tampa, outdoors Tampa and even to Montreal for half the yr. Wherever they go, you may ensure that they are going to do all the pieces of their energy to keep all negotiations closed off from the general public till the final second.
When the Rays do assemble a brand new ballpark, it will likely be with a big quantity of taxpayer cash. For years, it has been reported that the Rays are “willing to finance half of the cost of a new (ballpark)”. How good of them. However the Rays couldn’t construct it on their very own in the event that they needed to as a result of their proprietor isn’t rich sufficient to fund such a mission.
This implies the Rays will want as a lot taxpayer funds as potential. One large supply of that comes from the vacationer taxes collected in Pinellas County. This 6% tax on motels/leases is collected and put right into a pot. It’s then dispersed to sure tasks that town approves. In 2022, the pot had $95.8 million. In response to town county administrator, “40% can go to capital projects that would drive tourism … the other 60% funds tourism marketing”. That means, this cash have to be used for so-called tourism-generating tasks.
In response to county leaders, the Rays haven’t mentioned utilizing some other sort of tax to pay for a brand new ballpark. However what occurs when a number of tasks require more cash than the pot has in it? In response to the Tampa Bay Instances, County Fee members will then determine “what their priorities are” and who will get what.
For instance, the Phillies are going to need a LOT of this cash fairly quickly. They’ve performed spring coaching in Clearwater, Florida since 1947. In addition they have proven a capability to get cash out of native and state leaders for his or her spring coaching facility. Whether or not it’s bribing buying donating large amounts of money to the precise native leaders who determine on Phillies tasks or leaking out paperwork stating that the Phillies economic impact brings in absurd quantities of cash for the realm. Do I even want to elucidate the madness of economic impact reports that the group paid somebody to do?
In 2019, the Phillies demanded and obtained roughly $70 million in taxpayer cash for upgrades to the Phillies spring-training facility. Final yr, the Phillies needed to construct a large new facility that may have price $300 million. Though the massive mission was not agreed upon, the Phillies still bought a significant quantity of land round their present spring coaching website.
So, on we go because the Phillies proceed to wish cash each few years whereas solely being requested to spend barely 15% of the associated fee from their very own pocket.
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Does it not make anybody else a bit nervous whenever you learn issues like this?
“The (Phillies) Complicated is planning an $80 million growth … Funding for the mission is predicted to return from a number of sources, together with … a one-percent gross sales tax that’s used to fund infrastructure and public amenities…(the Phillies requested) for an extra $6 million … It was permitted with out opposition … On account of the extra funds going towards the sports activities advanced, funding for the Sand Key Bridge alternative will take a $6 million hit” – Tampa Bay Business Journal, 01/18/19
Clearwater has been laying out the carpet for the Phillies for a few years now. In 2004, one other metropolis’s mayor famous that the ballpark that Clearwater had simply constructed for the Phillies, made the mayor’s metropolis seem like their very own ballpark was from the “Dark Ages”.
Good luck to whoever wins essentially the most quantity of public cash!
