Trop on sale for $1 to avoid huge tax bill

ST. PETERSBURG -- The City Council requested Thursday that the Pinellas County government buy Tropicana Field for $1. It's a way to get the city out of paying property taxes on its baseball stadium.

"If this transaction is completed, we would save $1.4-million per year for the public's benefit," Mayor Rick Baker says.

The dome was tax exempt until 2001, when the Florida Supreme Court found that city-owned sports venues used by for-profit teams must pay property tax.

The city had agreed in its lease with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays that it would pay any taxes that were imposed.

The Supreme Court ruling didn't change the fact that county governments don't have to pay property tax, even on sports stadiums. So county ownership would take advantage of that loophole. And the ownership would be little more than a name on the deed.

The city would lease the stadium back from the county and continue to oversee the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' use of it, just as it does now. The city would get ownership of the dome back when the Devil Rays' lease ends, and under several other special circumstances.

"Morally, the obligation of the stadium will stay as city property," City Council member John Bryan said.

The County Commission will consider the idea Tuesday during a workshop at 12:30 p.m. Some commissioners have been skeptical, and many have received letters and calls from county residents opposing the deal.

Council members passed a resolution Thursday urging the commission to vote quickly on the deal, because the property taxes are costing the city about $25,000 per week.

The Hillsborough County Commission has considered a similar request over a property tax bill involving Raymond James Stadium, but has taken no action on the request.

Also Thursday, the St. Petersburg City Council:

-- Learned from Federal Emergency Management Agency official Brad Loar that the city's FEMA rating has improved. That means that 33,000 flood insurance policyholders in the city will receive a 15 percent discount from standard National Flood Insurance rates. Before the rating improved, they received a 10 percent discount.

-- Scheduled a public hearing for Nov. 7 about a proposed temporary haul road through Lake Maggiore Park. The lake will be dredged. The road would be used to haul the dredged muck away after it dries. But supporters of Boyd Hill Nature Park fear the road could harm the environment for wildlife in the park.

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