Rays won't seek state aid

The team says its stadium plan will proceed without the $60-million it had hoped for.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN and STEVE BOUSQUET, Times Staff Writers
Published January 8, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Facing widespread skepticism, the Tampa Bay Rays scuttled plans to seek a $60-million state subsidy to help pay for a new downtown waterfront stadium, a team executive said Monday.

Rays senior vice president Michael Kalt said the team will not push legislators for a state sales tax rebate during the 2008 session.

Kalt insists the decision will not derail the team's overall proposal or its ambitious timetable. The Rays still hope to build a $450-million waterfront stadium on the site of Al Lang Field that would be ready for play in 2012.

"We said from the beginning that we don't see the state money as crucial," Kalt said. "It's nice to have, but it's not essential. We're not in the business in pushing things through that we think are unrealistic."

The move comes days after the St. Petersburg Times showed just how dim the prospects of getting the state money were.

The majority of the Rays' hometown lawmakers - the 12 members of the Pinellas County delegation - said in Saturday's editions that they were unwilling or uninterested in aiding the Rays this spring.

State Rep. Bill Heller, a St. Petersburg Democrat whose district includes the Al Lang site, said Monday that he was happy to hear the Rays were delaying their request.

"We've got a lot going on," Heller said. "We're already in a bad revenue stream. We have children who need health care. We have education still taking cuts. We still don't have a good taxation reform package. There's an awful lot on our plates."

Left unclear is whether the stadium would have to be redesigned to accommodate the loss of state funding. Financing details still need to be worked out, in large part because it's unknown how much money the redevelopment of Tropicana Field could generate, Kalt said.

And the proposal for state funding could be reintroduced in 2009, Kalt said. The money would come in the form of a sales tax rebate, paid out in equal $2-million increments over 30 years.

When the revenue is bonded to provide funds up front, the Rays say it would raise about $30-million toward construction - less than 7 percent of the overall stadium cost.

The team already has benefited from a similar subsidy to pay for renovations to Tropicana Field.

"We've never said this is absolutely necessary," Kalt said. "We said, and we continue to say, that the project is going to move forward regardless of what happens in Tallahassee."

The Rays are, however, hiring top lobbyist Brian Ballard to monitor the team's interests in Tallahassee.

Ballard, 46, has been a fixture in Tallahassee's lobbying circles for much of the past two decades. He parlayed a law degree and a job, at 26, as chief of staff for former Gov. Bob Martinez into a highly lucrative career as managing partner of the firm Smith & Ballard, which he runs with his father-in-law, Jim Smith, a former Florida attorney general and secretary of state.

It was Ballard and others in his firm who convinced legislators to change state law to allow hospital clients to perform profitable open-heart surgery when they didn't otherwise qualify. Ballard's firm got the Florida Lottery to award its online game contract to his client, GTECH of West Greenwich, R.I.

He was a key fundraiser for his friend and sometime dinner companion Gov. Charlie Crist, and he's currently heavily involved in Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in Florida.

The lobbyist and the baseball team have been in discussions for months over Ballard helping the Rays navigate legislative approvals for a possible tax subsidy.

Beyond that, redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site is certain to require permits from state agencies, and it is always possible that Florida's other big-league team, the Florida Marlins, will renew its perennial pitch for legislative assistance.

"There are a lot of issues going on that the ballclub needs to be involved in Tallahassee," Ballard said. "Should there ever be a stadium bill proposed, it makes absolute sense that the Rays be a part of that."

The team selected Ballard based on the recommendation of several Tallahassee insiders, Kalt said. The Rays declined to say how much the team would pay Ballard.

"We haven't had a very active presence up there, and most of the other teams in the state have," Kalt said. "When you're dealing with a project this complex financially and politically, it make sense to have someone in Tallahassee available."

Aaron Sharockman can be reached at asharockman@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2273.

Brian Ballard

-The Tampa Bay Rays hired the top lobbyist for an undisclosed sum to monitor the baseball team's interests in Tallahassee.

-46.

-Managing partner of the firm Smith & Ballard with Jim Smith, a former Florida attorney general and secretary of state. Smith is also Ballard's father-in-law.

-Served as chief of staff for former Gov. Bob Martinez at age 26.

-Is a leading Republican Party fundraiser and heavily involved in Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in Florida.

- Was a key fundraiser for Charlie Crist's 2006 gubernatorial bid and also helped raise millions for his inauguration celebration.

[Last modified January 8, 2008, 06:25:56]