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Rays: New stadium plan would be a boon for schools

The team says schools could get $5-million a year from taxes.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published January 12, 2008

The Tampa Bay Rays' project that a fully redeveloped Tropicana Field would attract a total of $800-million in new local tax revenues over the next 35 years.
	[Times (1998)]

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Tampa Bay Rays' argument for a new waterfront home extends beyond a pretty baseball stadium and a transformed Midtown megablock.

It's about tax dollars.

For you. Not them.

The Rays say the successful redevelopment of Tropicana Field and its parking lots could generate $5-million a year in new property tax revenues for state and Pinellas schools. If the redevelopment includes retail, millions more dollars could flow into the city and county coffers each year through sales tax payments.

That money, which would not help build a new stadium for the Rays, could be used to build new schools or new parks or pay teachers or police officers more, the Rays say.

"It's a huge net benefit," Rays senior vice president Michael Kalt said this week.

It just takes a lesson in algebra and a little extrapolation to realize.

The Rays' project that a fully redeveloped Tropicana Field would attract a total of $800-million in new local tax revenues over the next 35 years. But that amount is almost impossible to verify before development scenarios for Tropicana Field are detailed in March, professional property appraisers say.

Skeptics worry it has the trappings of a huge letdown.

But Rays executives say that's exactly why they are asking the city next week to issue a request to developers for ideas.

"We're not asking people to take a leap of faith," Kalt said. "The city is going to have a fairly solid development agreement with someone or they're not going to take a flier. There will be assurances in place."

Future property taxes

Of every $1 in property taxes generated by the redevelopment of Tropicana Field, about 52 cents under any scenario would be placed into a special taxing fund to complete downtown capital projects. The Rays are asking that most or all of that money help fund their new $450-million stadium.

The other 48 cents, however, would be spread across several governmental agencies for their use. The largest chunk, about 37 cents, would be redirected to the state and local school system.

Much of the talk about the proposed redevelopment of Tropicana Field so far has centered around the first pot of money -- critics have called it a handout -- but not the second.

The development could create between $1.2-million and $3.1-million a year in new school property taxes, depending on the value of the Tropicana redevelopment, according to a rudimentary analysis of potential development scenarios. The estimate calculates the value of the development between $150-million to $400-million, and does not factor in for things like increases in value or changes to the tax rate.

The Rays' projections calculate an even greater benefit to schools, $180-million over 35 years, or about $5-million annually. The Rays declined to provide details of their analysis, saying it could compromise the developer they are working with on a proposal to redevelop the Trop.

Without that analysis, making a more specific and independent estimate is nearly impossible, professional appraisers say, because the potential property tax revenues depend almost solely on what will be built on the Tropicana Field site.

An intensely developed project could generate more property tax revenues, said Jim Earle, a local commercial real estate appraiser. A phased development initially would generate less.

The Rays and their developer partner, Hines, have proposed replacing Tropicana Field and the adjacent parking lots with nearly 1-million square feet of new retail space and some 900 units of new housing.

"Both Al Lang Field, the target for development, and Tropicana Field are not on the tax rolls," said Doug Forth, the Pinellas assistant superintendent for Budget and Resource Allocation. "They are tax exempt. If they remain tax exempt, no tax is collected."

Pinellas superintendent Clayton Wilcox, whose school system would benefit the most, has yet to endorse the Rays' proposal. But he seemed supportive when asked about it, and he could become a prominent ally if the plan moves forward.

"Everybody's talking about the subsidy (to the Rays), if you will," Wilcox said. "But a lot of people are failing to see the larger picture of the economic impact over time. As somebody who deals with tax rolls on a regular base, you have to be excited by what the Rays are proposing."

Foes see handout

Other taxing agencies would see smaller tax revenue gains if the Tropicana redevelopment is successful.

Depending on the value of development, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority could receive as much as an additional $225,000 a year, the Juvenile Welfare Board could receive $300,000 and the Southwest Florida Water Management District could receive $154,640 extra a year.

Sales tax projections are based on the amount of retail that would be part of the Tropicana redevelopment. The state would receive most of that money, though the city and county would share a portion.

Without knowledge of a specific redevelopment plan, it's difficult to create more detailed tax scenarios, said Pam Dubov, the chief deputy property appraiser for Pinellas County.

"The only thing we might be able to make an estimate on would be the underlying land value," Dubov said. The Tropicana Field site currently has a value of around $135-million, according to the property appraiser.

The land is not taxed, however, because it is owned by Pinellas County.

"How the taxable value would change based on whatever proposal is adopted is not something I would even dream of speculating about," Dubov said.

The unknown is one of the reasons some opponents are lining up against the plan.

"The financing is coming from the public. However you want to term it, everyone knows that's the case," said Lorraine Margeson, a St. Petersburg resident who has expressed a number of problems with the Rays' proposal.

"No one wants this. There is not a general feeling to do this at all," Margeson said. "No matter what the finances are."

David McKalip, leader of the St. Petersburg group Cut Taxes Now, said if public funds are being used, taxpayers are losing. No matter any ancillary benefit.

"The bottom line is if the Rays want a stadium on the Al Lang site, they should pay the cost," McKalip said.

The Rays say that over time the benefits of their plans will become more clear. But for now, they realize it's complicated to visualize.

"We know people have a skeptical attitude about massive redevelopment projects in the city of St. Petersburg," Kalt said. "We know people have been burned before. But we think this can benefit everyone. If we didn't, we wouldn't be even talking about it."

FAST FACTS: The possible tax benefit

For every $1 generated in property taxes:

• 52 cents would be diverted to a special taxing fund for downtown St. Petersburg improvements. (The Rays are seeking that money to build a new stadium).
• 37 cents would go to the Pinellas and state school system
• 11 cents would be split among five smaller local taxing agencies

[Last modified January 12, 2008, 02:10:20]