PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Petersburg clergy members are showing support for the new Hines-Rays deal to redevelop the Tampa Bay Rays stadium and the historic Gas Plant District. 

The Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Florida, a group of faith leaders, say the proposed deal could be positive for the community.

“The thing that I love about this deal is that it puts the stadium at the centre and includes affordable housing,” said Missio Dei Community Pastor Sam Picard. “It’s going to include a world-class African-American history museum, public space, and environmental space, really as a great centre point. And the way it’s built includes a lot of job opportunities, especially for black and women-owned businesses. So that keeps the promises that were made when the stadium first came in. And those promises weren’t kept when the gas plant community was first displaced.”

However, a recent survey conducted by the League of Women Voters shows some people are opposed to the redevelopment deal.

The organization sent out a survey of about 36,000 registered voters and got nearly 800 responses.

One of the main concerns respondents had is with the affordable housing projections.

Some people say the city could be getting a bad deal.

“Baseball is not a driver of economic growth, it’s not a driver of job growth,” said No Home Run founder Ron Diner.

 No Home Run is a group of Pinellas County citizens who are challenging the current Hines-Rays stadium proposal. 

“Well, there was a group of us that were interested in the development of the property. And we didn’t think the numbers made sense,” said Diner.

Per the new stadium term sheet, the Rays will spend $700 million. 

The City of St. Petersburg will spend $287,500,000 and Pinellas County will spend $312,500,000 towards the project.

Robin Davidof, a member of the Social Justice Task Force of the League of Women Voters, breaks down the numbers of the deal comparing it to interest on a mortgage. 

“So now the city is going to borrow their contribution to the stadium,” said Davidof. “And addition, they have to finance $130 million of infrastructure, which they promise to raise. So when you take that expense, the contribution to the raise, the cost of the infrastructure and you borrow the money, which is what the city is going to do, at the end of the day, this is going to cost $700 million.”

St. Petersburg residents participated in a survey by The League Of Women Voters which found that: 

• 69% of respondents strongly agreed that the city and county should negotiate a better deal.
  
  
• 63% strongly agreed that Hines-Rays should have to raise its own money to pay for the land and facilities and pay property taxes, rather than receive city subsidies. 
  
  
• And 50% strongly agree that the city should sell the land at fair market price and use the proceeds to build affordable housing or lower property taxes. 

However, Mayor Ken Welch did not agree with the league’s survey results.

“A survey that is not constructed properly can bring any result you want,” said Welch. “This one was not statistically valid.”

Welch says the results of this non-scientific poll don’t reflect what residents told the city they wanted from the project during several community outreach sessions.

“Sports teams are businesses, and if they can’t build a building and pay rent and pay property taxes like every other business, then they shouldn’t be in business. And that’s something that our survey brought out pretty clearly,” said Davidof. 

Welch says the Rays have not paid realty taxes since the construction of Tropicana Field.

“In fact, when I was on the county commission, the City came to us and asked us to take over the stadium so that property taxes would not have to be paid,” said Welch.

With this Hines-Rays deal, the city has emphasized that affordable housing is a priority.

“1,200 Units of affordable housing, workforce housing,” Welch reiterated, will be offered with this deal.

That includes rent-restricted units, but only 600 would be rented to residents making less than the average median income.

The proposal also includes initiatives for creating 37,000 jobs.

“A $50 million community benefit which is exactly the promise that was made to the Gas Plant community when I was there as a boy,” added Welch, who grew up in the Gas Plant District. 

Diner says the money the city’s spending could be used for other projects.

 “You could take $50 million of that money and you could build a Habitat for Humanity, could build a thousand houses with it. You could take $20 million of that money and you could give 2,000 scholarships to kids who might not otherwise go to college. And you could have them go to Saint Pete College and get good jobs. Those are just some of the examples of what we can do with the money,” said Diner.

 Davidof says taxpayers are weighing in on a project that will impact future generations for years to come. 

“The intent was really for us to hear from people and because taxpayers won’t have the opportunity to vote on this project.”

 The League of Women Voters have asked the city to have a third party review the deal. 

“I’ve got children and I’ve got grandchildren, and I’m interested in what’s best for not only my children or grandchildren, but for all people who live here,” said Diner.

Diner would like to see the city put the brakes on its current stadium plan and re-evaluate another path forward. 

Welch says he is confident in the deal.

The project won’t move forward without a final vote by both the city and Pinellas County which is scheduled for April and May.