Funding approved to start ballpark construction

Well, a new Rays ballpark in West Tampa took a step forward today, thanks to votes at the Hillsborough County Commission. Commissioners backed two pieces of funding that give the Rays a pot of money to start with construction along Dale Mabry Highway, right across from Raymond James Stadium. Fox 13's Evan Axelbank is live at the county office building tonight with more on this. Hi there, Evan. So what's the significance of this today? Well, supporters of the project say there are very few things that can derail this all, at least from the county perspective. Take a look. The more controversial of the two votes taken today was on a $90 million pledge of CIT sales taxes. One board member has insisted that the use of that money is illegal because the voter referendum that created the tax doesn't explicitly list stadiums as a potential use. However, the county attorney has written legal opinions disagreeing with that view. Now, the county commissioners also supported a payment of $263 million of tourist taxes that will go towards the $2.3 billion project. The county will eventually owe a total of $303 million in that pot, so this is a big push towards that. Public speakers were generally split on the project. The voters of this county have just sent a clear, undeniable message. They are angry about overspending, and this current stadium needs to be completely unwound. Our residents are demanding fiscal restraint because they expect local government to spend responsibly on actual public needs. I don't know, a stadium is a want in my book. They are tired of watching their hard-earned money get thrown at public or private corporate profits, while local officials argue over cutting basic community services. Nothing says community more than providing stable, good-paying jobs. We always spend CIT money on important community things like building, fixing and repairing, which are included in this deal. But this mega hospitality center, along with the state of the art new college partner with first class organization like the Rays that happens to have a diamond in the middle is exactly what the community of Tampa Bay needs. One commissioner says legal action against the CIT money is highly likely. Today's vote was for just $90 million of the $360 million total CIT ask. Another procedural vote at the county commission is likely to take place in another two weeks. City councilors also have several more votes to go before the project is approved on their side of things. Mark. All right. Evan Axelbank tonight at the county center. Evan, thanks much.