Late Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays detailed what their proposed Community Benefits and Legacy Plan for a new Tampa ballpark would include, outlining housing and anti-displacement programs outside the stadium district, transportation planning, workforce development and small-business participation.
The release adds detail to a community benefits package the Rays disclosed with the stadium’s definitive agreements Friday. The Rays say 65% of the benefits would go to Hillsborough County and 35% to Tampa, but have not put an overall dollar value on the package, leaving its scale undefined even as the programs themselves come into view.
Some of those programs would extend beyond the ballpark district, including support for affordable and attainable housing, home repairs, tenant assistance and efforts intended to help property owners remain in place.
The team also says it would work with local governments and community organizations to help residents and neighborhood businesses remain connected to their communities, though the release does not specify how many households or units could be served, what income levels would qualify or how much funding would be available.
Transportation raises a similar funding question, with the Rays proposing to work with local and state agencies on road, pedestrian, bicycle and transit access around the district and pursue available state and federal funding, but identifying no specific team contribution toward those improvements.
The plan extends from physical improvements into workforce development, connecting residents, students, returning citizens and people facing barriers to employment with programs tied to careers in construction, hospitality, sports, technology, media and business operations.
That emphasis on participation extends to businesses, with the proposal focusing on local, economically disadvantaged and minority- and women-owned companies, though it sets no hiring percentages or minimum contracting targets.
Beyond housing, transportation and economic participation, the proposal would expand existing Rays programs involving youth sports and community fields, literacy, ticket access for families and community organizations and engagement with veterans, public safety and labor groups.
Across those programs, the Rays propose a Community Benefits Advisory Committee and Community Report Card to track progress against the final commitments, along with annual reporting on where programs operate, who is being served and what progress is being made.
The benefits plan is tied to the proposed $2.3 billion ballpark deal, which includes roughly $1.37 billion from the Rays and about $876 million associated with public sources. The broader project also includes a reimagined Hillsborough College Dale Mabry campus and privately financed mixed-use development, with Rays CEO Ken Babby saying a recurring theme during negotiations was that the team’s proposed “Forever Home must be about more than baseball.”
Those negotiations have not yet produced the final community-benefits obligations. The Rays describe Tuesday’s plan as a public framework subject to additional input from Hillsborough County, Tampa and the community, with the definitive documents ultimately establishing the requirements, implementation schedules, reporting rules and enforceable terms.