Oregon Stadium Campaign Community News Oregon Stadium Campaign Forum Relocation Candidates Tampa Bay Devil Rays Selling "The Trop" for $1|
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OSC Record Holder |
One thin dollar... that's all it takes to buy the Trop. Well, it's a lot more than that, but it is an in for someone looking to sell, or buy. - TBGR
Pinellas Could Pick Up Tropicana Field By Carlos Moncada The Tampa Tribune The city would sell Tropicana Field to Pinellas County for $1 under Mayor Rick Baker's plan to avoid paying annual property taxes of more than $1 million on the domed stadium. St. Petersburg faces its second straight year of paying taxes on the dome, home to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, because of a state Supreme Court ruling that publicly owned lands leased to private, for-profit entities should be taxed. The city is responsible for paying any property tax on the dome under its lease agreement with the Devil Rays. But state law says tenants leasing directly from state or county governments cannot be taxed, which is why Baker is proposing the transfer of the stadium's title to the county. Tropicana Field's 2002 property tax bill is estimated at $3 million. Because the stadium sits in a tax-increment financing district, the city would get back about half the taxes. Baker's plan would deny several government agencies revenues they receive from the dome's tax bill, including an estimated $381,763 the Pinellas school system would lose. The city council will be asked to vote on the proposal Sept. 19, City Attorney John Wolfe said. County commissioners agreed Tuesday to consider the plan at a Sept. 24 work session. ``There are a lot of issues that need to be discussed before we can get into it,'' commission Chairwoman Barbara Sheen Tood said. Wolfe said he will recommend that the city drop its pending lawsuit against Pinellas over last year's dome tax bill if the county agrees to take title. Baker, who has been lobbying commissioners individually, did not return phone calls seeking comment. Draft agreements between the city and county show that Pinellas would buy the dome for $1 and lease it back to the city until 2027, when the city's lease agreement with the Devil Rays ends. The Devil Rays have approved the transfer, Wolfe said. The county would not assume responsibility for any expenses or liability by taking title, according to a letter Baker sent county Commissioner John Morroni. Nor would the transfer increase the county's current debt obligation on the stadium, the mayor wrote. If state law is changed so the city's tax immunity is restored, the dome would revert to city ownership, Baker wrote. Click here to read this article at the Tampa Bay Tribune online. A man has to have goals- for a day, for a lifetime- that was mine, to have people say, "There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived." - Ted Williams |
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All-Star Member |
I bet we could out bid them..Lets find a way to come up with 2 dollars! LOL
---------------------------- Seattle Seahawks AFC West Champs 1988,1999 Bob Robertson (WSU Play-by-Play man) Always be a good sport, be a good sport All-Ways.. |
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Senior Member |
I'll pitch in a dime... Anyone else?
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