“No serious studies show that municipal spending on pro sport stadiums pays off,” Roger Blair told our sister publication DR in 2016. Blair was then, and remains today, the chair of the Department of Economics…
On August 19, the Rays held a “Baseball Forever Night”, a promotion where tickets prices were cut in half. Rays caps were handed out to those who bought the lower-level seats, which were reasonably priced…
“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked Mike in Ernest Hemingway’s famous 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises.” “Two ways,” Mike responded. “Gradually and then suddenly.” The “suddenly” part of St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch’s…
The current in-force agreement for the Tampa Bay Rays’ use, management and operation (UMOA) of Tropicana Field has a so-called force majeure clause which governs what happens in the event of hurricane damage. With Major…
“The way you know that Welch has the votes is because all the agreement documents have now been made public,” a former high level elected official told the Guardian on condition of anonymity. “That’s how…
In its request for proposal (RFP) for the redevelopment of the 86-acre Tropicana Field property, the City of St. Petersburg required that a city-produced proposal form be filled out, signed and submitted with any proposal.…
Through a public records request, the Guardian today obtained the final draft version of the proposed “Team Non-Relocation Agreement” between the Rays on the one hand, and the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County…
This 20-year cash flow analysis of a losing bidder for the site development of the proposed new Rays stadium, obtained exclusively by the Tampa Bay Guardian through a public records lawsuit, is illuminating. It shows…
Today’s PSTA (Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority) board meeting was a resplendent exercise in flattery, hypocrisy, corruption, blood and gore (meeting video). Yes, all five. The first task that the PSTA board took on, within the…
“We are trying to better understand why the Sunrunner ridership drop was larger than anticipated,” PSTA CEO Brad Miller told our news outlet TampaBayGuardian.Com. In this lengthy article, we will cover ridership and other issues…
Campaign finance reports for the month of April show former Tampa police chief Jane Castor raised $33,540 in April from 89 donors. A political action committee called “Tampa Strong,” which is likely to support the same…
The 4th annual “Tampa Bay Interfaith Week” began yesterday, October 1st. St. Pete mayor Rick Kriseman spoke at the opening ceremony, which took place at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter in downtown St. Pete. Despite mayor…
Last Thursday, representatives of Jeff Vinik’s company Strategic Property Partners (SPP) met behind closed doors with Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill. SPP is seeking to have 75% of all property taxes collected on real estate “above [SPP’s]…
In an interview with NewsChannel 8 Weekend Morning on Sunday, Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn claimed that people in the Tampa Bay area are being “prosecuted for being muslim”. NewsChannel 8 reporter Paul Mueller did not challenge Buckhorn’s obviously false claim.…
“The TDC dollars can be used for transit”, said Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long in a PSTA executive committee meeting on October 12th. Long was referring to the Tourist Development Council (TDC) and the tourist…
The Downtown Dunedin Merchants Association (DDMA) hosted a city commission candidate forum at the Bon Appétit restaurant on Wednesday evening. All six candidates attended. The candidates present were: mayor Julie Bujalski and her opponent commissioner Bruce Livingston vying…
Tropical Depression 9 (TD9) hit the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday. According to BayNews 9, the rains were actually just the “indirect effects” of TD9, a storm which will only arrive tomorrow. When it does arrive,…
“We need leadership to develop a grassroots support for more taxes to generate revenue to pay for the construction of public mass transit”, said one attendee during a Cafe con Tampa event on Friday (August 26th)…
