Hillsborough approves $29 million for Bucs stadium upgrade

Share
Les Miller
Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller. By Janelle Irwin/WMNF News (Apr. 2013).

The Hillsborough County Commission overwhelmingly approved nearly $29 million for upgrades to the county-owned football stadium that’s home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The county’s chief financial administrator, Bonnie Wise, says the public funds come from the tourist tax, not general revenue.

Wise says part of the deal would increase the amount of profit sharing that goes back into the county general fund by about a quarter of a million dollars a year. With the deal the public’s $11 million obligation to pay for a Bucs practice facility is off the table.

During public comment Wednesday Molly Powell from Brandon represented Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group that organized a campaign to oppose the spending.

Brandon resident Fred Van Cleeve voiced his support.

Commissioner Les Miller supports this deal despite opposing the 1996 agreement to build the stadium in the first place.

Commissioners approved the deal on a 6-1 vote. Only Stacy White voted no.

On Tuesday the Tampa Sports Authority also approved the spending; the final approval could come Thursday at Tampa City Council.

One Response to “Hillsborough approves $29 million for Bucs stadium upgrade”

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

MidPoint’s Talk Back Town Hall

MidPoint was joined by Pulitzer prize-winning columnist and local newshound,...

FPREN hurricane terminology
The terminology you need to know for hurricane season

Official tropical weather advisories come from the National Hurricane Center...

Public Media Faces Existential Threat as Congress Prepares Critical Vote

This is happening now! Public media stations across America are...

DeSantis administration’s cease-and-desist letter sent to reporter raises freedom and ethics concerns

Listen: Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration sent a cease-and-desist letter to...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

The Morning Show Thursday
Player position: