NextDoor Poll: What do you think about the current Rays/Hines stadium deal? 

203 votes - 72% of citizens said that they don't like it.

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NextDoor Poll: Should citizens be deciding on the Rays/Hines stadium deal?

498 votes - 89% said that citizens should decide.

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"Any organization or team that can afford to pay its players multimillion $$$$$ salaries can sure as heck afford to buy property and build a new facility with with their own funds."

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"A commercial entity such as a baseball team, should either build their own stadium, or if the city builds it, rent it and relinquish all revenue except for baseball ticket sales, to the city. Anything more would be using taxpayer dollars to subsidize a for profit enterprise. A subsidy that they clearly want but do not need."

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"Whether you're a baseball fan or not should not have any impact on an opinion. This is fiscally irresponsible. Period."

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"Another important consideration regarding location is that stadiums sit empty most of the time, creating a dead-zone of activity, the last thing you want adjacent to your downtown is a huge parcel that sits empty. It becomes a magnet for crime during the down-time."

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"When there are no more potholes, when they fix the flooding, when they build enough sewage treatment plants and stop polluting the bay ...That when we can have a conversation about a baseball stadium." 

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"I love baseball, but it is in decline.  Even if a new stadium is built it won't affect attendance that much (see Miami).

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"Wow. Idk what to say. As a big baseball fan I want them here but as someone who spent most of his life in St Pete and who has family ties to the area going back over 100 years I’m concerned about the future based on the $$$."

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"Politicians and St. Pete employees have very little practical experience and are only focused on the social acronyms." 

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"Wow, this is just insane. It's wrong . We were big Rays fans in St Pete, in SC now, when we watch the games on tv it's embarrassing at how small the crowds are. I'm over how much money is being wasted. I certainly hope folks realize this waste of really needed monies for legit projects"

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"Until elected officials are held accountable for their inability to focus on a true long-term horizon, we (the public) will continue to pay for their malfeasance." 

 

"Outrageous! I love baseball too but a new stadium should be paid for by the people who are profiting off this. It's NOT FAIR for Rays to keep ALL revenue (except a puny $1m to the taxpayers). It is NOT fair for the Rays to pay HALF the value of the land. It is NOT FAIR that they Rays would be able to avoid paying real estate taxes."

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"One of the biggest jokes is the assumption surrounding "economic impact." I hope and pray those in charge of this effort will read and digest what you have put together and revise their deal." 

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"It's crazy...how they can get away with giving away taxpayer money.  It's completely absurd." 

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"When you ask economists should we fund sports stadium, they can't say 'no' fast enough.  Yet when you ask a politician, they can't say 'yes' fast enough." 

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"I can't afford to pay for a billion-dollar stadium that I then need $200-$300 hundred dollars to go to a game. Anything sold is outrageously overpriced. I don't care for baseball and don't want to pay for it. Leave my money out of it."

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