J.C. Bradbury (@jcbradbury.com)

@bubbaprog.xyz Oct 11, 2026, 2:05 PMReposted by @jcbradbury.com

How to get $2 billion in taxpayer dollars the easy way: pay off the elected officials who vote on it

Tampa Bay Times
FLORIDA'S BEST NEWSPAPER
tampabay.com
★★★★ Wednesday, October 7, 2026 | $2.50
Rays group spends big on midterms
Campaign contributions came from members of the Tampa Bay Rays' ownership and companies they own.
BY NINA MOSKE AND
NICOLAS VILLAMIL
Times Staff Writers
Donors with ties to the Tampa
Bay Rays have given more than $5
million to candidates and political
committees across the state this
election cycle.
The contributions range from
$1,000 to $250,000 and come
from individuals or the busi
nesses they own who are part
of the Rays' sprawling ownership
group. They include more than
$1.9 million given to U.S. Rep.
Byron Donalds' bid for governor,
and tens of thousands of dollars to
city and county leaders who cast
votes on the team's $2.3 billion sta-
dium deal earlier this year.
Some of that money came weeks
before the Rays in August cleared
a massive hurdle for their Tampa
stadium project, winning approval
from both the Tampa City Coun-
cil and Hillsborough County Com-
mission. With those votes came
public money: Hillsborough
approved contributing at least
$796 million toward the stadium,
and Tampa pledged $80 million.
Led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, state
leaders backed the project and
offered financial support.
Still, the Rays will almost cer-
tainly seek further goodwill from
local and state leaders as they
work to build and maintain the
ballpark and cannot be certain
what backing they will receive
after this year's midterm elections.
From county commissioners up to
the governor's office, a crop of new
elected officials will take office in
the coming months.
The Tampa Bay Times parsed
through hundreds of donations
made by the team's owners and
their companies since the start
of 2025. The group is led by Jack-
sonville-based billionaire Pat-
rick Zalupski, Ohio businessman
Bill Cosgrove and Rays CEO Ken
Babby, the public face of the sta-
dium negotiations. They are sup-
ported by more than two dozen
limited partners, including a bevy
of business owners with long his-
tories supporting local candidates.
See RAYS, 7A

RAYS
continued from 1A
Money ahead
of stadium votes
Several Hillsborough
commissioners who are up
for election got money
from Rays-affiliated don-
ors in weeks leading up to an ini-
tial stadium vote in May.
The contributions
came from three local real
estate and construction compa-
nies owned by Rays limited
partners: Homes by West-
Bay LLC, Ripa & Associates
and Eisenhower Manage-
ment Inc., owned by Willy
Nunn, Chris LaFace and Jeff
Hills, respectively. All
three companies have contrib-
uted to local campaigns in
years past.
Commissioner Gwen
Myers received a combined
$25,000 from those compa-
nies on May 13, one week
before she cast an affirma-
tive vote on the nonbinding
stadium agreement.
Commissioner Harry
Cohen, who also supported
the stadium, got a com-
bined $13,000 through his
political committee in late
March. Cohen's commit-
ttee received $10,000 in late
September from Dan Doyle,
a member of the Rays' exec-
utive advisory board and
CEO of the office equipment
supplier DEX Imaging.
"If somebody that's tied
to the Rays gave to my cam-
paign, I don't know who
they are," Myers said in a
phone call. "They never
told me, 'I'm with the
Rays and I'm supporting
your campaign.'" Myers said she
is a sports fan who voted
to approve the stadium
because it was in Hillsbor-
ough County's best interest.
In a statement to the
Times, Cohen said he has
long backed bringing the
Rays to Tampa.
"I am grateful for support
from anyone who believes I
am doing a good job, includ-
ing people on both sides
of the stadium issue," he
said. "Every contribution
to my campaign is publicly
reported and fully trans-
parent. My position on the
$Tampa Bay Times | Wednesday, October 7, 2026 | 7A
The Tampa Bay Rays' ownership group is led by Jacksonville-based billionaire Patrick Zalupski, center, Ohio-based businessman Bill Cosgrove,
left, and Rays CEO Ken Babby. Along with more than two dozen limited partners, the group has spent more than $4.7 million this election cycle.
(DIRK SHADD | Times)
Hillsborough commissioners Gwen Myers and Harry Cohen voted in favor of the Rays
stadium deal in August. (DIRK SHADD | Times)
Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds has received more than $1.85 million
from Rays-affiliated donors since the start of 2025. (CHRIS URSO | Times)
Florida
stadium is based on what
I believe is best for Tampa
and Hillsborough County."
Republican commis-
sioner Joshua Wostal, a
staunch stadium opponent,
got at least $44,000 from
companies associated with
Nunn, LaFace and Hills.
Most of those contributions
to his political commit-
tee and campaign account
came in late 2025 and early
2026. Wostal told the Times
he still has the support of
those donors, despite his
vocal criticism of the sta-
dium deal.
"Those folks have lived in
the community and done
business here for over two
decades and have dealt with
the frustrations of commis-
sioners lacking the will-
power to tackle growth
management," Wostal said.
"They know how fiscally
conservative I am, and that I
don't subsidize rich people."
Stacy Hahn, a Hillsbor-
ough school board mem-
ber running for County
Commission, topped the
three sitting commission-
ers in money collected from
Rays-affiliated donors. She
did not return two phone
calls or a text message seek-
ing comment.
Hahn, a Republican, won
her primary election
against District 5
commissioner Donna Car-
ron-Cepeda, a consistent
no vote on a stadium sub-
ject. She faces Democrat
Neil Manimala - who pre-
viously told the Times that
he believes "public dollars
should not subsidize billion-
aires" but that he supports
keeping the Rays in Tampa
- in November.
In addition to a combined
$40,000 to Hahn's political
committee from the three
local real estate and con-
struction firms, she received
$5,000 directly from Babby
In June. Babby, who recently
registered to vote in Tampa
after moving from Jackson-
ville, declined to comment for
this story.
Hahn also got $7,500
for Tampa Bay's Future,
a political committee that has
collected hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars from
Rays-affiliated donors since
It opened in June.
Money from the Rays
became a flashpoint in
Hahn's primary election,
when ads labeling the can-
didate "sellout Stacy Hahn"
circulated social media. Hahn,
who had no say in the sta-
dium agreement, told the
Times in August, "I was
offended by the thought
that the donation would buy
my vote."
Rays-backed
committee
Roughly half of the more
two dozen contributions
to Citizens for Tampa
Bay's Future came from
Rays minority owners or the
companies they own, total-
ing more than $300,000.
They include Babby, for-
mer pro-basketball player
Shane Battier and a com-
pany affiliated with billion-
aire dentist Rick Workman,
among other limited part-
ers.
The committee, reg-
istered to Fort Lauder-
dale lawyer Jason B. Blank,
gave money to two political
committees affiliated with
local politicians in addi-
tion to Hahn. Blank did
not respond to a message
or phone call seeking com-
ment.
Tampa City Council mem-
ber Luis Viera's political
committee got $15,000 in
July, weeks before he voted
to approve a final Rays sta-
dium agreement. His com-
mittee got another $20,000
from the group in late Sep-
tember, according to its lat-
est financial reports.
A committee associated
with council chairperson
Alan Clendenin, who helped
lead the city's push for the
basketball team, also got
$10,000 in July.
"Since the beginning,
I have been transparent
about my support for cre-
ating a pathway to getting
the Rays to Tampa because
it is in the best interest of
our community," Viera, who
is running for state House,
said in a written statement.
"That also meant working
with community partners
on a deal that prioritized
public safety, skilled trade
apprenticeships, and other
critical issues that serve to
better our city."
Clendenin, in a phone
call, said he had never heard
of Citizens for Tampa Bay's
Future and that he does
not track the money flow-
ing into the committee affil-
iated with his own cam-
paigns. Tampa's next munic-
ipal election is in 2027 and
Clendenin has not yet filed
for reelection.
Still, he said, "It's impos-
sible to buy somebody's
vote at the level that we're
talking about."
"If somebody's giving mil-
lions of dollars to somebody
if it's a flat in Paris and a
Monet hanging over the
fireplace, then maybe, yeah,"
he said. "But across all lev-
els of politics, he said, indi-
viduals and companies give
money to the candidates
they feel align with their
interests.
"It's not about swaying
votes," he said. "It's about
supporting candidates that
already support their objec-
tives."
If elected, Donalds would
follow a baseball-loving gov-
ernor who embraced the
ballpark, offering state sup-
port for the redevelopment
of Hillsborough College's
Dale Mabry campus. Sev-
eral Rays owners previously
backed DeSantis, who will
run for governor, then
went on, he said. "Because then
what, you're going to be
doing stadium deals all over
the state? I don't think that's
appropriate."
Tampa Council chairperson Alan Clendenin pushed for
the Rays to move to Tampa. (JEFFREY WOO | Times)
since July 2025. Buckhorn
is a Democrat running in a
nonpartisan race.
In February, Buck-
hofn got one of the larg-
est Rays-affiliated contri-
butions to any candidate
or committee this election
cycle: $200,000 from Ayon
Capital LLC, an investment
firm founded by minority
owner Siód Pagidipati. He
has received a dozen other
donations from Rays own-
ers and their businesses,
including $50,000 each
from Doyle and Dream
Finders Homes, the home-
building company owned by
Zalupski.
In a statement to the
Times in September, Buck-
horn said, "I'm proud to
have earned support from
hundreds of residents
across Tampa, including
Rays ownership."
Buckhorn appears to be
the only Tampa mayoral
candidate to receive money
from Rays-affiliated sources.
Opponent Bill Carlson, a
Tampa City Council mem-
ber who twice voted in favor
of the stadium after express-
ing initial opposition, said
August that he refused an
offered donation from the
team. Lynn Hurtak, another
council member and may-
oral candidate, said neither
the Rays nor any associated
company have given money
to her campaign. Hurtak
Donalds, the GOP nom-
ine for governor, was the
biggest beneficiary.
He received more than
$1.9 million from Rays-af-
iliated sources, accounting
for more than a third of the
group's spending this elec-
tion cycle. Eisenhower Man-
agement Inc. gave a com-
bined $500,000 to Donalds'
political committee across
three donations; Ripa &
Associates gave more than
$300,000; Dream Finders
Homes gave $200,000.
Donalds' stance on
the proposed stadium is
unclear. A spokesperson
did not respond to two mes-
sages seeking comment.
At a July news con-
ference, Florida Politics
reporters, Donalds said deci-
sions about the ballpark
were best left to county
leaders. "I don't think that's
something that you want
the Governor weighing in
on," he said. "Because then
what, you're going to be
doing stadium deals all over
the state? I don't think that's
appropriate."
If elected, Donalds would
follow a baseball-loving gov-
ernor who embraced the
ballpark, offering state sup-
port for the redevelopment
of Hillsborough College's
Dale Mabry campus. Sev-
eral Rays owners previously
backed DeSantis, who will
run for governor, then
went on, he said. "Because then
what, you're going to be
doing stadium deals all over
the state? I don't think that's
appropriate."
Rays money in
mayors races
Former two-term Tampa
Mayor Bob Buckhorn got
the most support of any
local candidate from Rays
owners.
Buckhorn, who is seeking
a return to the office in 2027,
has received $411,000 from
donors with ties to the Rays
Millions to state
GOP candidates
While the Rays'
partners
sands of dollars to local can-
didates, their spending on
Republican candidates and
committees in state races
since the start of 2025.
Republican candidates and
committees in state races
Across the state.
A slate of candidates near
and far benefited, from for-
mer state Rep. Josie Tom-
kow and state Sen. Danny
Burgess to Attorney General
James Uthmeier and Chief
Financial Officer Blaise
Ingoglia.
Contact Nina Morabito at
contact Nina Morabito at
nmorabito@tampabay.com.
contact Nicolas Villamiel at
nvillamiel@tampabay.com.

@naasecon.bsky.social Oct 11, 2026, 3:01 PMReposted by @jcbradbury.com

Call for papers at the Western Econ conference being held in Seoul, SK in April 2027. There are two tracks--a general track and a track in honor of Young Hoon Lee. For details see naaseweb.org (scroll down to the section on upcoming conferences).

@jcbradbury.com Oct 10, 2026, 1:42 PM

Politicians, when it comes to sports venues.

@jcbradbury.com Oct 10, 2026, 12:40 PM

Like the idea that, if properly designed, a stadium project can generate enough new revenue to pay for itself.

@jcbradbury.com Oct 9, 2026, 6:48 PM

CSL has been putting out commissioned reports for years, and I'm not aware of *anything* this consultancy has projected correctly. Literally, I can't think if a single example.

“Audi Field can be an additive venue to the District and we believe in that,” Johnson said.

The commissioned study, completed by sports marketing firm CSL International, found that with a roof, Audi Field could host 65 new events annually, including concerts, motor sports, combat sports and other types of entertainment, for a capacity of 26,000.

By year five, the stadium could also hold 45 private events in its hospitality areas, increasing its annual attendance to 378,500.

The study also found that entertainment and music promoters would be attracted to bring their acts to an enclosed Audi Field instead of going to Baltimore, Maryland. Some promoters said scheduling constraints at existing D.C. venues caused them to look elsewhere, while others require a floor larger than a typical arena can accommodate.

@jcbradbury.com Oct 9, 2026, 4:25 PM

So much for this public-private "partnership."

@jcbradbury.com Oct 9, 2026, 3:36 PM

My new book on the economics of stadium subsidies, This One Will Be Different, is now out.

Booksellers: jcbradbury.com/towbd/

@jcbradbury.com Oct 9, 2026, 11:46 AM

It's finally here: publication day for This One Will Be Different.

Why do cities keep spending billions on stadiums despite decades of evidence that they don't deliver the promised benefits?

I wrote a book about it. Hope you'll check it out! jcbradbury.com/towbd/

@jcbradbury.com Oct 9, 2026, 12:08 AM

The measure of a true MLB season shall be

Panel 1: 162 (Moses holding 3 tablets)
Panel 2: 154 games (Moses holding 2 tablets)

@jcbradbury.com Oct 8, 2026, 11:17 PM

Could someone cite at least one public stadium project that has justified the taxpayer investment it received? I'm not aware of any. But, of course: THIS ONE WILL BE DIFFERENT!

@jcbradbury.com Oct 8, 2026, 11:00 PM

"This is a good project." Source? None provided, because none exists. Elect better people.

Council member Wes Rogers, who represents the 2nd District, praised the project, noting that the city’s support would lead to a larger $3 billion investment into the city’s urban core, leading to more activity that can generate more taxes. “We’re going to change downtown for a generation, probably longer,” Rogers said. “This is a good project.”

@jcbradbury.com Oct 8, 2026, 6:25 PM

Reminder: stadiums have significant negative externalities. It's why residents and businesses don't want them in close proximity.

@heatherjochens.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 3:38 PMReposted by @jcbradbury.com

I am in this area pretty regularly. Theres a Chinese tea shop in Crown Center and this is also the area where they hold events like the Irish Fest. It gets pretty regular traffic. Basically, this firm is trying to give developers an excuse the level the area for the stadium. It doesn’t smell right.

@jcbradbury.com Oct 8, 2026, 2:00 PM

I think the KC media has done a decent job covering the stadium, so I'm kind of surprised that this has flown under the radar. It's an easy story with a big payoff.

@jcbradbury.com Oct 8, 2026, 12:05 PM

I don't live in KC, so can't say how blighted this area might be. Any locals want to weigh in? Regardless, stadiums aren't good blight-fighting measures.

@jcbradbury.com Oct 8, 2026, 11:47 AM

I mean as a news story, not as an opinion piece. What was the methodology used? Is it sound? How does it square with past studies? Is this group qualified to conduct this? The answers to all these questions should be a scandal. These concerns aren't mentioned in the article.

@jcbradbury.com Oct 8, 2026, 2:31 AM

@jcbradbury.com Oct 8, 2026, 1:56 AM

Is someone from the @kansascity.com going to scrutinize the Hunden Partners "study," or are they just going to continue pretending like it's a reasonable projection. The paper's coverage has been generally good, so I'm surprised this obvious ruse is receiving little review.