A Pasco County state senator has submitted a new request for Hillsborough College construction money as the school is considered as the future location for a Tampa Bay Rays stadium.
On Monday, the day before the college’s trustees and the Rays entered into a non-binding agreement to develop the site, State Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, filed a $50 million local funding request to the state.
According to the request, which does not mention the Rays, the money would be used for training and instruction space at the Dale Mabry campus.
“The campus improvements will provide multi-function, multi-use spaces for instruction, workforce training, local stakeholder development, and community events and programming,” the request says. “The campus improvements will also create a hub for high-value partners to increase public access to academic and workforce training opportunities.”
The request notes that the money could go to academic buildings and programs, a gymnasium and other athletic facilities, a library, food service areas and site infrastructure.
Hillsborough College President Ken Atwater said on Tuesday that the college is in need of $50 million in renovations, and the project could bring 600,000 square feet of “learning space” and create workforce development opportunities for students.
Representatives of the Hillsborough College administration did not respond to phone calls or emails seeking comment.
The board’s chairperson Greg Celestan and Burgess did not respond to phone calls and the governor’s office did not respond to an email request for comment.