Hillsborough school board OKs women’s soccer stadium deal at Blake High

Supporters praised the agreement, which some members found lacking in specifics.

Tampa Bay Times | By Marlene Sokol | October 18, 2023

The Hillsborough County School Board approved a deal Tuesday to allow professional women’s soccer to play at Blake High School after a lengthy, late-night discussion and strong words from skeptical board members.

Board members Nadia Combs and Lynn Gray asked pointed questions about the memorandum of understanding between the school district and Florida Community Events, which wants to bring games to the West Tampa school until a permanent structure can be built elsewhere.

Mayor Jane Castor and other local leaders unveiled the plan during a news conference last week at nearby Armature Works. The team will be part of the Super League, a women’s professional league launching in August. The ownership group includes real estate mogul Darryl Shaw, Bern’s Steak House co-owner David Laxer and former BluePearl Pet Hospital chief information officer Jeff Fox.

The school board vote was 6-1 with member Karen Perez dissenting.

The organization has pledged to spend approximately $4 million to renovate the Blake complex, including upgrades to the turf field, locker rooms and expanded bleacher seating.

In a news release on Wednesday, the soccer organization said that “team leaders plan to engage with Blake’s alumni association in the days ahead and will meet with students, parents, and staff at an upcoming conference night.”

But questions arose Tuesday night about the costs of maintaining the complex in the years after the soccer team leaves. Combs and Gray wanted to know if alcohol would be served at Blake and if the district could share in parking revenues that might be substantial.

“The details of the contract seem to be very little,” Gray said. “I would feel much more comfortable if it was much more detailed in every space.”

Combs said the deal seemed rushed, and that the community and school board did not have enough time to examine it before it came up for a vote.

“Although I think it[s a great concept and I 100% support the concept, the terms of this contract are just horrible,” she said.

Interim Superintendent Van Ayres and Deputy Superintendent Chris Farkas said that after the soccer organization leaves, the district can decide which equipment it wants to keep and maintain. “That upkeep we talk about and maintenance? Guess what? We have a turf field there already.” Ayres said. “Any maintenance that goes into that, we already have that maintenance.”

The remarks by Gray and Combs drew strong reactions from board member Stacy Hahn, who said her colleagues should have asked their questions prior to the meeting instead of picking the deal apart in public. Also pushing back was Henry “Shake” Washington, whose electoral district includes the Blake property.

Washington said the soccer deal would be a boon to Blake’s students and that it has the support of community organizations and Blake alumni. “That’s my district,” he told his colleagues. “I never went into anybody’s district to tell them what to do, because that’s your district and you know your district.”

To Combs’ contention that the memorandum was not detailed enough, Deputy Superintendent Chris Farkas said it was not significantly different from other outside use agreements that come before the school board.

The discussion followed a debate earlier in the evening about Ayres’ resolution to put a tax referendum on the November 2024 ballot. In that situation, the board asked for a workshop in January before it will consider moving forward. Combs tried to postpone the soccer decision as well.

But Hahn said the two situations were not comparable.

“This is, in my view, a win-win for the community and the district,” Hahn said. “We’re talking about conservatively $4 million in improvements. If in two years they walk away, the district takes in $2 million each of those years. That’s an enormous amount of improvement and resources flooding into our community.”

Attorney Christina Unkel, a onetime soccer player who is now president of Super League Tampa Bay, described the warm reception she received from Blake Principal Valerie Newton and discussions they have had about sending volunteers to the school to help build Blake’s soccer program.

“We’re all investing in the community,” she said. “All rising it up. I personally am proud — that gave me goose bumps because not many times in life can you do that.”