The Tampa residents could see a new Rays baseball field in the near future, now that the cost of the stadium is seen as affordable as long as the the public is willing to spend tax dollars.

A joint chamber of commerce study group from both sides of the bay on Monday announced that a new stadium could be financed without "imposing new taxes on local residents.

Chuck Sykes, co-chair of the Baseball Stadium Financing Caucus, said that a new stadium could be a financial and political problem. "We are a great market with attendance problems,'' said Sykes," I don't think time is on our side."

The caucus was formed by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. They consulted with the Rays, and public officials in both counties.

The analysis made several assumptions.

The stadium would seat 35,000 to 37,000 fans. The $500 million construction bill does not include land cost, parking garages or infrastructure, which could be $30 million to $150 million, depending on the site.

"These costs were patterned on the new Miami Marlins stadium," Sykes said. That was built on public land during the depths of the recession for $515 million, plus $95 million for parking garages.

The chamber study group did not include factors that would pertain to certain site, like compensation for St. Petersburg if Hillsborough built a stadium, or sale of the Tropicana field if a new stadium were built in Carillon.

In Tampa, a large portion would come from a downtown development district that now pays for the convention center. Those bonds will be paid off in a few years and could contribute $13 million a year toward a stadium.

While in Pinellas, the city of St. Petersburg could continue to chip in the $6 million a year it now spends on the Tropicana bonds. Those will be paid off in 2016.

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