Hillsborough commissioners approve design agreement for MOSI field house, pivot funding to tourist tax reserves

Hillsborough County commissioners on Oct. 15 authorized an interlocal agreement with the Tampa Sports Authority to design an indoor tournament sports facility (a "field house") at the 73‑acre MOSI redevelopment site and approved routing the additional design funding request to the county's Tourist Development Tax process.

John Mueller, director of facilities management, told the board the concept uses the existing Mosey West Building to reduce rezoning and shorten the schedule. He said O'Sports, the recommended design team, quoted $5,000,000 for design services and estimated construction savings of about $15,000,000 by leveraging the existing building. The preliminary construction estimate remains roughly $69,000,000.

Staff said $2,000,000 was already budgeted for early design work and requested an additional roughly $3,000,000. Commissioners discussed whether to use construction reserve funds or TDT reserves; the board approved the interlocal agreement while directing that the funding decision be sent first to the Tourist Development Council for recommendation and then returned to the board for approval.

Deputy County Administrator Greg Horwedel said the project timeline aims to bid in late spring, break ground in the fall and open in 2028 if all milestones are met. Commissioners also directed staff to explore including a publicly accessible, ADA‑compliant splash pad as part of Mosey redevelopment planning and asked for operational cost estimates if the facility proceeds.

The board voted to accept the staff report and approve the interlocal agreement 7–0; funding source decisions will follow the TDC review.

Next steps: staff will continue design with TSA and O'Sports, return with a 90% design package and a recommended construction budget, and present operational cost estimates for any added amenities such as a splash pad.