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Split Might End Stadium Turf War
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Published: May 28, 2008
TAMPA - Neither the city nor the county can agree on whose paramedics get to moonlight at football games, so like a parent breaking up two squabbling kids, the Tampa Sports Authority has moved closer to asking them to share.
Under a plan being worked out between Hillsborough Fire Rescue and Tampa Fire Rescue, both agencies would attend to fans and football players at games at Raymond James Stadium.
One agency would take the east and north end of the football complex; the other would take the south and west.
The board voted along city/county lines to go ahead with negotiations and have an agreement hammered out by next month.
The sports authority, created by a special act of the Legislature, includes city and county representatives on its board.
"I think we're making progress. We've got some ground to cover," Mickey Farrell, director of stadium operations, told the sports authority board Tuesday.
That doesn't mean the fight's over, however.
"What we just did is say, 'To heck with the city and jurisdiction limits,'" Frank Dubose, a city-appointed Sports Authority member, said after the meeting.
City officials argue Tampa Fire Rescue has been providing EMS services at the stadium for years.
They also say that because the stadium, at North Dale Mabry Highway, is within city limits, off-duty city paramedics should be the ones who work there.
On the other hand, Hillsborough County owns the stadium and its workers want to get in on a piece of the pie, with the work typically paying about $25 to $35 an hour.
In the meantime, the Tampa City Council has passed an ordinance saying city workers should work at the stadium.
The county is poised to vote on its own version next week; not surprisingly, the county's version rules in favor of Hillsborough Fire Rescue.
Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 259-7616 or nwhite1@tampatrib.com.
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