Future of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays to come into focus with key meetings on $1.3B stadium project

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The future of the Tampa Bay Rays is about to come into clearer view as local officials begin public discussions about a planned $1.3 billion ballpark that would be the anchor of a much larger project to rebuild downtown St. Petersburg transform with affordable housing, a museum of black history. , a hotel and office and retail space.

The St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday will begin a detailed look at the Rays and the Hines development company’s plans for what the city is calling the Historic Gas Plant Project. The name is a nod to the 34-acre area’s history as a once-thriving black community that was demolished for the Rays’ current domed Tropicana Field and previously for a freeway spur.

Mayor Ken Welch is St. Petersburg’s first black mayor and his family has roots in the Gasworks district, when the city was still racially segregated. He said it’s important to keep the Rays in the area and restore promises of economic opportunity that were never realized for minority residents after businesses and families were displaced decades ago.

“I see it as a real opportunity to uplift the entire city,” Welch, a Democrat, said in an interview at City Hall. “This is not just any stadium. This is a stadium surrounded by the largest project in the state of Florida, if not the entire country.”

The plan would end years of uncertainty about the Rays’ future, including possible moves across the Bay to Tampa; Nashville, Tenn.; and even an idea to split home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal. The Rays typically have among the lowest attendance numbers in the MLB, even though the team has made the playoffs five years in a row.

The proposed 30,000-seat ballpark, which would open for the 2028 season, is a priority in the first phase of what will ultimately be a $6.5 billion project. Thursday’s city council meeting will focus on other aspects of the plan, with a meeting on May 23 at the ballpark itself. Final votes are expected in June or July; the Pinellas County Commission must also vote on the project.

According to the Rays, the first phase will break ground next spring with the ballpark and will initially include 1,500 residential units, 500 hotel rooms, office and medical space, a new Woodson African American Museum of Florida, as well as entertainment, conferences, ballrooms and entertainment. meeting rooms. The plan also calls for an area of ​​open space, particularly around a nearby creek, and work on an abandoned black cemetery near the site.

The plan has received strong support from business leaders and charities in Tampa Bay, as well as organizations ranging from the NHL’s Lightning to St. Pete Pride, an LGBTQ+ group. Many local black leaders are also in favor, according to letters of support they have sent to the council.

Gwendolyn Reese, president of the African American Heritage Association, once lived in the Gas Plant neighborhood. She said people like her and descendants of the previous residents feel “vindicated” by the inclusive nature of the overall project. The local NAACP chapter also endorsed it.

“People gave up their neighborhoods for a better way of life, and none of that happened,” Reese said. “That has been like a stone in the hearts of many people in our community. This is a wonderful opportunity for the city to move forward.”

The Rays’ ballpark is part of a wave of construction or renovation projects at sports venues across the country, including the Milwaukee Brewers, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and the Oakland Athletics, which plan to move to Las Vegas. Like the Rays, all projects involve millions of dollars in public financing, which is usually met with opposition.

The Rays’ financing plan calls for the city to spend $417.5 million, including $287.5 million for the ballpark itself and $130 million on infrastructure for the larger redevelopment project that includes things like sewers, traffic lights and roads. The city does not anticipate any new or increased taxes.

Pinellas County, meanwhile, would spend about $312.5 million for its share of the ballpark’s cost. Officials say the county money will come from a bed tax that is largely funded by visitors and can only be spent on tourism and economic development expenses.

The Rays and Hines will be responsible for the remaining stadium costs – approximately $600 million – and any cost overruns during construction. The team would have naming rights to the ballpark, which could amount to $10 million per year.

Opponents in the Tampa Bay area, including a group called No Home Run, argue that the Rays and Hines should pay rent to offset potentially lost property tax dollars, share the revenue with the city and county and be required to best piece of land to buy in the city center. a fairer value.

“The only real purpose of this project was for the Rays to get an incredible deal for a new stadium and keep all the other main developers out so the Rays wouldn’t give up control,” wrote Alan Delisle, a former St. Petersburg native . admin, in a post on the No Home Run site. “They will always do what is in the best interest of the team and the company. The city of Sint-Pieters will always remain in second place.”

However, Mayor Welch said he and the project’s proponents are committed to seeing it through and that it has a real chance to transform the city, which has already changed dramatically from a sleepy retirement village to a beacon for younger residents with a hip inner city. far from the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. After the ballpark opens, the rest is expected to be completed in several phases over about 20 years.

“I think we’re in a much more competitive position than ever before,” Welch said. “There is a lot of confidence that things will go well this time.”