More details are emerging on the plan to redevelop the Tropicana Field site for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium and a new "town center."
Much of the $6.5 billion development would not be built until 2028, at the earliest. The agreement as written says the first pitch of the 2028 baseball season has to be in the new stadium, which would be located to the east of where Tropicana Field is located.
Construction of the rest of the property would take up to 30 years. After the new stadium opens, all the land to the west of Booker Creek will be bulldozed - including Tropicana Field. Only then can construction on the rest of the property begin.
And Booker Creek, which is now partially hemmed in by concrete walls, would be freed up as green space. It would become the heart of a new "Central Plaza" and retail district. It would be bordered by a hotel, conference center and a concert space with 5,000 seats. A new Woodson African American Museum would arise next to the new stadium.
Parts of the street grid that was cut off when the old Gas Plant neighborhood was bulldozed in the 1980s would be recreated. Streets would reconnect to existing streets in downtown.
During Thursday's St. Petersburg City Council workshop on the redevelopment plan, council members peppered the the Rays/Hines partnership, which is taking the lead on the development, with questions.
Council member Lisset Hanewicz pressed for a faster timeline for construction of affordable housing and stiffer financial penalties if developers failed to deliver.
She also said there is some major risk with the proposal.
"We are entering into a contract with a party we don't know anything about, have no details of who is part of it or how it is capitalized, which I think is crucial," Hanewicz said. "And then even if we do find out more information about this entity, before finalizing the deal, you can get another person the day after the agreement is signed through one of the many permitted transfers who is not vetted or approved by City Council."
"I cannot emphasize enough the huge risk this presents given the level of investment."
Councilman Richie Floyd said he wants more guarantees that affordable housing will be built on the site.
And he's troubled by the plan to have full buildout of the property in 30 years, because that's the usual shelf life of a new stadium. And the baseball team's ownership could be asking for a new stadium then.
"The issue is, is that this development that we've been presented is dependent on the stadium, and the stadium's useful life is 30 years," Floyd said. "And so that's why I'm honed in on that because after 30 years, we're in this exact same situation again."
But several of the council members were mostly supportive of the idea.
Council chairwoman Deborah Figgs-Sanders said it is critical to include affordable housing and jobs - which was promised to residents of the predominantly Black Gas Plant district when Tropicana Field was built - but was never delivered.
"I want to ensure that when we say this project is to right wrongs," she said, "that we mean it."
The Rays/Hines partnership pledged to have a minimum of 10% of the construction done by small minority- and women-owned businesses. They said their goal for the overall project goal is 30%.
Councilman Copley Gerdes said former residents of the old Gas Plant district repeatedly told him of the need to reconnect to the neighborhoods in south St. Petersburg.
"This is what they're asking for - a new connection from the neighborhood to this new neighborhood and being a part of it," Gerdes said. "It was unbelievable the stories that I was being told about this connection and how important it is."
A pedestrian bridge would be built over Interstate 175, reconnecting with the parks to the south. There's still a discussion of possibly turning the Interstate into a local road, which would reconnect the site to neighborhoods to the south.
Gerdes said this project, when it is completed, would have three times the number of jobs created than Raymond James, which has 3,500 employees here and is the city's largest private employer.
"That is ridiculously impactful," Gerdes said. "That is a game changer. Could we imagine recruiting three Raymond James to St. Petersburg tomorrow?"
Councilwoman Gina Driscoll complimented the Rays/Hines group of the thoroughness of their proposal.
"The scale of the buildings, the public spaces and the way they've designed the welcoming atmosphere and the artwork, all of those things create that psychological and emotional impact that we're really going for here," she said.
Until the minimum development requirements have been satisfied, the Rays/Hines partnership would hold two public town halls with the community every year.
Plans call for a 30,000-seat "pavilion-style" stadium, which would include three seating levels and walls that open to let fresh air inside during cooler weather.
The cost for the $1.3 billion stadium would be split between the Rays and the city and Pinellas County, which would be responsible for about $600 million. Some of that would come through taxes on hotel stays.
The Rays have a lease on their current home at Tropicana Field until 2027.
The council had planned to meet again on May 23 to discuss the stadium, but that meeting has been postponed.
"The Committee of the Whole meeting to review the stadium operating agreement will be rescheduled," city officials said in a news release. "While we are eager to advance the Historic Gas Plant Development project, we are focused on advancing it in a thorough and thoughtful manner. These are complex agreements, and the additional time will allow the team to complete the meeting documents and allow City Council ample time to review the agreements prior to their discussion."
The Pinellas County Commission has not yet scheduled their meetings.
This is a developing story. Stay with WUSF for updates.
