ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – An important city council vote Thursday on an important redevelopment project in St. Petersburg could pave the way to give the Tampa Bay Rays a new baseball stadium, which would guarantee the team’s existence for at least 30 years.
The $6.5 billion project, supporters say, would transform an 86-acre (34-hectare) area in the city’s downtown, with plans in coming years for a black history museum, affordable housing, a hotel, green spaces, entertainment venues and offices. and retail space. There is also the promise of thousands of jobs.
The site, where the Rays’ domed Tropicana Field and its sprawling parking lots now stand, was once a thriving black community driven out by the construction of the stadium and an interstate highway. A priority for St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch is righting some of the past wrongs in what is known as the Gas Plant Historic District.
“The city has never done anything like this,” said Welch, the city’s first black mayor with family ties to the old neighborhood. “It’s an important day for our city and county.”
The axis of the project is planning Estimated US$1.3 billion with 30,000 seats, scheduled to open for the 2028 season. That would end years of uncertainty about the Rays’ future, including possible moves across the Bay to Tampa, or to Nashville, Tenn., or even to split home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal, an idea MLB rejected.
Stu Sternberg, principal owner of the Rays, said approval of the project — which also requires a vote by the Pinellas County Commission — will resolve the issue of the team’s future location.
“We want to be here. We want to be here to stay,” Sternberg said Wednesday.
The Rays typically have the lowest attendance in MLB, although the team has made the playoffs five years in a row. This year, at this week’s All-Star break, the Rays have a 48-48 record, putting them in fourth place in the American League East division.
The financing plan calls for the city to spend about $417.5 million, including $287.5 million for the stadium itself and $130 million on infrastructure for the larger redevelopment project that would include things like sewers, traffic signs and roads. The city does not anticipate new or increased taxes.
Meanwhile, Pinellas County would spend about $312.5 million for its share of the approximate costs. Officials say the county’s money will come from a bed tax, funded largely by visitors, that can only be spent on expenses related to tourism and economic development. The county commission is tentatively set to vote on the plan on July 30.
The remainder of the project would be financed primarily by the Rays and Houston-based development firm Hines.
The close-up plan is part of a wave of construction or renovation projects at sports facilities across the country, including the Milwaukee Brewers, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Oakland Athletics, who are planning to move to Las Vegas. Like the Rays’ proposal, all projects rely on millions of dollars in public funding that typically draws opposition.
While the city’s business and political leadership is primarily behind the deal, there are detractors. Council member Richie Floyd said there are many other ways to spend the approximate money to meet the community’s numerous needs.
“It still represents one of the largest stadium subsidies in MLB history. That’s the core of my concern,” Floyd said.
A citizens group called “No Home Run” and other organizations oppose the deal, with conservative/libertarian Americans for Prosperity saying the track record of other publicly funded sports stadiums is not encouraging.
“The economic benefits promised by proponents of publicly funded sports stadiums have repeatedly failed to materialize,” said Skylar Zander, the group’s state director. “Studies have consistently shown that the return on investment for such projects is questionable at best, with the majority of economic gains flowing to private interests rather than the general public.”
Still, the project appears to have momentum in its favor. For former residents and descendants of the Gas Plant District neighborhood, this can’t happen soon enough.
“Across this country our history has been erased. That won’t happen here,” said Gwendolyn Reese, president of the St. Petersburg African American Heritage Association. “Our voices will be heard. And not just heard, but valued.”
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
