Rays stadium updates: 5 things to know about St. Petersburg stadium deal – Tampa Bay Times

St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay Rays reach a groundbreaking deal: a 20-year redevelopment of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District centered on a long-awaited new baseball stadium.

Led by global Hines Co., the proposed plan could cost billions of dollars and fundamentally change the city’s landscape.

It won’t be official until the St. Petersburg City Council and Pinellas County Commission approve the terms of the deal, which could take until early next year. But the Rays appear more confident than ever of reaching a deal. If it goes through, the Rays will start a 30-year deal and play in a new stadium as early as 2028.

Here’s what you need to know about the proposed plan.

1. What is the capacity of the new Rays stadium and its parking lot?

This artistic rendering provided by Hines shows a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays in the historic Gas Plant District in St. Petersburg, Florida. The playoff-selected Tampa Bay Rays put the final touches on their plans on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 for a new 30,000-seat baseball stadium in St. Petersburg as part of a $6.5 billion development project that would include affordable housing , retail, bars and restaurants, and a Black history museum. [ UNCREDITED | Courtesy of Hines via AP ]

The new stadium will be constructed near the current Tropicana Field site as part of the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District.

The stadium will seat around 30,000 (compared to the current 42,735 seats) and feature a solid pavilion roof and an artificial turf pitch. Florida fans, rejoice — there will be air conditioning, but also windows and “operable walls to bring the outdoors inside.”

The overall renovation plan calls for 14,000 parking spaces, although not all of them will be available immediately.

“In order to break ground on the new ballpark, we will need to decommission some of the existing parking lots,” Hines senior managing partner Michael Harrison said at a news conference Tuesday. “So it’s really like a giant puzzle. We are building new parking dedicated to the ballpark that will be available for public use when baseball is not being played. This frees up the space we need to begin building the ballpark.”

2. What else does the overall restructuring plan include?

This rendering of a plan submitted by the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines shows a view north across Booker Creek toward a new Rays stadium and a proposed music venue. [ Hines and Tampa Bay Rays ]

Housing: The plan calls for 4,800 market-rate housing units, plus 600 at affordable workforce rates and 600 for seniors. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has prioritized affordable housing, and the latest plan increased the number of housing units by nearly 50% compared to the previous proposal.

Business and retail: There will be 1.4 million square feet of office and medical space, 750 hotel rooms and 750,000 square feet of retail space.

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Entertainment: St. Petersburg may also get a new home for the Woodson African American Museum of Florida and a concert hall with a capacity of 3,000 to 4,000 people. There will also be a park and boardwalk along Booker Creek.

About 20% of this redevelopment is expected to be complete when the stadium opens, including the full-service hotel, some affordable housing units and some retail, food and beverage options.

3. What is happening to the historic Gaswerksviertel?

William Graveley, 64, stands near Gate 7 at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, where a dry cleaning business he once owned was demolished in the 1980s to make room for the 1.1 million square meter structure of the stadium in the gasworks district to make St. Petersburg. [ DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times ]

When Tropicana Field was built, hundreds of black families were displaced when their homes were razed to make way for the stadium. This area is known as St. Petersburg’s historic gas power district

“The area extending south from First Avenue South to Fifth Avenue South, between Martin Luther King Jr. and 16th Street, first flourished in the early 20th century as black families moved south for railroad jobs,” wrote Times business reporter Lauren Peace. “By mid-century, the gasworks — named for two gas cylinders that jutted out of the neighborhood’s west side — was a bustling refuge amid Jim Crow-era segregation.”

Welch’s family grew up in the Historic Gas Plant District. Now St. Pete’s first black mayor has promised to put equity at the center of the recovery plan, making good on promises broken back in the 1970s.

For more information about the region’s history, see its history.

4. Who will pay for the new Rays stadium?

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch speaks at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, September 19, 2023. The Rays announced an agreement to build a new baseball stadium in St. Petersburg. [ CHRIS URSO | Times ]

The overall recovery plan comes with a hefty price tag: $6.5 billion.

The team, the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County will share the cost of the stadium, which is expected to be $1.3 billion or more. The public funding is approximately $600 million and will be split between the city and the county.

The Rays will cover the remainder of the expected $700 million cost. Earlier this month, Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said the team would likely pay for “half or more” of the stadium project. The Rays hope that investors will donate shares in the team in return.

St. Petersburg is ready to spend up to $130 million on public infrastructure around the stadium.

“That money, however, will not come from property taxes, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch promised during a news conference after Tuesday’s announcement ceremony,” Times writer Jack Evans reported. “There will also be no need for new or increased taxes. The city will finance its share by combining multiple sources of revenue, he said.

Find out more about how the stadium is expected to be financed here.

5. What about the Ray Stadium concessions and fan experience?

Renderings of the Rays’ new stadium in the Historic Gas Plant District. Courtesy of Hines [ Courtesy of Hines ]

Not many details have been revealed about specifics like concessions, but the plan calls for fans and players alike to be treated to state-of-the-art amenities.

Wondering what will happen to the Stingray Touch Tank, where fans meet real stingrays at Tropicana Field? One depiction shows a large, two-part tank in midfield, which could mean the tradition will continue.

Times staff writers Marc Topkin, Bernadette Berdychowski, Lauren Peace, Jay Cridlin and Jack Evans contributed to this report.

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