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Funding for Woodson African American History Museum in limbo

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Published  February 25, 2025 5:51am EST
St. Petersburg
FOX 13 News

Fate of the Woodson Museum up in the air

FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis reports that the fate of the Woodson Museum is up in the air. Its construction was contingent on a $10 million investment by the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a community investment in their stadium development deal with the Gas Plant District, which is now in limbo.

The Brief

    • Pinellas County commissioners could decide Tuesday on the future of the Woodson African American Museum.
    • The museum applied for $10 million from the county's tourism board.
    • The project has been touted as a key component of the Historic Gas Plant District's redevelopment.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Pinellas County commissioners could make a big decision Tuesday on the future of the Woodson African American Museum of Florida.

They are set to vote on an application for the museum, which has applied for $10 million in funding.

The Woodson African American Museum of Florida has been touted as part of the Historic Gas Plant District's redevelopment, but now faces an uncertain future.

The Woodson African American Museum of Florida has been touted as part of the Historic Gas Plant District's redevelopment, but now faces an uncertain future.

Dig deeper:

It’s part of the Historic Gas Plant District's redevelopment, which still has a big question mark looming over it with its ties to the Tampa Bay Rays' stadium deal.

The Rays' new stadium in St. Petersburg was also supposed to mean a new home for a two-story, $38 million African American History Museum.

The museum had been looking for a new home for more than five years and was touted as one of the key community components of the Historic Gas Plant District.

The Woodson African American Museum of Florida has been looking for a new home for more than five years.

The Woodson African American Museum of Florida has been looking for a new home for more than five years.

The Rays committed $10 million toward a new state-of-the-art facility, while the museum applied for $10 million from the county’s tourism board.

During the scoring and evaluation of applications, the museum did not meet the criteria for generating enough hotel rooms. It does, however, meet the attendance requirements.

County commissioners have some discretion here and could make their own recommendation, effectively bypassing the scoring requirements.

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What's next:

The county will consider the application at its meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

If the county does not approve the application, it could pose a serious setback for the museum, once slated to open along with the stadium in 2028.

The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis.

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