St. Pete council feels ‘pressure’ on tight timeline, not enough meetings planned on Rays stadium agreement

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - St. Petersburg's city council is scheduled to meet in June about the Tampa Bay Rays' new stadium agreement with the goal of taking a final vote by July 11 – a fast pace for council members.

"Absolutely, I feel pressure. I was just given that agreement two weeks ago," St. Pete city council member Lisset Hanewicz said following the May 9 meeting. 

Hanewicz, an attorney herself, has been vocal about the tight timetables and brisk pace the council has been given to consider the $6 billion redevelopment and new stadium proposal. 

RELATED: Community groups, residents urge St. Pete to strike better deal for Rays stadium, redevelopment

"This agreement is huge, it is extremely complicated," said Hanewicz. 

The concerns about the timeline was reiterated by other council members after the city set a new meeting schedule, which some feel amps up the pressure. Council had one eight-hour session during the May 9 workshop on the Historic Gas Plant redevelopment plan agreement.

They won't all meet again until June 13 for an eight-hour workshop to discuss the $1.3 billion stadium agreement. City staff members have proposed a council vote on July 11.

The Rays had hoped to break ground at the end of the year, but it will likely be at the beginning of 2025, if approved.

PREVIOUS: New mixed use development planned at site of St. Pete YMCA

"I do feel pressure when we have one meeting to discuss the development agreement," said city council member Richie Floyd. "I probably asked half of the questions I had written down, and I took about an hour, myself. So we really are struggling to get everything out in the public when we have so few meetings on it."

"To me, the deadlines that have been given are arbitrary, there’s no need to rush this process. I think the most important thing is to get it right," said Hanewicz. 

Those thoughts were echoed by council member Gina Driscoll, who represents the district where Tropicana Field is. 

"Getting it right is more important than getting it right now," she told FOX 13 Monday evening. "I’m willing to take as long as we need to make sure that St. Petersburg has the best deal possible." 

FOX 13 reached out to St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch's office to see if they’re looking to add any dates to discuss the agreements and how they're addressing the council's concern regarding the pace of the meetings. The mayor released the following statement: 

"City staff worked diligently with the City Council Chair to schedule the Stadium Agreement Committee of the Whole meeting while respecting the regular business of the Council. City staff recognizes Council members’ desire to thoroughly review and discuss all documents related to the Historic Gas Plant. We continue to work in earnest to adjust meeting dates as schedules allow."

WATCH FOX 13 NEWS:

SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter