Potential plans in the works for former Toytown Landfill in St. Pete

Toytown landfill redevelopment

FOX 13's Kailey Tracy reports on the Clearwater-based push to build a new sports complex at Toytown, a 235-acre site of a long-closed landfill.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The only noise now at the site of the former Toytown landfill in St. Petersburg is from cars driving in the distance. It’s a sound that could be replaced by the roars of cheering crowds.

"We went out in December to RFP [requests for proposals] for the Toytown site specifically for a youth sports tournament facility," Brian Lowack, the president and CEO of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, Pinellas County’s tourism marketing organization, told the Tourist Development Council at a meeting Wednesday.

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"We know that there's a strong demand for that here in Pinellas County, in the Bay Area, in the southeast United States. And we did receive some state funding a few years ago for that pre-site work," Lowack said.

The backstory:

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection closed the Toytown landfill in 1990. Ever since, several attempts to redevelop the 235-acre site, including a proposal to build a spring training site for the Atlanta Braves, have failed.

The state legislature gave Pinellas County $15 million for environmental remediation of Toytown in 2022.

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Dig deeper:

Clearwater-based Sports Facilities Companies believes it’s the ideal spot, near I-275 and Roosevelt Boulevard, for a sports complex. In February, the company submitted redevelopment plans to the county.

"SFC further understands that the County ‘envisions a new community asset that provides high-quality open space and youth sports facilities to local, regional, and national tournament audiences,’" it wrote in its submission.

"SFC is very familiar with the history of the Toytown and see this as a highly strategic opportunity for the County. Pinellas County’s award-winning beaches, tourism infrastructure, accessibility, and overall appeal make it an ideal destination for Sports Tourism," the company continued.

Those plans include 20 turf baseball and softball diamonds, 17 fields for soccer, lacrosse, football and other sports, 12 sand volleyball courts, 24 pickleball courts and a cross-country course and walking jogging path.

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They also envision a complex capable of hosting festivals and fairs with enough parking for more than 2,100 vehicles. The company estimates the cost at $150 million to $200 million, but says it would generate more than $350 million of direct economic impact in the first five years.

Sports Facilities Companies says it operates more than 60 venues across the country, and had 35 million people at its facilities last year. The company also says it plans to work with experts who specialize in developing former landfill sites, saying it knows the site won’t be an easy one to develop.

"Now more than ever, the demand continues to grow for competitive youth sports tournaments," Lowack said. "The benefits and availability of a multi-use facility can be astronomical, and we want to make sure we’re capitalizing on that. Having a complex centrally located as a part of America’s Favorite Beaches would have a tremendous economic benefit to Pinellas County. We wanted to use this process to see what ideas may be out there to evaluate," he said.

What they're saying:

Renewed talks around Toytown caused Tourist Development Council members to talk about other potential opportunities Wednesday, especially after the new Rays stadium deal died.

"I think it would be interesting to kind of do that, just have a brainstorming session about potential opportunities and projects, just throw them up on a whiteboard and bring them back to this group for discussion and see what the possibilities are," Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott, Chair of the TDC, said.

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"Because, you know, I think we just need to plan at this point for, you know, a future without funding a stadium. And let's have that plan ready. Let's have that plan ready to go and start being creative about how we do that," Scott said.

The RFP was put out for the entirety of the area, which includes the Sparks RC Club Flying Field, Lowack said. He said all plans would need to be evaluated and discussed, though, before any final plans were made.

Lowack said they’re starting to review and evaluate Sports Facilities Companies’ proposal. The county says commissioners expect to be discussing it in the future, although there’s not yet a specific timeline. Sports Facilities Companies was the only group to submit plans for the site.

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