St. Pete council grills city, Rays over stadium development

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - On Thursday, the plan to build a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays spent the day getting grilled by city leaders in St. Pete. The team and developers presented the project – including a batch of new renderings – to city council members during the meeting. 

"As we're talking, please don't forget that we have accomplished something truly extraordinary here," said Rays president Brian Auld. "This agreement is how we make sure that the fan base we have cultivated for so long, that same fan base that is only now seeing children born to parents who grew up as Rays fans. This is how they keep their teams."

But despite reiterating that they would cover cost overruns and would stay in the city for 30 years, they were immediately hit by questions from almost every council member. Some took aim at fundamentals of the deal, including affordable housing guarantees, infrastructure costs and what could happen if the Rays ownership changes.

"To be blunt about it, there is a possibility that all of the affordable housing could be in one corner, wedged in next to the interstate," said St. Pete City Council member Richie Floyd. "And so, I would like to see some protection for that added here."

RAYS STADIUM PLANS: Rays announce plans for new $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg: 'Our Rays are here to stay'

Councilors were shown four phases of development that will start in 2025 and continue until 2045. The stadium would be east of Booker Creek, and have a central plaza of bars, restaurants and retail. 

A Black history museum would line the creek, showcasing the damage done to families like St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch's, who once lived in the Historic Gas Plant District.

The Gas Plant is a historic Black neighborhood that was demolished to build the Trop and nearby highways. Families who were displaced were promised jobs and new homes, but those promises weren’t kept.

"This is a time of providence and progress. It's also a time of process," said Welch. 

READ: St. Pete community weighs in on multi-billion dollar Gas Plant redevelopment plans

Councilors also asked for clarification about plans for a childcare center, why there's no grocery store and who would own the land under the museum. Councilor Floyd said he could support the development around the stadium, but not when it's tied to taxpayer funding of the stadium itself.

"Half a billion for a stadium over 30 years is not what's in the public interest," he said.

When asked if there are enough people on council who share his view to kill the deal, he said, "no," flatly. Approvals had been expected to have already happened, and may still be two months away.

READ: Mayor Ken Welch reflects on growing up in Gas Plant District, future of St. Pete

"Of course I'm undecided. Of course. I will tell you this. Anybody who said that they're for or against the deal. I just brought up issues right now that, frankly, should be deal killers for people who already said that they were for the deal," said City Councilor Lisset Hanewicz.

"The documentation beats the conversation. And so if we can get a lot of the pluses and highlights that we talked about, and pledges that we've made into the document, then I would be supportive," said Council Member John Muhammad.

Others signaled their support of the proposal.

"Barring any substantial changes. I'm certainly in support of making sure this development gets done," said City Councilor Copley Gerdes.

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With so much left to discuss, no one was prepared to predict which way this would go.

"That's a loaded question. But, you know, I won't speculate to whether that will or will not happen. You know, what I will say is, I'm really proud of the group for making sure they're asking good questions to get the best deal for St. Petersburg," said Gerdes.

The hope had been to break ground by the end of this year, but now it could be in the first three months of 2025.

No vote has been set by city council, with another City of the Whole meeting expected to take place in June to give developers time to take Thursday's feedback and make adjustments. City council has a final vote on the project that has a 20-year timeline planned for June or July. Then, the Pinellas County Commission also has to vote on it.

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