St. Pete leaders debate demolishing Al Lang Stadium as part of proposed downtown redevelopment
Will St. Pete tear down Al Lang Stadium?
The City of St. Petersburg is considering redeveloping the site of Al Lang Stadium. FOX 13’s Kailey Tracy reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - City leaders in St. Petersburg are looking at the future of its downtown waterfront – and the nearly 80-year-old Al Lang Stadium might not be a part of it.
Conceptual renderings of the Center for the Arts District propose tearing down Al Lang and replacing it with an amphitheater and a waterfront park.
Conceptual renderings of the Center for the Arts District propose tearing down Al Lang Stadium and replacing it with an amphitheater and a waterfront park.
What they're saying:
Getting rid of the stadium, which has been home to several MLB teams for spring training over the years and now is home to the Tampa Bay Rowdies, didn’t sit well with some city council members.
"I'm just giving you my feedback because I know that's why we're here," Council Chair Copley Gerdes said. "I'm struggling with totally removing Al Lang Stadium, a stadium which is 80 years old, with a massive amount of history, and especially when we're contemplating the future of the Historic Gas Plant and what that might look like."
Al Lang Stadium is facing the prospect of demolition as part of a proposed redevelopment plan.
City staff presented the plans for the proposed Center for the Arts District at Thursday’s Economic and Workforce Development Committee meeting, calling it a "visioning session" where they were looking for feedback. The $289.2 million project stretches from 1st Avenue South to 5th Avenue South, just south of the Pier.
"This area has never been master-planned and that's one thing that we are looking to do as part of this effort is to set that overall plan and identity for this area that the other organizations contribute towards," St. Pete Economic Development Director Brian Caper said.
The presentation stated Al Lang’s property is underutilized and could play a significant role in reshaping the waterfront.
By the numbers:
Phase one includes a 45,000 to 50,000-square-foot expansion to the Salvador Dalí Museum, improvements to the Mahaffey Theater, including a visitor drop-off and 10,000 to 16,000 square feet of new space, a new plaza, a conference center with 18,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and a parking garage with 1,100 spots. Plans also include green space.
Construction would start this year and wrap up in 2030. This phase would cost $161.7 million.
In phase two, Al Lang Stadium would be demolished, and a new 3,000 to 4,000-seat amphitheater would take its place, similar to Clearwater’s BayCare Sound, "but way better," ASD | SKY consultant John Curran said.
A 400-car garage and a new facility for the Florida Orchestra would also be a part of phase two. Construction would last from 2028 to 2038, and it would cost $127.5 million.
Dig deeper:
"I really appreciate Council Chair Gerdes’ comments on the theater," Council Member Gina Driscoll said. "That made my eye twitch a little bit because I can't imagine not having Al Lang Stadium. I can’t imagine not having the Rowdies and I know that we are talking with them about the [lease] extension, and I think we're limited in how far we can go with the amphitheater idea as it is suggested here."
Driscoll proposed getting a movable stage for the stadium that could be set up without too much hassle.
"I have a feeling that that might be cheaper than this and also would give us that flexibility that we want so that we can have soccer and song whenever we want at Al Lang Stadium. So, I think there's a ‘meet in the middle’ thing here that actually creates an even better benefit for us in that spot. So, I would love to explore that opportunity," she said.
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Gerdes agreed, suggesting they retrofit the stadium to become a music venue while still using it for the Rowdies.
"I get it's the Center for the Arts. Versatility is not a bad thing, and so I certainly don't want to be negative, but that's the biggest part I'm struggling with. That's a massive amount of money to get rid of what I consider an asset, and I would love for us to contemplate keeping it and having that type of venue. Otherwise, this is phenomenal. I love this… I just have been a proponent of keeping Al Lang for the last three years while I've been here. I'm just not sure that that's going to change for me," Gerdes said.
City staff said they’ve discussed the idea of retrofitting it, and said while the door isn’t closed on those conversations, there are limitations when it comes to moving any stands or seats due to the turf.
Staff also said they started working with consultants on a vision for the Center for the Arts back in 2020. They talked with ASD | SKY consulting again about plans last summer.
The Rowdies are owned by the Tampa Bay Rays, and these plans come not too long after the Rays backed out of the new $1.3 billion stadium deal in downtown that included redeveloping the Gas Plant District.
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"Vice Chair Hanewicz fought hard on the Historic Gas Plant," Gerdes said. "Now we're talking about spending half of that same amount to get rid of a historic, what I consider a historic place. And so, an economic impact of 40 to 50 times is a much harder argument I have to make in that conversation. And so, as much as I think it's gorgeous, I would much rather retrofit Al Lang Stadium and keep that historic place and have that tie-in of music and amphitheater."
The projected economic impact during construction is about $445 million, or about $34 million each year.
Managing Director of City Development Beth Herendeen said the Rowdies are aware of the plans presented Thursday, and said they’re working on a two-year lease renewal for the Rowdies. Their current lease is up this year at Al Lang.
Pictured: The exterior of Al Lang Stadium.
City staff stressed that the presentation showed ideas of what the area could be long-term and that it’s in the very early stages.
"It is a living breathing plan," Caper said. "We wanted to first receive council's feedback into elements you liked, elements that we shouldn't explore any further, maybe some things we should look into as alternatives, and then after we have that dialog, and a little bit better understanding of where you all are on that."
Where the Rowdies would play if the plan is approved as it stands now is unknown. FOX 13 reached out to the Rowdies on Friday morning and at the time this article was published, we had not yet heard back.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Kailey Tracy.
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