STREET. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays are on track to secure a much-sought-after new stadium following the City Council’s vote Thursday on a primary redevelopment task that also ensures the team will remain where it is for at least 30 years. years.
The stadium is part of a larger $6. 5 billion allocation that supporters say would be an 86-acre (34-hectare) site downtown, with plans in the coming years for a black history museum, affordable housing, a hotel and green space. . Organize entertainment venues and workspaces. There is also the promise of thousands of jobs.
The site, where the Rays’ sloping, domed Tropicana Field and expansive parking masses now stand, was once a thriving black network displaced through the structure of the ballpark and an interstate highway. One of St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch’s priorities is to right some of the wrongs beyond the so-called historic gasworks district.
“It’s a day that’s been more than 40 years in the making,” said Welch, the city’s first Black mayor with family ties to the former neighborhood. “This is a primary victory for our city. “
The St. Petersburg City Council voted 5-3 in favor of the plan, which will also have to be approved through the Pinellas County Commission. A vote is scheduled in the county later this month.
“This has far-reaching implications, beyond the baseball field,” said board member Ed Montanari.
The centerpiece of the allocation is the estimated $1. 3 billion, 30,000-seat stadium with a constant roof, scheduled to open in the 2028 season. That will end years of uncertainty about the Rays’ future, adding imaginable moves to the across the bay to Tampa. , or to Nashville, Tennessee, or even splitting home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal, a concept rejected by MLB.
Stu Sternberg, the Rays’ principal owner, said final approval of the assignment would resolve the team’s long-term situation.
“It has been our goal and my goal for the team to remain in Tampa Bay, particularly St. Petersburg,” Sternberg said before the vote. “We never thought about taking the team anywhere else, outside the region. “
The Rays have one of the lowest attendance numbers in MLB, even though the team has made the playoffs five years in a row. Entering this week’s All-Star break this year, the Rays are 48-48, good for fourth in the American League East.
The funding plan calls for the city to spend about $417. 5 million, adding $287. 5 million for the stadium itself and $130 million in infrastructure for the larger redevelopment task that would include things like sewer, traffic lighting and roads. The city is not new taxes or tax increases.
Meanwhile, Pinellas County would spend about $312. 5 million as a percentage of approximate costs. Officials say the county’s money will come from a bed tax that is largely funded through visitors and can only be spent on tourism and expenses related to economic development. The county commission is scheduled to tentatively vote on the plan on July 30.
The remainder of the effort would be funded primarily through a partnership between the Rays and Houston-based progression company Hines. It will take decades.
The rough plan is part of a wave of structure or renovation projects at sports facilities across the country, including the Milwaukee Brewers, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Athletics, which are contemplating moving to Las Vegas. Like the Rays’ proposal, all of the projects come with millions of dollars in public investment that generates opposition.
Although the city’s business and political leadership is usually behind the agreement, there are detractors. Councilmember Richie Floyd said there are many more tactics where stadium money can be spent to meet the network’s needs.
“This still represents one of the stadium subsidies in MLB history. That’s the core of my concerns,” Floyd said.
A citizen organization called “No Home Run” and other organizations opposed the deal, and the conservative/libertarian organization Americans for Prosperity said the track record of other state-funded sports stadiums is encouraging.
“The economic benefits promised by advocates of publicly funded sports stadiums do not materialize,” said Skylar Zander, the group’s state director. “Studies have consistently shown that the return on investment for such projects is, to say the least, questionable, as the maximum of economic gains go to personal interests and not to the general public. “
Still, the task appears to have momentum on its side. For the former citizens and descendants of the Gas Plant District, this can’t come soon enough.
“Everywhere in this country our history is being erased. That’s not going to happen here,” said Gwendolyn Reese, president of the St. Petersburg African American Heritage Association. “Our voices will be heard. And not only listened to, but valued. “