City leaders set for detailed talks on Gas Plant District redevelopment

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Petersburg city leaders will meet Thursday to discuss the latest redevelopment plans for the Gas Plant District and the new Rays stadium project.

The proposal from the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines Developers includes plans for a new ballpark and a much larger project that will transform part of downtown St. Pete. 

This will be the most comprehensive look yet at the 86-acre plans for the Gas Plant District to surround a new stadium.

The detailed 184-page document indicates how developers plan to integrate the new stadium into the community and provide benefits to the city well beyond baseball.

In the plan released two weeks ago, Phase One of construction would break ground next spring and include an African-American history museum, 1,500 residential units, a 500-room hotel, a medical office, stores, restaurants and conference space.

Future phases would include at least one day care center, a library, 14-acres of open space, and more retail, offices and homes.

Mayor Ken Welch said the plan is an opportunity to “uplift the entire city.”

 “I see it as a real opportunity to uplift the entire city,” Welch, a Democrat, said in an interview at City Hall. “This isn’t just a stadium. This is a stadium surrounded by the largest development in the state of Florida, if not the nation.”

Feeding Tampa Bay CEO Thomas Nantz recently said he believes the project isn’t just an investment in the Rays, but also a cause the Rays organization believes in.

“They (the Rays) have championed the cause of food insecurity and economic instability,” Nantz said. “They’ve helped us tell the story of our friends and neighbors who are struggling. They have a big brand, a big following and that has been a big gift that has paid dividends for us in trying to tell the story of what is happening.”

Despite a lot of support, a group called No Home Run is against the Rays proposal, saying the city should not sell the property for below market value and should instead rent the space to the team.

The group wrote in a post on their site: “The only real goal in this project was for the Rays to get an incredible deal on a new stadium and to keep out all other lead developers so the Rays didn’t give up control...”

Next Phase: A New Ballpark

The proposed 30,000-seat ballpark, which would open for the 2028 season, is a priority in the first phase of what ultimately is a $6.5 billion project.

The City Council meeting Thursday will focus on other aspects of the plan, with a May 23 meeting set on the ballpark itself. Final votes are expected in either June or July; the Pinellas County Commission also must vote on the project.

The Rays’ financing plan calls for the city to spend $417.5 million, including $287.5 million for the ballpark itself and $130 million in infrastructure for the larger redevelopment project that would include such things as sewage, traffic signals and roads. The city envisions no new or increased taxes.

Pinellas County, meanwhile, would spend about $312.5 million for its share of the ballpark costs. Officials say the county money will come from a bed tax largely funded by visitors that can be spent only on tourist-related and economic development expenses.

The Rays and Hines will be responsible for the remaining stadium costs — about $700 million — and any cost overruns during construction. The team would have naming rights to the ballpark, which could top $10 million a year. 

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.