Rays unveil plans for St. Petersburg stadium

A ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays will be built near the current one under plans unveiled Monday as part of a massive redevelopment project that also includes affordable housing, office space and retail in what was once a thriving Black neighborhood.

Mayor Ken Welch, of St. Petersburg, Fla., chose a partnership between the Rays and the Houstonbased Hines development company from among four proposals to transform an 86-acre downtown site where Tropicana Field now sits. Welch said the plan should keep the Rays in St. Petersburg for the long term.

“This team is the best partner for this generational endeavor, and now the next phase of work begins to bring this dream to reality for everyone in St. Petersburg,” Welch said in a speech on the steps of City Hall.

The Rays have played at the domed Tropicana

Field since their inaugural 1998 season but have considered moving elsewhere, such as neighboring Tampa, amid consistently low attendance. There was also a proposal to split their home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal that was rejected by Major League Baseball.

Rays President Brian Auld, who attended the mayor’s event, said in a brief interview it is “a thrill” to see the project take a major step forward. The plan calls for a domed stadium to be ready for the 2028 season opener; the Rays’ current stadium lease is up in 2027. Renderings indicate the old stadium would be demolished.

Details remain to be finalized over the next several years, including how to finance the project among the Rays, the city, Pinellas County and other entities. Welch, who is St. Petersburg’s first Black mayor, emphasized that a key goal is to restore a majority Black neighborhood known as the Gas Plant

District that was ousted by the stadium and a highway.

“I am a child of the Gas Plant,” Welch said. “It will no longer be a dream denied.”

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