The Rays expected to announce new stadium deal in downtown St. Pete
/The Rays and Hines give A glimpse at what a new rays stadium and surrounding entertainment district could look like in a proposal for the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District | Rays/Hines
The Tampa Bay Rays have reached an agreement to build a new baseball stadium in downtown St. Petersburg, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
An official announcement is expected on Tuesday.
The new stadium would be constructed as part of the redevelopment of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District, where the current stadium resides, and open for the 2028 season.
Last year, the City of St. Petersburg published a request for proposals (RFP) for the Historic Gas Plant District. The Rays submitted a proposal for the site in partnership with Hines, one of the largest privately held real estate investors and managers in the world.
In choosing the Rays/Hines proposal to redevelop the site in January, Mayor Ken Welch stated, “As your mayor I have done my homework, I am fully confident that this decision is the best path forward for our city.”
The Rays and Hines give A glimpse at what a new rays stadium and surrounding entertainment district could look like in a proposal for the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District | Rays/Hines
The 30,000-seat ballpark, as outlined in the Rays/Hines proposal, is designed as a pavilion with a fixed roof for protection from the elements, and will be located at the northeast part of the 86-acre site.
The venue will be an open and accessible component of the public realm year-round. Its spaces will be used for civic events, concerts and festivals, passive recreation and, of course, Rays baseball.
Rays owner Stu Sternberg told the Times earlier this month that the team was expected to “pay for half or more” of the stadium’s $1.2 billion price tag with Pinellas County and the City of St. Petersburg footing the remainder of the bill.
Last week, Pinellas County officials said they were looking to contribute $300 million to a new Rays stadium using hotel bed taxes. The City of St. Pete is expected to also contribute $300 million.
The Rays and Hines give A glimpse at what a new rays stadium and surrounding entertainment district could look like in a proposal for the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District | Rays/Hines
In addition to the new ballpark, the Rays/Hines proposal for the redevelopment of Tropicana Field features an ambitious mixed-use project with over 20 new urban blocks containing over 8.2 million square feet of development over the next 20 years.
The proposal called for over 5,700 residential units, including 859 affordable units, and 600 units of market rate senior housing. Also included were 700 new hotel rooms, 1.4 million square feet of office space, 320,000 square feet of retail space, 50,000 square feet of entertainment space, 50,000 square feet of civic space, and 14,000 parking spaces.
The agreement expected to be announced Tuesday will end a 16-year search for a new home for the Rays. Throughout this time, the Rays have proposed a variety of solutions to their low attendance woes, including a stadium on the St. Pete waterfront, a stadium in Tampa, moving the Rays to another city such as Nashville or Vegas, and splitting the Rays season between Montreal and Tampa Bay, an idea that was turned down by MLB officials.
