New Rays' stadium moves closer to final OK

A divided city council in St. Petersburg, Fla., has given its go-ahead to a $1.3 billion stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays and redevelopment of the surrounding 65 acres of the city's Historic Gas Plant District, putting the project a step closer to construction.

By a 5-3 vote, the council approved the project Thursday. With their vote, the city will issue bonds totaling $429.5 million for its portion of stadium costs and infrastructure.

Still awaiting the Rays and their development partner, Hines, is approval by the Pinellas County Commission, which is scheduled to vote July 30 on whether to put $312.5 million of tourist tax revenue toward the project.

The Rays long have been seeking a replacement for dreary Tropicana Field. The new stadium would be constructed on a parking lot east of the Rays' current home, and the Rays are prepared to sign a 30-year lease. The stadium would seat 30,000, with standing room and other spaces pushing the capacity to up to 34,000.

"We're on the cusp of something happening that I've been, and our organization here has been, pushing for and trying to get done for 20 years now," Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said Wednesday, before the vote. "We've made a number of missteps over the years. We dust ourselves off; we come back again. Things change in life, things change around in markets and they change around in baseball.

"But as we've always been clear: We wanted to be here, and we want to be here to stay."

The club has agreed to chip in $700 million toward the stadium, and the Tampa Bay Times reported the Rays will cover cost overruns on the stadium and pay for future insurance, maintenance and repairs.

The overall project, including the redevelopment, is projected to cost $6.5 billion in public and private funds, per the Times.

Provided the project gets final approval, construction would begin next year, with hopes of the Rays moving into the stadium to start the 2028 season.

The redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District is set to include both affordable and market-rate housing, senior housing, a concert venue, an African American museum, a grocery store and other retail space, a hotel, conference space and a day care center.

--Field Level Media