Thrive
Council considers economic impact of losing the Rays
The city and business owners began benefiting from what was then the Devil Rays in 1998, as they drew thousands of people to a previously underdeveloped area. The team annually plays 81 games in St. Petersburg.
While officials hope the Tampa Bay Rays remain in St. Petersburg after the 2028 season, they are also preparing for life without the team.
Councilmember Corey Givens Jr. broached the topic Thursday. He requested a Committee of the Whole discussion on “possible revenue generators” to compensate for the Rays leaving St. Petersburg.
Givens also wants the council and administration to consider the impacts on surrounding businesses in the city’s EDGE District. Stakeholders are already navigating an economic downturn, while the team plays in Tampa rather than at the storm-damaged Tropicana Field.
“There are businesses along Central (Avenue) that are hurting,” Givens said. “I’m completely open to doing all we can to keep the Rays here. But what I don’t want us to do is abandon those local businesses that are counting on our support.”
The city and business owners began benefiting from what was then the Devil Rays in 1998, as they drew thousands of people to a previously underdeveloped area. The team annually plays 81 games in St. Petersburg.
Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill has been at the center of the EDGE District’s evolution. What began as a minuscule old service station is now a sprawling entertainment complex with an outdoor venue – previously primarily used for overflow game-day seating – that can hold up to 2,500 people.
Owner Mark Ferguson recently told the Catalyst that he started “pushing more shows because we don’t have the income from baseball. We’re trying to keep all the bartenders and our workers working, and hopefully we’ll make a little money with these concerts.”
In January 2023, an independent study claimed that a new stadium and the surrounding Historic Gas Plant District’s redevelopment would generate $11.9 billion over 30 years. The Rays exited those long-negotiated plans in March.
“I do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past,” Givens said Thursday. “I was not on the council when the last use agreement was signed. But guess what? I’m here now.”
A storm-damaged Tropicana Field looms over Ferg’s Bar and Grill’s outdoor venue. Photo by Mark Parker.
In June, City Development Administrator James Corbett notified the council that St. Petersburg and Pinellas County officials will explore the feasibility of building a convention center at the Trop site, with or without a new stadium. His email came five hours after the Rays announced they were in “exclusive discussions” to sell the team.
Many stakeholders believe a convention center will sit dormant for most of the year and do little to help compensate for the franchise’s loss. Officials on both sides of the bay believe new ownership prefers to play in Tampa.
However, the Rays must play in St. Petersburg through the 2028 Major League Baseball season. The city can receive $400,000 annually and redevelop part of the Trop site under a new licensing agreement.
Mayor Ken Welch said his initial focus is on building affordable housing for seniors, a new Woodson African American Museum and a workforce development ecosystem. Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders questioned how the latest discussion “differs from what the administration has already put in motion, and that includes businesses,” at Thursday’s meeting.
“I guess I’m trying to figure out what the impact of the discussion is going to be,” she said.
Councilmember Richie Floyd said the city spends more than it earns from stadium revenue. The responsibility for maintaining, repairing and insuring the stadium would have fallen on the Rays under the previously negotiated deal.
“I’m not really concerned about replacing their revenue, because we’re going to have a bunch more money back,” Floyd added. “The first part of the conversation – not super relevant.”
While he ardently opposed a new stadium, Floyd also doesn’t want to see the team leave. “And I want us to have a plan if they do,” he said.
Givens echoed that sentiment and said the city should not wait “until the 11th hour” before considering the economic impact associated with losing a professional sports team. “There needs to be contingency plans in place now, not later.”
Council Chair Copley Gerdes said he was “not interested in opening the can of worms” unless the conversation focuses on contingency plans after 2028. Givens concurred before offering a conflicting statement.
“My friend Mark Ferg, who owns Ferg’s, is hurting,” Givens said. “And he is looking to us for help, solutions, now. Not in 2028.”
The council unanimously approved a Committee of the Whole discussion without setting a date. Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz was absent.
Leilani Keaka
August 13, 2025at12:12 am
If we know the Ray’s haven’t provided economic impact, why all the performative debate and (predictably) ill-conceived cItY pLaNnInG?
Jonathan Ginsberg
August 12, 2025at6:04 am
Councillor Richie Floyd states that he is not concerned about replacing the revenue.
Remember: This is a typical comment from a Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member.
DSA folks and other rejectors of market economics, have a difficult time with concepts such as supply and demand, supply chain, eceonmic development investment and leveraging financing to invest in new housing (not impose outdated stale policies such as rent control) and yes, a ballpark. In short, a discussion of this issue – does not benefit from the rejection of free market principles, or mathematics itself.
The comment is tone deaf toward the dozens or small businesses on Central Ave that benefit from 81 Rays games, and it’s increased foot traffic and vibrancy.
So, as a St. Pete voter, I do care about the decrease in revenue, and damage done to the small businesses that are helped by baseball.
Jonathan Ginsberg
August 12, 2025at5:36 am
Jabil’s recent deal in NC is also a subsidized development:
https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2025/06/30/jabil-selects-rowan-county-nearly-1200-new-jobs-and-500-million-multi-year-investment
Jabil’s expansion in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today
Bob Harmon
August 11, 2025at8:34 pm
“Many stakeholders believe a convention center will sit dormant for most of the year and do little to help compensate for the franchise’s loss.” What stakeholders? We need more than just this throw away statement. What is this based on? The Tampa Convention Center is booked out almost a year in advance.
joseph boone
August 11, 2025at5:45 pm
So after years of a failed stadium deal, the city’s next big idea is to have a meeting about having a plan. I’m not holding my breath. Given their track record, we’ll probably end up with an empty convention center that costs us a fortune and does nothing for the local economy.
Bradley Cochran
August 11, 2025at5:20 pm
Crazy how they can pull together billions for a stadium in months, but when it’s stormwater upgrades or seawall repairs, suddenly it’s complicated and there’s no budget.
S. Rose Smith-Hayes
August 10, 2025at4:02 pm
We need an ‘arena’ that can be open to baseball, basketball and maybe other sports, also concerts and Broadway shows. We need it running year round.
Hal Freedman
August 10, 2025at1:58 pm
Ms. Smith-Hayes must never leave her home. Museums, the arts, restaurants, the Pier, outdoor activities, the Grand Prix, Pride, etc. bring St. Petersburg scads of tourists and national and international accolades. The Dali alone has 500,000 visitors, most from out of the area; the Pier has at least triple that; the Grand Prix & Pride account for another 1/2 million. But, if she’s afraid of places that get “noise complaints,” I guess that limits her choices.
Hal Freedman
August 10, 2025at1:50 pm
The economic impact of the Rays has always been NEGATIVE. The Vinoy does well on game days (profits go back to headquarters in Chicago); Ferg’s does well on game days (22% of the year); the Edge has grown up in spite of the 86 acre “desert” next door. The annual cost of debt service, insurance, facility maintenance, etc. made the Rays/Trop by far the most heavily subsidized city facility in St. Petersburg…more than all the other major city-owned entertainment facilities (the Pier, Mahaffey Theater, Coliseum, Sunken Gardens, Shuffleboard courts, etc.) combined. When the Rays leave in or before 2028, the City will be much better off economically.
The development of the Trop site will be a mountain-high frosting on the cake.
Asia Word
August 10, 2025at9:26 am
A convention center is a wonderful idea all the events many of us attend are in Tampa at the Amelie arena. Bringing multi faceted entertainment and activities to St.Petersburg will help the tourism and the community. Majority of our tourism go to the beaches. I believe a comparison should be completed on the P/L of Amelie and The Rays team to determine how many shows the Trop can include in between the MLB season this would help create reserves until 2028. When the Rays leave as we all know they will. This solves both concerns.
JAMES GILLESPIE
August 9, 2025at4:20 pm
this is a real and serious opportunity to benefit the area and the city. economics,housing, culture and small business all can gain. a very great and tough decision requiring some sense of the common good
Ryan Todd
August 9, 2025at3:41 pm
The last thing our city should do with taxpayer money is subsidize a bar.
Alan DeLisle
August 9, 2025at3:29 pm
The city needs vision. Old ideas and protecting old turf will breed stagnation. You have 86 acres to create the most vibrant job generating parcel in the country. Think Innovation District, research, USF, John’s Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center, Marine Science, Jabil, Raymond James, Power Design. Think big and not baseball please.
S. Rose Smith-Hayes
August 9, 2025at12:19 pm
Losing the Rays and the Rowdies will be a huge mistake. This city needs tourist attractions, we do Not have any. We have no Resorts unless you count the Don Caesar or the Vinoy. Where can a family come with their children , enjoy the beaches and parks and take a trip to Disney from St. Pete?? Our city is becoming a giant ‘nursing home’. Drive downtown at 8:30PM, how many lights do you see in the condos/townhouses???They are building but, Who is coming? All we have are Restaurants and Bars, for whom???If too many Black folk frequent a place late at night, for some reason noise complaints appear. We need to bring life to our city.