Thrive
Rays to meet with commissioners
In the months since St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch announced the joint Tampa Bay Rays and Hines team as his top selection to redevelop Tropicana Field and the historic Gas Plant District, the city has been quietly drafting a stadium agreement plan and meeting with the Rays.
A monthly Pinellas County meetings calendar shows additional meetings among county representatives.
Tampa Bay Rays President Brian Auld and Rays Chief Communications Officer Rafela Amador are set to meet with Commissioner Renee Flowers April 24 for a “general update” at noon. Two-and-a-half hours later, Auld and Amador will meet with Commissioner Chris Latvala for the same update.
The following week, they’ve booked a May 2 meeting with Commissioner Janet Long and a May 11 meeting with Commissioner Charlie Justice.
Likewise, the team has also been engaging with city officials and staff.
City Administrator Rob Gerdes, and other city staffers, “are in the process of conducting active negotiations with Hines and Tampa Bay Rays on behalf of all of our communities in St. Petersburg. It would be most prudent to share those specifics and answer questions once negotiations have concluded and an agreement is crafted for the St. Petersburg City Council to review,” a city spokesperson shared in a statement.
Gerdes is the city’s point of contact for the negotiations.
While the city cannot directly comment on the active negotiations, Auld has previously said the team must generate as much revenue as possible to ensure it can contribute to new stadium costs. Additionally, the Rays will require extensive public-private partnerships.
Welch has also remarked that the “once-in-a-generation venture” would require strong partnerships; and that he sees an opportunity to tap into the county’s collected tourism tax dollars.
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Welch said the city and Rays expect to reach an agreement this year regarding the plans for the new stadium at the 86-acre site. A second separate agreement would be required for the remaining property and redevelopment plan.
In February, the city retained Minneapolis-based law firm Faegre Drinker Biddle and Reath to represent the city on the redevelopment agreement.
The city also drafted a 39-page term sheet for the stadium that provided a glimpse into the strategy and agreement process from the city’s perspective.
The drafted agreement sets forth provisions for the city, county and the Rays regarding the demolition of the existing dome structure and the design, development and construction of a new stadium “that is comparable in size, scope and quality as the first-class stadiums recently constructed in Cobb County, Georgia.”
The city also made comparisons and references to interlocal agreements formed by the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves MLB teams, as well as the Orlando Magic basketball team, regarding maintenance and shared uses of the stadiums.
According to St. Pete’s drafted agreement, the Rays would be required to enter a contractual non-relocation agreement to indicate their long-term commitment to stay in the city. The initial term of the use, management and operation of the stadium would be intact for 30 years, commencing upon substantial completion of the stadium.
Jack Odom
April 20, 2023at8:36 am
Well St. Pete, rest assured that Rays fans are sick of driving to St. Pete. You could build the Taj Mahal of stadiums and it won’t change a thing. The Rays will still draw around 2k a game, all due to location. I drive from Orlando to see games, which wouldn’t be so bad if they were actually played in Tampa. I could drive to Miami in the time it takes to reach a Rays game. The Rays need to be in Tampa, or better yet, Orlando. We’re centrally located, allowing fans from both coasts to easily access games. We would also build a new, state of the art baseball facility without the short sighted grumbling of naysayers. Please St. Pete, find a way to drive the Rays away. You’d be doing them and their fans a great favor. Plus, you’ll be able to use your tax dollars on some other useless waste. The Rays don’t belong there, never have.
Sean
April 20, 2023at6:44 am
A centralized location is what the rays need, like Ybor. Building another stadium in Saint Pete is a terrible idea! They can’t get people in the Trop now, What makes them think more will come if they build bigger and better? This isn’t field of dreams…
Ryan Todd
April 19, 2023at5:13 pm
Please can a political leader in our city begin collecting signatures to recall Mayor Welch? He has been a disaster for our city. Robert Blackmon? Anyone?
Steve D
April 19, 2023at10:28 am
Maybe not, Janet:
https://www.denverpost.com/2022/03/23/union-station-crime-bus-terminal-plan/
Alan DeLisle
April 19, 2023at4:57 am
Doing the stadium agreement before the development agreement is a terrible idea. They should be tied together so that the city gets what it deserves — quality development in addition to the stadium (jobs), plus it assures the revenue needed to pay for the stadium. Mayor Kriseman had it right — development would occur with or without a stadium. Can you imagine if in the end St Pete gets exactly what they have — a ballpark with a sea of parking. The city has no leverage and the Rays are already applying the pressure. Stand strong St Pete.
Janet
April 18, 2023at3:12 pm
So the public doesn’t get any input on the request to give $500 million of taxpayer money to a baseball stadium and the Rays have to figure out “how to contribute” their part? And the development rights get handed over for the entire acreage to a single developer? And the public gets left out these private meetings, one of which did not know the Rays have still not committed to St Pete AFTER the Mayor awarded it?
The Trop property should be done in phases with individual developers competing for parcels.
The public should have better representation in local leadership that prioritizes public projects like a transportation hub and infrastructure.
This red herring of affordable housing being the motivating factor in the selection is a joke, Moffit’s development got turned down for having a HIGHER percentage of affordable housing.
Affordable housing should not built in the highest valued urban core but a transportation hub should be. Think downtown Denver’s train station turned into a light rail hub. Anything that benefits the public since it is our land and our tax dollars.