$1.3B Stadium Will Be Built By Tampa Bay Rays In St. Pete: Officials

Updated: Tuesday, 11:29 a.m.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — “A brand new ballpark” will be built in downtown St. Petersburg as the Tampa Bay Rays have reached an agreement for a new stadium with the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, the team’s principal owner, Stuart Sternberg, said during a news conference Tuesday morning at Tropicana Field.

At the end of January, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch chose the Rays in partnership with Houston-based developer Hines out of four pitches to redevelop 86 acres in the Historic Gas Plant District, which includes the team’s home, Tropicana Field.

With their lease at Tropicana Field expiring in 2027, the baseball team has promised that their proposed ballpark would be completed by 2028.

“We put together a plan to build a best-in-class ballpark and surrounding development,” Sternberg said, adding, “Today we celebrate coming to terms on an agreement to make that plan a reality. Major League Baseball was made to stay right here.”

The 30,000-seat, fixed-dome roof stadium is expected to cost more than $1.3 billion, according to a news release from the city. The Ray will pay for more than half of the new ballpark and will be responsible for any cost overruns. The city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County will contribute about $300 million each to the project.

“We are excited to say that the Rays are here to stay,” Welch said during Tuesday’s news conference.

He expects the “world-class development,” which will include housing, office, commercial, community and green space, will be an “economic catalyst in St. Petersburg and Pinellas County for decades to come.”

The agreed-upon plan includes the key aspects of the original proposal submitted by the Hines Historic Gas Plant Partnership, according to a news release from the city.

The agreement increases the number of affordable/workforce housing units to be built by the partnership to 1,200, with at least half of that amount to be built on the Historic Gas Plant site. It also adds on-site affordable units for seniors.

Once fully built, the project is planned to include:

• 4,800 residential units
• 1,200 affordable/workforce residential units (on and off-site)
• 600 senior living units
• 1.4 million square feet of office, medical and commercial space
• 750,000 square feet of retail
• 750 hotel rooms
• 100,000 square feet of entertainment space, including a concert venue to seat up to 4,000
• 50,000 square feet of civic space, namely a new home for the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum
• 90,000 to 100,000 square feet of conference, ballroom and meeting space
• 14 acres of public open space
• 14,000 parking spaces

The development agreement focuses heavily on the equitable, intentional and restorative delivery of community benefits and economic impacts, specifically to honor the legacy of the Historic Gas Plant neighborhood's residents and businesses, the city said.

This includes a $50 million commitment to intentional equity initiatives in partnership with South St. Petersburg that include affordable housing funding, employment and business support, education programs, and Minority/Women Owned Business Enterprises hiring commitments.