ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays will be staying in St. Petersburg after the Pinellas County Commission gave final approval to a deal that will redevelop the Tropicana Field site and build the team a new ballpark.
Commissioners approved the deal in a 5-2 vote Tuesday afternoon.
The team needed the approval from the Pinellas County Commission before it could break ground on the new park.
“Folks understand what a transformational project this will be," said St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch after the vote.
The commission vote comes after the City of St. Petersburg gave its part of the stadium deal a green light by a 5-3 vote of the city council.
The county's vote brings to an end a lengthy journey for the Rays that has included plans for a stadium in Tampa, Ybor City, or even splitting the team's home games with Montreal.
The multi-billion dollar stadium plan will also include a complete redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District. The deal is also expected to keep the Rays in St. Petersburg for the next three decades.
The new stadium will replace the aging Tropicana Field. The stadium, which also had the names Florida Suncoast Dome and the ThunderDome, has been near the bottom of the list in every stadium ranking released in the last several years.
For comparison, Tropicana Field cost approximately $130 million to build in 1986, which would be approximately $372 million in today's dollars. The new stadium deal will have a projected total cost of approximately $1.3 billion, but that also includes the redevelopment of the Gas Plant District.
Welch and others have argued the project is bigger than baseball, since it will also include new housing, a portion of it affordable; space for offices, retail, and hotel rooms; an African American history museum; and other community benefits.
“And I think 30 years of economic development, 30 years of employment — and not just $7 an hour jobs but jobs that pay above a living wage so people can take care of their families — I believe that that, certainly for me, in my eyes, is a strong indicator that it will help the community," Commissioner Rene Flowers said Tuesday.
Still, the project has its doubters including two on the Pinellas County Commission.
“I want professional baseball to stay here. I want the Rays to stay here," said Commissioner Chris Latvala. "But at what price?”
Latvala voted against the deal Tuesday because he was uncomfortable with the price being footed by Pinellas County: $312.5 million in tourism development tax dollars.
The county said it will still have plenty tourism dollars leftover each year for other expenditures like museums and beach renourishment projects, but Latvala remains skeptical.
“At the end of the day, the beaches are what bring tourists here, not baseball," he said.
Nevertheless, advocates for the Gas Plant deal, including Welch, can finally breathe a sign of relief after the Tuesday vote.
"You want to pinch me?” Welch said with a laugh.
"They need to be aware that they’re putting families at risk”
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