St. Pete City Council approves Rays stadium plan in a 5-3 vote

Rendering of the planned baseball stadium and commercial complex in St. Petersburgh for the Tampa Bay Rays. (courtesy: Rays)

By a vote of 5-3, the St. Petersburg City Council approved a plan for the Tampa Bay Rays new $1.3 billion stadium and surrounding development.

The new ballpark is proposed to anchor a $6.5 billion redevelopment plan in the Historic Gas Plant District, where Tropicana Field now sits. The city of St. Petersburg would spend nearly $430 million and sell 65 acres of public land to the Rays. Pinellas County is being asked to contribute $313 million in tourism taxes to the project.

Pinellas County Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the measure on July 30.

Once approved by the county, the Rays plan to begin construction in January, with a targeted completion date before the 2028 season opener.

In a preliminary vote in June, the St. Petersburg City Council voted 5-3 in favor of the plans with Lisset Hanewicz, Richie Floyd and John Muhammad voting “no” because of the financials and pace of the process. The same three Council members voted against the final deal on Thursday.

In the measure were 12 legally binding agreements with municipal governments, the Rays and their development partners, Hines, to build the Historic Gas Plant District.

The move means the Rays will stay in St. Petersburg instead of moving to Tampa or another city, for the next three decades. The Rays called the campaign “Here to Stay.”

On Wednesday, in advance of the vote, Rays owner Stu Sternberg said regionwide support made it possible.

“The tent is only going to get much larger,” Sternberg said. “We need to convert those who had been naysayers. They don’t have to be rah-rah supporters, but if they can step back and accept what we’re trying to do and be part of it and be rewarded, that would go a long way. We need the entire region and the entire community.”

The Rays have played in Tropicana Field since they joined Major League Baseball in 1998. It is considered one of the worst venues in the big leagues.