St. Pete City Council approves Rays stadium bonds, deal is not dead

Image via Rays/Hines

St. Petersburg City Council has approved bonds as part of its agreement with the Tampa Bay Rays and developer Hines to build a new baseball stadium and redevelop the existing Tropicana Field site, also known as the Historic Gas Plant District.

The bonds approved Thursday evening include $287.5 million for the stadium and $142 million for the Gas Plant District.

The vote was 4-3, with Council members Gina Driscoll, Deborah Figgs-Sanders, Brandi Gabbard and Copley Gerdes voting “yes,” and Richie Floyd, Lisset Hanewicz and John Muhammad voting “no.”

The vote came after the Council, before Thanksgiving, delayed its bond vote two days after Pinellas County Commissioners also delayed it.

At the meeting, St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch updated City Council on his conversations with Rays leadership, including principal owner Stu Sternberg.

“There is consensus that the agreement that you all approved in July is valid and in effect,” he said.

That cleared up issues both City Council and the Pinellas County Commission had with the Rays after Rays President Brian Auld at the Nov. 21 St. Pete City Council meeting said the deal was dead. Welch said “significant issues do remain,” but added that his discussions with the team and Hines were “productive” and that “options are becoming clearer.”

St. Pete City Administrator Rob Gerdes added further clarity, noting that the city has been helping the Rays connect with other partners who may be able to help with what he described as “perceived” cost overruns on the part of the Rays, which could include things like naming rights or sponsorship opportunities. Gerdes, whose nephew is Copley Gerdes, did not specify how much the “funding gap” was.

The Rays had previously sent a letter to the Pinellas County Commission noting that because their bond resolution had been delayed, it would push a new stadium opening date from the 2028 baseball season to 2029 and create cost increases the team was not able to absorb. The agreement with the team stipulates that the team is responsible for any cost overruns.

Gabbard, who has consistently supported the stadium deal, defended her support for the bond resolution, arguing that by approving the bonds the city is “calling (the Rays’) bluff.”

“Hopefully the county will follow suit and then it will be up to the Rays to decide,” she said. “When they can’t perform it will be up to them to come back and say they can’t.”

That’s an important note because, under the approved contract with the Rays for the stadium and Gas Plant deal, the Rays forfeit land rights to the Gas Plant District if they back out of the agreement. If the city or county were to back out, the Rays could retain development rights at the site.

Hanewicz, who has been a consistent critic of the deal, struck a different tone, arguing that the Rays entered into a contract using language that “if it didn’t go their way they could get money.” She also criticized the Rays for not having representatives present at the meeting.

“It’s not an indication of a good partnership,” she said, though the City Administrator later noted that the Rays were prepared to send representation, but he told them he didn’t think their presence was necessary. Driscoll also later noted that she too told the team a representative’s presence was not necessary and further argued it may have been a distraction.

The latest vote reinvigorates those who support the stadium deal after just two weeks ago it appeared all but dead.

The Pinellas County Commission is scheduled to discuss its bond resolutions for the stadium deal at a meeting on Dec. 17. Its bonds, which apply only to the new stadium, total $312.5 million. That funding would come from the tourism development tax visitors pay on hotel and other lodging stays.