The Tampa Bay Rays have announced plans for a $1.3 billion stadium that allows the team to stay in St. Petersburgh for the foreseeable future.
The new stadium is scheduled to be completed ahead of Opening Day in 2028 and will be located at an 86-acre site, where Tropicana Field is currently located, as a redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District. The project will be completed by the Hines Historic Gas Partnership.
The stadium will seat 30,000 and can accommodate up to 35,000 for other events. There will be three seating levels, artificial turf, a fixed roof, operable walls, and a pavilion design.
The Rays will be paying for more than half of the ballpark, while Pinellas County and the City of St. Petersburgh will put up approximately $600 million in equal amounts. The agreement includes 15 to 20 acres (including the ballpark), and two event parking garages to be owned by Pinellas County, which will then be leased to the City of St. Petersburgh, and subleased to the Rays organization.
There will also be eight million square feet of mixed-use development around the new ballpark. This includes plans for an African-American museum of history on site.
The project will as a whole invest over $6.5 billion into the City of St. Petersburgh for over 20 years and provide over 4,000 construction jobs and 15,000 annual jobs across Pinellas County.
After 16 years of seeking a solution for their new ballpark, the Rays’ search has finally concluded. As they’re saying in St. Petersburgh, “Our Rays are here to stay”.
(Featured image via Tampa Bay Rays)
