There exists a rare opportunity to create something the Tampa Bay area has never seen before; a world class baseball venue at the site of Al Lang Field and the most vibrant and innovative mixed-use urban district in the region.
Although the Rays are the first Major League Baseball team to host regular season games in the area, Tampa Bay's big league roots go back nearly a century. The rich history of baseball in St. Petersburg began in 1914 when former mayor Al Lang convinced Branch Rickey to move his St. Louis Browns to the city for spring training. Since then, nine teams have trained in the city and numerous Hall of Famers, including Babe Ruth and Stan Musial, have called St. Petersburg their spring home. The Tampa Bay Rays have made their home at Tropicana Field since 1998.
Downtown St. Petersburg is alive with artistic, entertainment and economic activity and its revitalization continues through a variety of commercial, residential, retail and cultural projects. It hosts an array of cultural amenities such as art galleries and museums, including the Salvador Dali Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg Campus, numerous marine institutes and the All Children's Research Center.
The Rays’ new ballpark and redevelopment of Tropicana Field will link downtown’s existing downtown amenities, enhance its unique sense of place, and raise the profile of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County nationwide.
The Rays’ new ballpark and the redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site will bring incredible benefits to the City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay area. Together, these projects will:
- Activate downtown and waterfront.
- Bring baseball back to the bay and generating over 2 million annual visitors to downtown St. Petersburg.
- Expand economic opportunity for area residents by providing over 2,500 new permanent jobs, 10,000 construction jobs, and creating new workforce housing.
- Generate tens of millions of dollars in increased tax revenues for the City, County, and School District through over $1 billion in private investments.
- Create new publicly-accessible open spaces along the waterfront and on the Tropicana Field site.
- Provide new and unique retail amenities in Pinellas County by creating a regional retail destination.
- Serve as a national example for environmentally friendly and sustainable design.
The financing details are still being formulated, but the project will be a huge financial net positive for the City and County. The ballpark will be funded through a private contribution from the Rays and a portion of the value created from redeveloping the Tropicana Field site. It is important to note that no new taxes will be levied and no funds that could otherwise be used to support city or county services will be used to fund the ballpark.
