Plans Call For FL Waterfront Soccer Stadium To Be Demolished

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The city is considering a project that would demolish and redevelop Al Lang Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies professional soccer team, St. Pete Rising first reported.

The St. Petersburg Economic and Workforce Development Committee proposed Thursday exploratory plans for the site, which would create a Center for the Arts District and replace the stadium with an amphitheater for The Florida Orchestra and an activated waterfront park, reports said.

“We did go sort of take an artistic license, and we actually saw an opportunity to build or potentially build an outdoor amphitheater,” John Curran from city-hired architecture firm ASD Sky said during the meeting, according to WTSP. “Get sort of this outdoor music venue connected to the Center for the Arts and have the city of St. Petersburg use this space for any community activity, including the opportunity for outdoor music.”

• Also Read: Tampa Bay Rays Abandon $1.3B St. Pete Stadium Deal

The plan would also expand the Dali Museum and improve the Mahaffey Theater, both nearby, and include the creation of a new conference center, WFLA said.

If Al Lang Stadium were to be demolished, it would take place after 2028 in Phase II of the proposed plan, reports said. Demolishing the venue would need to be approved by a public referendum.

The stadium, which seats about 7,000 people, is nearly 80 years old and has a long history as a venue for baseball’s spring training season. Babe Ruth even once played at the stadium, previously known as Waterfront Park.

The Rowdies are owned by the Tampa Bay Rays, which recently backed out of a $1.3 billion deal to redevelop 86 acres in the Historic Gas Plant District, including the baseball team’s home base, Tropicana Field.

Neither team came up during the presentation, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

“It seems like they weren’t included at all,” council member Richie Floyd reportedly said. “I just wondered what the thought process was for what seems like a major partner there, for their future not to be implicated in this.”

Beth Herendeen, managing director of city development, assured him that she has spoken with Rowdies President Ryan Helfrick. They’re also working on a two-year lease renewal with the team, reports said.

“They’re involved and they’re aware,” she said.