Rays And City Of St. Pete Can't Reach Tropicana Site Compromise

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Plans to build housing and businesses on sections of the Tropicana Field site, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, are in the works. But St. Petersburg leaders and the ball club have yet to agree on how to plan and oversee the redevelopment.

Kriseman wants the community's input about proposals that are up for review. On Tuesday, the city posted the proposals to the city's website and comments are allowed. The submission plans from the developers who are finalists will give St. Pete residents an idea of what they plan to build during the redevelopment phase.

Mayor Rick Kriseman told reporters at Tropicana Field on Tuesday that the city has accepted seven out of nine redevelopment plans for a local team of 27 to review.

The plans include developments with the Rays and without the Rays. Currently, the city of St. Petersburg and the team have not been able to agree on 2028 terms concerning ownership and property rights of the Tropicana Field.

"Five years ago, and as recently as this past year, we encouraged the Rays to respond to
the RFP when it was issued or in the alternative to partner with a developer in response to the RFP," Kriseman told reporters. "And even after I informed the Rays that I would not object to their exploring a split season for 2028 and beyond, provided the city did not spend any of its general revenue funds for capital improvements funds on the construction of the stadium — for reasons of their own choosing, the Rays decided against responding to the RFP or partnering with a developer who was responding."

Instead, the Rays put an offer on the table that Kriseman said would affect the community and the bids. The Rays asked the city to put aside about 50 acres of the site, specifically the land to the east of Booker Creek, and roughly 14 of the 50 acres would be parkland.

The remaining land would be owned by the Rays, and the city would receive no financial interest from transferring ownership of the land to the organization. Neither would the city receive development proceeds on the land as it was developed. The Rays would pertain 100 percent of the proceeds.

The remaining land west of Booker Creek, the Rays have asked for 50 percent of profits from the
development proceeds.

"If we were to accept this offer, because the Rays would have control over the 36 acres east of Booker Creek, which represents about 40 percent of the total site, we would have to reject all of the RFP responses, and then we'd have to re-issue a RFP for the remaining 36 acres located west of Booker Creek," Kriseman said. "But of even greater concern, the moment the city turns complete and total control of the 36 acres over to the Rays, the city loses all ability and authority to ensure that the community's voice is heard, that the history of the site, the unkempt promises are fulfilled."

Kriseman wants the Rays, the chosen developer, and the city to all work together so the Rays stay in St. Petersburg.

Alan DeLisle, city development administrator, discussed the process and timeline of the proposals. He said there are three time components to this: the pre-redevelopment proposal that included 3-year research on the impact of transportation, community interviews and community benefits; creating the redevelopment proposal guidelines; and the final redevelopment proposal.

"Not everybody can do this project," DeLisle said. "This is a big project, national in scope. It requires a special, unique team of individuals that come together, and that has happened. We can't wait to release those proposals to you so you can all take a look and determine what you think."

St. Petersburg-based developers offered some of the redevelopment proposals chosen for review. Each applicant will be reviewed based on strengths, weaknesses, who is involved in the community and other variables, according to Kriseman. Twenty-one priorities were required to be met on the redevelopment proposal submissions. Affordable housing, green space, historic perspectives, South St. Pete benefits, small-business involvement, a hotel with convention space are some of the priorities built into the proposal.

Another task the city faces on the land is hiring an archaeology team to research the Black
cemetery that is under Tropicana Field. DeLisle said this will be put in order before going forward with the development and will be done sometime in 2021.

Kriseman's eight-year term ends in November and this project will likely exceed what is left
of his term. He has not spoken with any of the mayoral candidates about continuing his plans for the site.

"Whether it happens while I'm here or not, I'm going to do everything I can to move us
toward that goal. And those objectives to creating those jobs, to creating opportunity, to bringing housing that's affordable to the community, of restoring the promises that were never kept, of
honoring the history of the site."

Kriseman got into hot water last week with the city council about bringing in an outside source at $180,000 to help with the Tropicana Field redevelopment proposals.

The St. Petersburg City Council did not support Kriseman's idea of hiring HR&A to evaluate proposals, assist the city in preparing for interviews with shortlisted firms, perform a fiscal impact analysis and negotiate.

Councilman Ed Montanari said they need to be totally informed before they move ahead. Other council members expressed concern last week because they had not seen these proposals, one-on-one meetings were not held nor was there a presentation review.

Councilwoman Deborah Figg-Sanders stressed the importance of including the Black community since so many Black people were displaced when the Tropicana site was built in the 1970s. She mentioned the church where she was baptized was lost to the site.

"So when I hear things like 'outside expertise', I don't need outside expertise, I need the city of St. Petersburg and the Black folks that was dislocated expertise," Figg-Sanders said.

Kriseman said he wanted to bring in an outsider because they would look at the proposals with a different point of view and look at details that the city might not have considered.

Other council members said the proposal seemed rushed but Kriseman said the opposite.

"This is a process that's been going on for four or five years. This isn't something we just started a year ago," Kriseman said. "If you think back when we had master-planning sessions, and we had a master plan consultant that was brought in specifically with Nikki and Watson Haynes helping us to make sure that whoever we brought in to begin that process took the history of the site."

Another red flag for the city council members is that no one knows what the Tampa Bay Rays plan to do in 2027 when their contract with the Tropicana Field ends. It is unknown if the team is staying or going.