Here’s how the Rays’ stadium deal will benefit St. Petersburg

For more than four decades, the promise of the Historic Gas Plant District has remained unfulfilled. The oft-repeated goals of economic development and job opportunities, including economic inclusion for the Black community, have yet to be achieved. It is time for that to change, and the proposed agreement that my administration has crafted with the Hines/Rays group and Pinellas County represents a clear and equitable path to that goal.

The Hines/Rays agreement framework is affordable, responsible and provides significant returns to the city, including 1,200 units of affordable and workforce housing, more than 30,000 construction jobs and an estimated 7,000 new, permanent jobs after construction. By partnering with the private sector, we essentially turn 60 acres of barren asphalt — underused for decades merely as a parking lot — into an engine for jobs, economic growth and housing.

We’re able to create this impactful transformation by partnering with Pinellas County and the Hines/Rays group. The city’s share of the stadium development is the lowest of the three partners, at about $287.5 million. The city will invest another $130 million in infrastructure (water, sewer, stormwater, etc.) to support the development of the roughly 60 acres of non-stadium development. In return for the city’s total capital investment of $417.5 million, the total development will return exponentially more to our city, including a projected $6.5 billion of capital investment, and more than $1 billion in sales and property taxes over the next 30 years. The wages generated, business development and job training will fuel wealth generation and poverty reduction for individuals and families throughout our city. The agreement makes financial sense.

As was required in our request for proposals last year, the promises to the Gas Plant community are fulfilled through this agreement, with $50 million in community benefits, including $10 million for the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, $25 million for minority business, workforce and community programs, and $15 million for affordable housing. The goal is to rebuild the Black business and community infrastructure that was destroyed when the Gas Plant was uprooted and disbanded, prepare our residents to take advantage of the thousands of jobs that will be created, and to bolster our Housing Opportunities for All plan.

As a child of the Gas Plant, I am keenly aware of the history of this neighborhood, and we’ve made that history foundational to our work to develop an agreement that will finally honor the promises of jobs and economic opportunity that the city made to the Gas Plant residents decades ago.

Before we issued our requests for proposals last year, we listened to the community. We held four community conversations to seek the public’s thoughts on what progress should look like through this development. Nearly 2,000 residents participated. Also, as I campaigned for mayor in 2021, I responded to many questions about what was then called the “Tropicana Field site,” and made it clear that partnership — with our City Council, County Commission and the Tampa Bay Rays — and the economic engine that it would create, was essential to honoring the promise of the Gas Plant, while positioning our city for inclusive economic growth. I also said that our capacity to partner was not unlimited, and that any future agreement would have to be balanced and provide real benefits to this city. This agreement meets all those criteria.

The agreement assigns cost overruns to the developers, assigns future stadium capital expenditures to the Rays, and has a firm timeline for the development of affordable housing, both on the 86 acres of the Historic Gas Plant District and elsewhere in the city. No new taxes or tax increases will be implemented to fund the city’s investment, and our capacity for supporting other capital projects remains strong as does our bond rating. The goal is 30% participation for minority and small businesses, which will keep these dollars at home in the St. Petersburg area.

This is one project, with multiple elements that work together to address several needs in our community. The multi-use stadium development on roughly 20 acres will serve as an anchor that will support the development of the remaining 60 acres, which will bring jobs, housing and economic and cultural opportunities. Combined, the project will create a destination for entertainment, commerce and business on the western edge of our downtown.

There are some who choose to isolate their focus on a particular part of the plan, without acknowledging the synergy of the plan’s various phases and components. For example, some argue that we should keep the land, and without a feasible plan of their own, simply want to say “no” to this (or any) public/private partnership that involves the Rays. Others criticize the funding plan that uses city bonds and the tax-exempt status of the stadium, even though for decades the same model has been used for the city’s contribution to Tropicana Field. To ignore the combined cost and benefit of the entire plan is a flawed approach, and a recipe for many more years of stagnation, the probable loss of the Tampa Bay Rays franchise in St. Petersburg and the loss of the equitable economic benefits of this plan.

I’m proud of my team’s proposal to move our city forward. Our process has been open, our public engagement robust, and the path forward is clear. As your mayor, I am confident in this plan, our partners, and the positive and transformative opportunity before us. It is time to act with intentionality and focus, and to fulfill the promise of the Historic Gas Plant District, and our great city.

Kenneth T. Welch is the mayor of St. Petersburg.

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