Frequently Asked Questions
How will we pay for a new stadium?
The stadium will cost 450M to construct. It will be paid for through five different facets:
The Rays will make a 150M private contribution, Archstone Madison will buy the Tropicana land for 70M to retire the debt, parking revenue from the new ballpark will generate 55M, while the extension of the tourist tax and city tax will pay the remaining 175M (100M and 75M respectively). It is important to note two things. The first is no additional taxes will be levied on taxpayers as a result of building the ballpark and any cost overruns are guaranteed to be picked up by the Rays.
What’s wrong with Tropicana Field?
Tropicana is 18 years old. It was built as a multi-use facility, not a baseball stadium and it sat vacant for 8 years before the Rays committed to St Petersburg. The Rays have invested $20 million into improving Tropicana Field. Maintenance on the property will continue to be costly. There is a window of opportunity with the Al Lang site opening to move. Right now, baseball consumes 100 acres of land in downtown St Petersburg if you combine 86 acres at Tropicana and 14 acres at Al Lang. The issue becomes, not what is wrong with Tropicana, but can Tropicana’s prime downtown location with direct Interstate access be put to better use as a retail/residential development. Putting Tropicana back on the tax rolls will generate millions of dollars that will go directly to our public schools.
What are they planning on doing with Tropicana Field?
Archstone Madison is one of three internationally recognized developers that bid to purchase Tropicana Field and redevelop it. In June, the city narrowed the negotiations down to Archstone. Archstone has proposed a 1.2 billion dollar development of retail, residential and office space, Phase 1 of the development calls for 800,000 square feet
of retail and 500 apartments as well as an entertainment complex to include a niche movie theater, bowling alley and restaurants.
Why the waterfront for a new baseball stadium?
This is the Rays’ final spring training season at Al Lang. They moved their spring training to Port Charlotte in an effort to expand their regional fan base. That will leave Al Lang without a MLB team for the first time in nearly 100 years. Al Lang has a rich history of baseball that began in 1914 with the St Louis Browns and continued with the New York Yankees and St Louis Cardinals. Fans for Waterfront Stadium believe there is no better way to honor that past than to ensure baseball is part of the site’s future. It also is an ideal location to showcase St Petersburg’s postcard perfect waterfront on television for 81 games a year, driving tourism.
Will an open-air stadium be too hot?
The proposed 320 foot tall mast with a fabric sail will cover the field during the heat of the day. The sail will be used to protect against rain outs as well as reduce heat. Climate experts hired by the Rays estimate temperatures will be 7-9 degrees cooler because of the sail. Most games are already played at night. The Rays’ plan also calls for “cooling stations” as well as air conditioned bathrooms and walkways. Tampa Bay’s average high in July is 90 degrees with average rainfall of 6.7 inches. By comparison, Chicago’s average high is 84.4 degrees with 3.7 inches of rain. New York City records an average high of 84.2 degrees with 4.6 inches of rain in July while St Louis’ average high is 89.8 with 3.9 inches of rain.
Where will I park?
Two parking studies, one conducted by RK&K and the other by the city, confirms that there is sufficient parking in downtown. Currently, every car at Tropicana Field enters and exits from one parking lot, adding to congestion. Parking at the new ballpark will be spread out throughout downtown, thus reducing congestion. In addition pre-paid parking passes will be sold with tickets so fans will know exactly where they are parking. It is also important to note the economic opportunity institutions (such as USF) and parking lot operators will have, as a result of the new ballpark. Otherwise empty parking spaces in the middle of the summer will now be opened for use, thus contributing thousands of dollars to these institutions and parking lot owners.
How will this improve tourism?
Our beautiful waterfront will be on display across different cities around the country 81 nights per year. As a result, St. Petersburg will become more viable in competing for tourism dollars. It is very fair to say that fans from opposing teams will visit St. Petersburg while their favorite teams are in town playing the Rays, frequenting beaches and other tourist attractions in the bay area. In addition, Major League baseball has guaranteed an All-Star game , which was watched last year by 30 million viewers globally.
MISCONCEPTIONS
With the real estate market in a slump, is now the time to develop downtown?
Real estate markets go in cycles. The Ray’s earliest projection for vacating Tropicana for a new stadium is Spring 2012. Market conditions in that time will change. Developer’s would not invest the expense into coming up with a proposal much less the financing it will require to complete the project if they didn’t think downtown St Petersburg was viable. Some facts developers may be considering are the lack of retail choices in Pinellas County. According to a St Petersburg Times article on December 5, 2007 “Hillsborough has the retail hook”, the merchandise and sales deficit between Pinellas and Hillsborough is $1.3 billion. Pinellas residents crossing the bridge to shop in Tampa cost the city of St Petersburg $2.2 million and Pinellas County $12 million in lost sales taxes last year.
Why should we believe that a new stadium will benefit and transform the economy of the city? The same promises of economic revitalization were never actualized with the development of Tropicana field.
There is a difference between building a ballpark to attract a team (and waiting 7 years to get one) and building a ballpark to maintain an existing team. The unmet promises of Tropicana field have more to do with the strategy to build a multipurpose, utilitarian stadium that unfortunately was outdated by the time the Rays were acquired.
Additionally, the current timing for redevelopment is more beneficial than in the past as St Petersburg is at a pivotal position economically and culturally. The renaissance of this city is already underway. The timing of this opportunity could not be more appropriate.
Shouldn't we protect the waterfront? Are the Rays planning on building this stadium on a public park?
There is already a vacant stadium on the waterfront. The land where Al Lang Field currently sits has been home to a waterfront ballpark in St Petersburg since 1922. The Rays want to build a ballpark on the same grounds where this vacant stadium currently exists. It would honor the tradition of all of the baseball legends such as Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, etc., who played on that field.
Won’t the new stadium fill in a large portion of the Bay and damage the environment?
They project calls for filling in 4/10 of an acre of the bay in a marina that already has heavy boat traffic and negligible vegetation to support sea life. Still, the Army Corps of Engineers must oversee the permitting process and mitigate any environmental concerns. Read St Pete Times Outdoor Editor Terry Tomlin’s column on how this project will actually improve the environment/waterfront. Click here to read article >>
Isn’t Tropicana Field Contaminated? I heard it will cost millions of tax dollars to clean up?
The 86 acres that make up Tropicana Field went through extensive remediation in the 1980’s to clean up after a former Gas Plant. The site has been given a clean bill of health from the Department of Environmental Protection, which continues to moniter the site. City staff has determined it will cost approximately $98,000 to make the site meet new environmental standards for a mixed-use development. That clean up cost must be factored into negotiations with the developer.
Why should we give our most valuable waterfront land away to private developers for private use?
AL Lang Field is owned by the city and was leased to the Rays for Spring Training. If voters approve a new lease agreement to build an open-air stadium on the site of Al Lang. it will continue to be publicly-owned and leased to the Rays. What better public use than attracting 2 million visitors a year to the ballpark to take in a game?
Why should we believe anything the Rays owners say?
Since taking over in 2005, the current ownership group has delivered on every promise they have made and been a valuable community partner. They invested 20M into Tropicana Field for improvements, have several grants throughout the community, have been very charitably inclined, increased payroll to now become one of the best teams in all of Major League baseball. Little things that add up such as free parking for two years and allowing fans to bring in their own snacks into games is unprecedented around Major League baseball. In addition, willing to invest 150M of their own money into the new ballpark proves they are serious about investing and partnering with the city of St. Petersburg for the long-term.
Isn’t the $150 million the Rays are putting toward a new stadium just pre-paid rent?
The Rays are investing 150M into the construction of the new ballpark. It is not rent payments as the city and Rays are still negotiating what the rent will be under the new lease agreement. The 150M is part of the 450M construction costs for the new ballpark.
The city and county are cutting services. Firefighters and police are working with out contracts. Can’t we use the money to help offset some of these cutbacks for essential services instead of building another stadium?
By re-developing the Tropicana site, this is exactly what the city needs in terms of found money that can help the firefighters and police immediately. When ground is broken in 2009 on the Tropicana site, it immediately goes back onto the tax rolls. By the Rays committing not to use property tax dollars as part of the financing plan, the dollars raised by the re-development will immediately go back into public services. This includes our school system, where there will be a projected 70M in todays’ dollars invested back into our public school system.
I heard the stadium will cut off road access to the waterfront, killing the Grand Prix?
Simply not the case. The Rays offices will be located on the opposite end of the Grand Prix track on Bayshore Boulevard, thus ensuring that the Grand Prix will be a fixture of St. Petersburg for years to come.
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