Tropicana Field and the Historic Gas Plant District in St. Petersburg

The City of St. Petersburg chooses who leases, buys or develops the roughly 86 acre Historic Gas Plant District around Tropicana Field, and City Council must approve any final agreement before ground is broken there (City of St. Petersburg).

The land sits inside the Intown Community Redevelopment Area, which runs from the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel in the northeast to Tropicana Field in the southwest and includes the Historic Gas Plant District and the current Tropicana Field site (City of St. Petersburg Intown CRA). The City Council itself serves as the Community Redevelopment Agency for that district, a role delegated by the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners, and the same page says redevelopment of Tropicana Field is expected to begin in the next several years with a funding source from TIF designed to prepare the site.

State law sets the first step. Because the Gas Plant land is in a redevelopment area, Section 163.380 of the Florida Statutes requires a public notice stating that proposals must be made within 30 days after the date of publication (Florida Legislature). St. Petersburg followed that rule after it received an unsolicited proposal to redevelop the approximately 86 acres, announced on October 21, 2025 (City of St. Petersburg).

The neighborhood name comes from the city's own past. The city history page says Cooper's Quarters, roughly 1st to 5th Avenues South and 9th and 16th Streets South, later became known as the Gas Plant neighborhood for the two tall cylinders that held the city's natural gas supply (City of St. Petersburg). Tax increment money also helped build the dome: the Intown CRA page lists partial funding to construct Tropicana Field in the late 1980s among projects paid from district revenue (City of St. Petersburg).

On July 2, 2026, Mayor Welch selected The Burg Bid team for the larger portion of the Historic Gas Plant District and the Pinellas County Housing Authority for an affordable senior housing parcel on 3rd Avenue South.

The Burg Bid proposal includes the construction of more than 3,600 units of affordable and workforce housing, new public infrastructure, a large park dedicated to showcasing museums and other cultural landmarks, and a workforce training and small business success center (City of St. Petersburg, July 2, 2026). A later city release adds that plans for the Historic Gas Plant District include a new Woodson African American Museum and retail spaces (City of St. Petersburg, September 28, 2026).

The Pinellas County Housing Authority was selected for the 1659 3rd Ave. S parcel, where it proposes a seven-story, 80-unit affordable senior housing community aimed at lower-income seniors, with preference for seniors who formerly resided in the Historic Gas Plant District (City of St. Petersburg). The city says it judged every proposal against four community priorities: jobs, housing, economic opportunity, and honoring the promises made to the community when the land was first acquired.

The list above comes from the city project page, which also keeps the 2022 request for proposals submissions, among them the Hines and Tampa Bay Rays proposal (City of St. Petersburg).

The St. Petersburg selection ran just over eight months, from the October 21, 2025 notice of an unsolicited proposal to the July 2, 2026 announcement, with a 30 day proposal window and a public meeting with shortlisted developers in between.

The proposal window was open from Sunday, January 4, through 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 (City of St. Petersburg). On March 31 the city said City staff evaluators have completed an initial review of the submissions, that the first phase of an Urban Land Institute study would start in April, and that a 30-day input session would follow the April 30 meeting at The Coliseum, 535 4th Ave. N (City of St. Petersburg).

The March plan named June 2026 for the Mayor's pick; the announcement came on July 2, 2026, a few weeks later. The city also said the Community Benefits Advisory Council would hold two July meetings and that next steps after them would be announced later in 2026. The last public event so far was the October 14 City Hall on Tour at The Coliseum, which the city said would let residents talk with members of The Burg Bid team (City of St. Petersburg).

The Tampa Bay Rays announced on March 13, 2025 that they would not move forward with a new ballpark as part of a redeveloped Historic Gas Plant District in St. Petersburg.

The decision on the St. Petersburg ballpark was announced by the club itself: a statement from principal owner Stuart Sternberg, posted on the Rays' social media accounts and carried by MLB.com, said the team had concluded it cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this moment, and blamed a series of events beginning in October (MLB.com, March 13, 2025).

The Hines and Tampa Bay Rays proposal from the 2022 request for proposals is still posted with its executive summary, full presentation and response to clarifying questions on the St. Petersburg project page, beside three other 2022 submissions and the 2026 list (City of St. Petersburg). The 2026 process is a separate competition under the state notice rule, and the July 2, 2026 release on the selections lists housing, a museum park and a workforce center without mentioning a stadium (City of St. Petersburg).

Tropicana Field was repaired after Hurricane Milton with $59,699,513.82 approved by the St. Petersburg City Council, and the city scheduled substantial completion for March 2026.

The city says the stadium roof was damaged during Hurricane Milton in October 2024 and that crews installed the final roof panel the week of November 21, 2025, ahead of schedule, with all repairs then scheduled to be complete by April 2026 (City of St. Petersburg). The city release gives the repair sequence: July 2025 mobilization, August 2025 roof replacement begins, November 2025 roof complete and interior repairs begin, December 2025 audio system, backstop netting and outfield wall padding, January 2026 turf installation, March 2026 substantial completion.

After the roof, the city said, contractors would focus on internal repairs such as turf installation, audio visual repairs and replacement, and sports lighting. The same release states why the city pays: the City is obligated to diligently pursue repairs to make the stadium suitable for Tampa Bay Rays home games again (City of St. Petersburg). The release does not state how long the Rays use agreement runs, and no city or county page checked for this guide does.

The repaired dome is hosting postseason baseball in 2026. A city guide updated October 9, 2026 said fans at the ALDS arrived early and enjoyed Tropicana Field, and that Game 1 of the American League Championship Series starts Monday, October 12 at 8 p.m., with Game 2 on Tuesday, October 13 at 8 p.m. (City of St. Petersburg).

For the 2026 playoffs, St. Petersburg made on-site parking at Tropicana Field fully prepaid and pointed fans without a pass to off-site lots and garages, a free Baseball Shuttle, the SunRunner and set rideshare zones.

The city guide said on-site parking will be 100 percent prepaid, so drivers without a Rays parking pass should avoid the roads immediately around the ballpark, and it noted a new 540-space garage that recently opened at 1301 Central Ave. within walking distance (City of St. Petersburg, October 9, 2026). The free Baseball Shuttle starts 3 hours before the game and runs until 2 hours after it ends, about every 5 minutes, from stops on 2nd St. S between Central Ave. and 1st Ave. S and on 16th St. just south of 3rd Ave. S; trolleys on the route carry a wheelchair lift. The guide also warns that the stop leaves a one-mile walk to the stadium, and says the shuttle operates for every playoff game.

The SunRunner, the PSTA bus rapid transit line from St. Pete Beach, stops near the stadium at 1st Ave. S at 13th St. eastbound and 1st Ave. N and 13th St. westbound, and service runs until midnight; the guide says it runs every 15 minutes at peak times and that PSTA will be adding additional buses. Uber and Lyft pick-up and drop-off zones are on 4th Ave. S by Lot 7 and on 17th St. S by Lot 3 (City of St. Petersburg). Those rules were written for the 2026 postseason, and the guide treats the Rays as the seller of on-site parking passes, which must be bought in advance.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, against the City of St. Petersburg Historic Gas Plant District page, seven city news releases, Section 163.380 of the Florida Statutes and the Rays statement on MLB.com.