Tropicana Field in St. Pete is showing its age. The debate of where to put a new stadium has been debated for years, but it seems a decision has finally been made. The Tampa Bay Rays and the City of St. Petersburg held a joint news conference this morning to announce their deal for a new ballpark. It’ll be built next to The Trop.
The big thing that has held up the process for years is … who will pay for this? It looks like the Rays and the city struck close to a 50/50 deal. The Rays will pay for half of the $1.3 billion cost. The city and county will pitch in about the same.
The new stadium will hold about 30,000 for Rays games. An additional 5,000 seats will be able to be used for other events. The redevelopment isn’t limited to the baseball stadium. There will be new residential units, senior housing, space for businesses, hotels, and even a new museum. Where Tropicana Field is now will be converted to parking space.
So what will the new neighborhood look like once the work is done in about 5 years? Global architecture, design, and planning firm Gensler shared these photos with us. Looks incredible!