Is it stadium or bust for St. Pete mayor’s new approach to Trop site?

Ken Welch says proposals must include a ballpark, but the Tampa Bay Rays are mum on the matter.

By Business Observer Staff
| 4:23 p.m. June 30, 2022

Wikimedia/Vmartin12. The Tampa Bay Rays' lease at Tropicana Field expires in 2027.

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

An intriguing tidbit from St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch’s decision this week to restart the Tropicana Field RFP process is the proviso that new proposals for the 86-acre site should include plans for a baseball stadium. That’s a significant departure from Welch’s predecessor, Rick Kriseman, who, because of lingering uncertainty about the Tampa Bay Rays’ intentions, called for developers to submit two sets of plans for the property — one with a ballpark and one without.