Mayor says Gas Plant redevelopment to continue despite Rays rejecting stadium deal

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch says the city will continue to pursue the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District despite the Tampa Bay Rays walking away from an agreement to build a new stadium and to redevelop the property.

In a statement issued shortly after the team announced its decision to abandon its stadium plans Thursday, Welch says that the end of the ballpark is “not end of the Historic Gas Plant District story.” Despite the setback, he says, the administration will look at “all avenues that will help us deliver on our ultimate goal.”

That goal: “utilizing the HGPD property to benefit the community and fulfilling the 40-year-old promises of economic development and opportunity made to the African-American community in St. Petersburg, as well as the community priorities identified through the current development process, which began in 2022.”