St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has selected the Tampa Bay Rays led redevelopment bid for the land surrounding Tropicana Field.
As a consequence, the Rays plan for a new stadium in the somewhat isolated city within the greater Tampa Bay area has been selected, clearing the way for the Rays to stay in their current stadium location.
Tropicana Field sits on a previously a flourishing, historically Black neighborhood in St. Petersburg called the Gas Plant District, and Mayor Welch — who is Black and had family who lived in this neighborhood — put restorative justice at the center of the request for proposals and his speech on selecting the Tampa Bay Rays proposal.