The St. Petersburg City Council has taken a creative step toward breaking the destructive stadium stalemate with the Tampa Bay Rays. The council’s vote Thursday to ask Mayor Rick Kriseman to seek an Urban Land Institute study of Tropicana Field’s redevelopment potential is positive movement, and Kriseman should pursue this option. The study should not be an excuse for further delay in allowing the Rays to look in both Pinellas and Hillsborough for stadium sites, but it could advance public discussions about the future of the valuable Trop site with or without a new stadium.
ULI experts would engage the community in a detailed discussion about the future of the Trop’s 85 acres, drawing on experiences from around the country about residential and retail construction, academic, medical and cultural complexes, green space, affordable housing and other development. With the Rays agreeing to participate and pay half the cost, and the business community chipping in, the study would sharpen the focus on defining the city’s best interests.