Demolish a Ballpark to Save a Downtown?

While many cities are seeking to build large entertainment venues to revive their downtowns, St. Petersburg is taking the opposite track. Stephen Nohlgren examines whether Tropicana Field can be the city's next big urban mixed use development.

1 minute read

March 19, 2013, 7:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


"Thirty years ago, St. Petersburg took a leap of civic faith when it leveled a low-income neighborhood to attract a baseball team," writes Nohlgren. "Now Tropicana Field's 85 asphalt acres offer another chance for neighborhood rehabilitation — this time without baseball."

The national trend towards dense mixed-use development has arrived in this coastal Florida city, with developers and real estate experts eying the aging home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team as an ideal site for redevelopment.  "It's not very common to be able to put together that large a site for a master planned project anywhere in a desirable area like Florida,'' Larry Richey, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield said. "It's a special place.''

"The Tampa Bay Rays, wanting a new stadium elsewhere, have begun to tout the Trop's redevelopment potential as more valuable to the city than baseball," notes Nohlgren. "The city 'is sitting on an enormous piece of land in a rapidly growing downtown that is, frankly, lying fallow,'' Rays vice president Michael Kalt recently told the Pinellas County Commission."

"The remaining debt on the stadium 'pales in comparison to what can come from property and sales tax generation if you put that land to use,' he said."

Saturday, March 2, 2013 in Tampa Bay Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Boston Red Line train with skyline in background.

Massachusetts Budget Helps Close MBTA Budget Gap

The budget signed by Gov. Maura Healey includes $470 million in MBTA funding for the next fiscal year.

15 minutes ago - Smart Cities Dive

View down center of street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee Launches Vision Zero Plan

Seven years after the city signed its Complete Streets Policy, the city is doubling down on its efforts to eliminate traffic deaths.

1 hour ago - Urban Milwaukee

Street with parking protected bike lane and parked cars in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance

The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.

July 8 - Willamette Week

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA