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Take me out to ... the giant sail
The Rays envision a ballpark that would maximize views of the water and St. Petersburg’s skyline and would include a sail-like cover, anchored to a 320-foot-tall mast that could be used when it rains. “I like to think of it as a convertible top,” Rays president Matt Silverman said.
By TIMES STAFF
Published November 29, 2007
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| [Courtesy of Rays] Artist rendering of the new stadium. |
Ball Park
The vision:
When would it be finished?
If all goes according to plan, city voters would approve the deal in an election in November 2008, construction would start in spring 2009 and the stadium would open in spring 2012.
Timetable:
• November 2008: Public referendum
• March 2009: Groundbreaking at Tropicana Field site
• May 2009: Groundbreaking at Al Lang site
• March 2011: First phase of Tropicana site completed, with current ballpark still on site for 2011 season
• April 2012: New ballpark completed
 | The stadium would include not a single brick, making it one of the first of the new baseball parks to shun the popular “retro” style. |
| [Courtesy of Rays] | |
| The mast would support the sail-like covering and be a distinctive architectural touch. |  |
| | [Courtesy of Rays] |
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| [Courtesy of Rays] Near the stadium would be retail space, a small parking garage and a park. 
"We're talking about a major-league downtown." – Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg during a meeting with the Times editorial board, where he previewed the concept
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What are its defining features?
It would be the first baseball stadium in the country with a fabric, sail-like covering. It would provide shade and some rain protection and could be retracted in eight minutes. Some home runs to rightfield would land in Tampa Bay. The stadium would be built without a single brick, bucking the “retro” ballpark trend. A 2-acre park would be built north of the stadium.
Other features of the park:
• Goal was to design an iconic piece of architecture that wouldn’t overwhelm the waterfront or downtown
• Convertible top can be deployed in eight minutes
• Convertible top would be 200 feet above second base
• 10,000-seat upper deck
• Concourses would be air conditioned
• Ceiling fans and misters would be used throughout
• Rightfield line: 320 feet
• Power alley: 350 feet
Other features of the site:
It’s going to be tight, but by reorienting the field – so rightfield abuts the water – and extending Bayshore Drive into the bay it can fit with standard dimensions. To make it work, there would be no seats from the rightfield foul pole across to left-centerfield.
• 15 acres would include ballpark, 45,000 square feet of retail space, small parking garage, terraced park on the north side
• Encroaches 0.6 acres into Tampa Bay
• Would reroute Bayshore Boulevard
• Seeks to link crescent of public amenities along St. Petersburg’s waterfront
Tropicana Field
The vision
What would be built?
The developers envision a few major big-box retailers, including an outdoors merchandise store. A new park would be built along Booker Creek, and 900 residences would be constructed in the first phase. Several streets would mix smaller retail stores with housing, and the street grid interrupted by the Trop would be reconnected.
| The developer envisions a family entertainment area west of Booker Creek. |  |
| | [Courtesy of Rays] |
Who would pay for it?
Private developers would bid to purchase the land, and the revenue would help pay for the team’s new waterfront ballpark. Some of the taxes generated by the development would also be used to pay off the stadium. The Rays estimate the value of the completed Tropicana project to be as high as $700-million.
Is this project viable in this economic climate?
The Rays asked Hines Interests of Houston, a major developer, to advise them on development options. The city says the area can support significantly more retail development.
Details
• 85 acres
• 1-million square feet of retail space
• Outdoor retailer would anchor the site
• 900 housing units
• 14-acre park along Booker Creek
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| [Courtesy of Rays] Aerial view of Tropicana Field site. |
The Corridor: Hopes for downtown
 | Looking east on Second Avenue S, residences and green space replace the stadium and parking areas. |
| [Courtesy of Rays] | |
The vision:
• With a new stadium at the site of Progress Energy Park on the east end of downtown and a major mixed-use development at the site of Tropicana Field on the western edge, the team hopes to spark development in between.
• The streetscape interrupted by Tropicana Field would be reconnected, creating a more pedestrian-friendly downtown.
•Third Avenue S would become a “Main Street’’ style mix of retail and residential.
| An artist sees what is currently the Third Avenue S promenade leading to the Tropicana Field rotunda as a tree-lined retail strip with outdoor eating and trolleys. |  |
| | [Courtesy of Rays] |
[Last modified November 29, 2007, 06:51:56]
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