Council errors plague debate on new stadium
A Times EditorialPublished February 11, 2008
Let's be honest. Persuading St. Petersburg residents to tear down a perfectly good baseball stadium built and operated at taxpayer expense and to build a new one on the downtown waterfront would be a tough sell. So when Mayor Rick Baker and his staff chose to begin the process in secrecy, it set the wrong tone from the start. Now the City Council, which will make the final decision on whether to ask voters to approve a stadium plan, has added to the growing public distrust about the politics behind the project and the lack of transparency at City Hall.
On Thursday, the council passed a resolution that directs Baker's staff to gather public input not only on the Rays proposal but also on what to do with Al Lang Field if that plan falls through. There is nothing wrong with including the public, finally, in the process - except that the council once again broke a promise.
On at least two occasions, the council said it would acknowledge the public sentiment to designate Al Lang as a park and to immediately begin the process. The stadium will no longer be used by the Rays for spring training after this season. Last year, the council went along with a staff recommendation against a park designation for the historic ballfield during a rewrite of the city's land development regulations. Then they learned that the staff had purposely withheld the fact that the Rays were looking at the site for their new stadium. When the truth came out, some residents were outraged and the council vowed to correct the zoning decision.
Yet when the council has had opportunities to do so, it has weaseled out. When it finally did act, it took a less than direct approach. Under the resolution passed Thursday, the city will study the possible uses for Al Lang, "including but not limited to the potential for converting the site into a public park." That process will take another couple of months to complete.
Practically speaking, the zoning issue will have little or no impact on whether the Rays go forward with their plans. Voters will have the ultimate say, because a referendum would be required to build a new stadium on the site regardless of the zoning designation. Had the council announced all along it would follow a deliberative procedure on coming to a zoning decision on the Al Lang site, the public probably would have accepted it. But the council promised clarity and quick action, and it never delivered. Council member James Bennett predicted that when the time comes, the council will unanimously choose to make Al Lang park land. If that's the case, what's the delay? Just vote.
In the big picture, the most pressing issue is not which zoning category is right for Al Lang or what should become of the property once the Tampa Bay Rays end training there - particularly if the Rays' vision of a new waterfront stadium turns out to be infeasible. The most pressing issue is the damage the city staff and council are causing to public confidence in local government by failing to be candid or fulfill public promises. Their lack of openness and follow-through is needlessly fueling public skepticism and giving their critics a rallying cry just as St. Petersburg approaches an important public conversation about baseball stadiums and downtown development.