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City to re-evaluate the Bayfront Center
By BRYAN GILMER
© St. Petersburg Times, ST. PETERSBURG -- The St. Petersburg City Council decided Thursday to look first at new uses for the Bayfront Center complex as it rethinks the future of more than 100 waterfront acres in southern downtown. That tract also contains the city's port, Albert Whitted Airport, a sewage treatment plant and the small Florida Power Park baseball stadium. One local architect has proposed replacing the airport with a new mixed-use neighborhood, and several council members wonder whether the area is being put to its best use. Thursday's discussion was the latest in a series that could stretch a year or more. A majority of council members said it is a bad idea to mess with Florida Power Park, home of Al Lang Field. The property is leased to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays until 2007. The baseball team has used it both for minor league baseball and for big league spring training, but it is currently used almost exclusively for spring training. So the council will begin by focusing on the 15-acre Bayfront Center, which contains the Mahaffey Theater, a 2,000-seat formal setting for concerts or plays, and the 5,600-seat Times Arena, designed for basketball, hockey and popular concerts but lately used only for the circus, high school graduations and other small-time gatherings. The complex requires $1.3-million in taxpayer money every year to make up its operating losses. City Council members John Bryan and James Bennett recently toured the complex. The Mahaffey section is in decent shape after a $26-million renovation in 1988. But the arena's roof leaks, its restrooms are outdated and it is unable to compete with other Tampa Bay area venues, Bryan said. "You'd be totally embarrassed if you walked into what they call a locker room," Bryan said in an interview earlier this week. The council agreed Thursday to invite representatives from the Mahaffey Theater Foundation and the University of South Florida to another chat about the center to be scheduled for September. One idea is that the university could take over the center and possibly replace the arena with a conference center building. But members said they also want to hear from other organizations or businesses that want to lease or redevelop the site. "Everybody who might have an interest in it should bring it to the table," council member Virginia Littrell said. Council member Richard Kriseman said he would be willing to consider lots of options for the arena, "from tearing it down and starting over to tearing out the seating and making it a big open space" for conventions or conferences. Also Thursday at City Hall: Mayor Rick Baker sent a half-inch-thick memo to council members supporting his staff's recommendation that a large national retail property manager replace the local firm that manages The Pier entertainment and shopping complex. The report includes a point-by-point comparison of the two firms showing why Baker believes that Urban Retail Properties Co. is a better choice than WHG Management Inc. Supporters of WHG are lobbying officials to leave the small local firm in charge.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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