St. Pete is now officially looking for a firm to develop a master plan for the Tropicana Field site. The City released a Request for Qualifications Tuesday with emphasis on creating a plan that includes a new baseball stadium.
“It is the goal of the City, through this planning process, to show the assets and potential of the site to the Rays and to articulate the economic development and job creating strength of this development,” the request reads.
City Council recently approved a deal brokered between Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Tampa Bay Rays allowing them to search outside of St. Pete in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties for a new stadium location. However, the city has said it is a top priority to market the city to the Rays as the best place to continue playing baseball.
Part of the agreement requires the major league baseball team to pay for the creation of a master plan up to $100,000.
The city said the chosen firm should address in its plan all six of the Rays announced priorities on a new stadium site. Those include a catalyst for development, local authenticity, regional connectivity, site accessibility, size and geometry and financial feasibility and development readiness.
The plan also highlights fifteen areas that should be addressed in a final master plan. Those include things like the inclusion of multimodal transportation, market analysis and feasibility studies, urban and architectural design that emphasizes a healthy lifestyle, inclusion of streetscaping and public art.
The plan would also include a small to medium-sized convention center or exhibit space.
The city asks that the chosen firm look at the site’s economic impact including job creation and incorporate small business enterprises into the plan. They also list as a priority proper integration of the site into the surrounding community.
The chosen firm would also be required to develop preliminary site plans while the City awaits a decision from the Tampa Bay Rays on where they will call home. The team has three years to make that decision. The preliminary plans would include, among other things, pre-construction phases for the rest of the project.
The chosen firm would have until September 30 to develop a master plan including a stadium.
The RFQ also lists a second scenario in which a plan may need to be prepared without a stadium. However, there are no listed specific criteria for that project in the current RFQ document.
Submissions are due by 4:00 p.m. March 25. Firms will attend a pre-proposal meeting March 4. On April 7, a selection committee will shortlist the submissions. Those remaining teams will present to the selection committee April 21, with a final ranking issued that same day.
Contract negotiations are expected in May. City Council would be set to approve the final recommendation sometime in June.
The RFQ states that the importance of this plan can “hardly be overstated.”
“It is a once in a generation chance to create new opportunities for growth and economic development.”
