St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman plans to narrow down the list of finalists to develop the Tropicana Field site by the end of the week.
In a memo to St. Petersburg City Council members on Friday, Kriseman said he intends to choose two developers out of the four finalists that submitted redevelopment proposals.
"I expect to make this selection within 7 days from the date of this memo," Kriseman wrote.
Kriseman's announcement comes a month after the St. Petersburg City Council approved a resolution asking Kriseman to delay a final selection until after the Rays' future is determined.
Kriseman urged in the memo that not moving forward with a redevelopment plan would "delay the creation of thousands of good-paying jobs" and hinder the city's efforts to build more affordable housing, while preventing "the City and Rays from reaching an agreement keeping the team in St. Petersburg for the long-term future."
The selection of the two finalists culminates a nearly five-year effort to explore options for redeveloping the stadium site, with or without a stadium.
The Tampa Bay Rays have explored options to relocate with their lease at Tropicana Field expiring in 2027, including selecting Ybor City as a potential stadium site in 2018. It abandoned that effort later in the year.
The city issued a request for proposal (RFP) for public-private partnerships in June 2020 to turn the site into a mixed-use development.
Kriseman unveiled seven proposals for the site in January, and narrowed the field to four in March:
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Midtown Development
Portman Holdings - Third Lake Partners
JMA Ventures/Sugar Hill Community Partners
Unicorp National Development
Kriseman is selecting the finalists following input from community groups and residents who took part in public discussions, including virtual meetings, in-person "immersive showrooms" that included summaries of the proposals along with renderings, and an online form where residents could leave comments.
Kriseman said in the memo he plans to meet again with the two finalists to discuss their plans and solicit more input.
"The community, council members, city staff, and the Rays will be asked to provide strengths and weaknesses of the remaining two proposals for my consideration, so that I may have sufficient feedback prior to deciding which developer is best suited for this redevelopment project," Kriseman wrote.
Kriseman said the final selection will continue as negotiations continue with the Rays "over a new lease or use agreement, in addition to a financing plan for construction of a new stadium."
WUSF staff writer Bradley George contributed to this report.
