Ken Welch

The Pinellas County Commission vote culminated an arduous two-year journey that most recently began after St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said he wanted to start over with the plan to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District.

The St. Petersburg City Council will decide on a redevelopment project that would provide the Rays with a new stadium and transform the Historic Gas Plant District.

The city and Duke Energy announced the Renter Utility Relief Program at a news conference Friday. This plan will help renters pay electric, sanitation and water bills that are past due.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch provided a brief update on the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District and the new baseball stadium at the annual State of the City address on Tuesday.

The move followed a discussion on whether the team should become the St. Petersburg Rays, an idea pitched by former St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker.

Some council members questioned tying redevelopment to a sports stadium during a Thursday meeting.

As the Rays announce its intentions to build a new stadium, here's a timeline of events around the Gas Plant neighborhood, which was once a bustling community where many Black residents worked, lived, played, and died.

Redevelopment plans for the 86-acre plot that will houses the new stadium includes equity programs and affordable housing. But residents are not convinced those initiatives will be enough to protect their community.

Mayor Ken Welch said he believes the deal meets collective community needs and honors the historic Gas Plant District residents who were forced off the land in the 1980s to build Tropicana Field.

In a video message, Mayor Ken Welch said "no one had firsthand knowledge or evidence of racial, homophobic, or sexist comments from" fire chief Jim Large.

St. Petersburg will soon be home to several Community Support Hubs that will provide trauma-informed therapy, case management, community outreach, and additional services.

The NAACP joined a Latino civil rights organization and a gay rights advocacy group in issuing travel advisories for the Sunshine State, where tourism is one of the state's largest job sectors.