St. Pete to explore Al Lang upgrade after demolition backlash
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A rendering of a proposal for a Center of the Arts along the downtown waterfront that includes replacing Al Lang Stadium with an outdoor amphitheater. Photo: Courtesy of City of St. Petersburg
Facing City Council pushback over a proposal to demolish Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg officials will explore options to retrofit the arena to broaden its uses.
Why it matters: Al Lang is home to the resident-favorite Tampa Bay Rowdies and sits on a key piece of waterfront land just north of the expanding Dalí Museum and the Mahaffey Theater.
Catch up quick: City officials last month unveiled a $289.2 million conceptual plan to form a Center of the Arts along a section of the waterfront that city leaders have long hoped to make more cohesive.
- The plan presented to a City Council committee included a 1,100-space parking garage, a 60,000-square-foot conference center, and the demolition of Al Lang, which would be replaced by an outdoor amphitheater.
- While City Council members embraced aspects of the plan, some expressed heartache over demolishing a stadium that's been a fixture of the waterfront for 80 years, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
- Outside the chambers, headlines of the potential demise of Al Lang spread quickly over social media.
State of play: City officials heard those concerns loud and clear, economic development director Brian Caper and city development administrator James Corbett told Axios in an interview Monday.
- They plan to work with design consultant ASD | SKY to explore how to enhance the existing structure to allow for more activities, such as concerts or other sports, and how that would fit into the overall vision for the area.
- Depending on the scope, certain changes to the stadium would be subject to City Council approval or even a referendum before voters, they said.
What they're saying: "While we were a little taken aback by the focus on Al Lang, I do think it was ultimately exactly the conversation we were looking to have," Caper said.
- "We want to explore different ideas, explore public sentiment, explore council sentiment."
Between the lines: Public fervor over the fate of Al Lang prompted Mayor Ken Welch to issue a statement emphasizing that the proposal "is not my formal recommendation but a conceptual update with many considerations yet to be resolved."
- He also defended raising the possibility, noting that the stadium sustained more than $3 million in hurricane damage, and floated a potential alternative site for the Rowdies: a renovated Tropicana Field.
- The future of the Tampa Bay Rays ballpark remains in limbo beyond the 2028 season after Rays leaders pulled out of a redevelopment deal in March. In a potentially complicating wrinkle, the Rowdies are owned by the Rays.