St. Petersburg officials have changed course after getting strong pushback earlier this year against a proposal to demolish Al Lang Stadium as part of a plan to develop a portion of the city’s waterfront.

Now, they’re considering making the stadium even bigger.

Representatives from design firm ASD | SKY’s Tampa office gave some City Council members a presentation Dec. 4 that included a concept to build a three-story addition at Al Lang for lockers, year-round concessions and a rooftop restaurant and bar.

The stadium is the home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer team. The team’s lease expires next year, and the city hopes making the upgrades could keep the Rowdies in St. Petersburg long term, said Beth Herendeen, city development administration managing director.

A rendering in the presentation includes a baseball diamond. The presentation includes notes from a June meeting with the Rowdies that said the Al Lang site “presents potential as a future spring training location — should the Rays depart.”

The Rowdies are owned by the Tampa Bay Rays, the baseball franchise sold to new owners in September. The Rays are looking for a new home and reportedly prefer a location in Tampa or Hillsborough.

Herendeen said that it was Brian Auld, former Rays president-turned-senior-adviser and co-chairperson of the Rowdies, who brought up the idea in June of using Al Lang for spring training. The Rays currently hold spring training in Port Charlotte and have a lease that runs through 2031 after recent extensions, according to the Port Charlotte Sun.

A spokesperson for the Rowdies declined to comment. Auld did not return a phone call or text for comment.

Relocating a spring training base requires a considerable amount of land beyond a stadium. Industry standards for spring training complexes include at least 5½ practice fields, a weight room, a clubhouse large enough for major and minor league players, office space and meeting rooms.

The Rays held spring training in St. Petersburg from 1998 to 2008, using a training facility in northwest St. Petersburg as their minor league base and playing games at Al Lang, with players and staff often shuttling between sites. Almost all teams now have their operations consolidated on one site.

The city’s change in course on Al Lang offers a glimpse into relations between St. Petersburg and the Rays under new ownership. When former majority owner Stuart Sternberg pulled out of a $6.5 billion deal in March to build a stadium on the Tropicana Field site, Mayor Ken Welch swore off ever working with him again.

The Rowdies were left out of discussions earlier this year leading up to that April meeting to revive city efforts to create a “Center for the Arts” to better connect the Mahaffey Theater and the Salvador Dalí Museum.

Following that meeting, council members instructed ASD | SKY to expand community outreach and return with new ideas reflecting that feedback.

The Rowdies are under contract to play at Al Lang for one more year through the 2026 season. The club must let the city know whether it seeks an extension by May 1, Herendeen said.

“The team as of this moment does want to remain in St. Petersburg,” she said. “That’s what we want is for the team to stay in St. Petersburg.”

The Rowdies may follow the Rays wherever they wind up. While new owners of the Rays say they are looking for a site on both sides of Tampa Bay, there is no indication they are eyeing St. Petersburg or the Trop site, known as the Historic Gas Plant District, as serious options.

Herendeen said building the proposed 36,000-square-foot addition at Al Lang is what the Rowdies would need in the long term. It would provide direct access to First Street South and would be elevated to avoid flooding.

If approved, that construction would take place in the second phase of development scheduled for 2031. The presentation said the estimated cost for the addition, improvements and parking lot upgrades at Al Lang is $49.2 million.

The Center for the Arts plan includes a new plaza and site improvements between the Mahaffey and the Dalí. The city envisions relocating the Saturday Morning Market to the plaza. Ideas for the center include building a 1,250-car garage with ground-floor retail, demolishing the existing garage, building a new facility for the Florida Orchestra, expanding the Dalí and improving the Mahaffey. The estimated price tag for this first phase of development is $243.8 million.