{"id":127610,"date":"2026-01-22T10:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T10:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/127610\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T10:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T10:00:12","slug":"st-pete-can-still-be-tampa-bays-apple-store-without-rays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/127610\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Pete can still be Tampa Bay\u2019s \u2018Apple store\u2019 without Rays"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 As the Tampa Bay Rays explore the possibility of a future stadium across the bay, St. Petersburg business leaders say the city has time and confidence on its side.<\/p>\n

From his downtown office window, Chris Steinocher, president and CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, looks out over busy sidewalks, restaurants and shops. He says that is why there is no panic in St. Pete, even as the Rays consider options outside the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so excited for our community right now,\u201d Steinocher said.<\/p>\n

WATCH: Chad Mills’ full report<\/p>\n

Business leader: St. Pete can still be Tampa Bay\u2019s \u2018Apple store\u2019 without Rays<\/p>\n

That confidence comes despite real concerns about what losing the team could mean for local businesses. Last year, when the Rays played at Steinbrenner Field while Tropicana Field underwent repairs, some St. Petersburg businesses saw a noticeable drop in customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose entrepreneurs deserve our attention, our community and city\u2019s attention, to go, \u2018Okay, what do we do next?\u2019\u201d Steinocher said.<\/p>\n

For Steinocher, the answer starts at the Tropicana Field site itself.<\/p>\n

The City of St. Petersburg is currently accepting proposals from developers to redevelop the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District, with or without baseball.<\/p>\n

Steinocher guesses that city leaders will review submissions through the summer and fall, with a possible city council vote next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think time is ticking so loudly for us in our community,\u201d Steinocher said.<\/p>\n

Instead of rushing, he says the city should focus on long-term opportunity for the Gas Plant District.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re not moving dirt tomorrow, I\u2019m okay with that, but I really want to move dirt when everyone\u2019s on the same page,\u201d he said. \u201cWill it be the best, coolest, most awesome neighborhood in the country? I absolutely believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor Ken Welch echoed that focus in a statement. He said his administration will continue to prioritize redevelopment outcomes that drive economic progress, reflect community needs and honor commitments made to the Historic Gas Plant District.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce is forming a task force to gather input from local business owners on how the city should move forward, regardless of what happens with the Rays.<\/p>\n

For now, Steinocher says St. Pete\u2019s message is confidence over desperation and patience over panic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Tampa Bay is a mall, we believe St. Pete can be the Apple store \u2014 the coolest place in the mall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Share Your Story with Chad

Chad Mills calls Polk County home and has witnessed the area\u2019s growth firsthand. He keeps his eye on the City of Lakeland, our agriculture community, and helping you navigate everyday expenses. Use the form below to share your story ideas with Chad.
.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

26-year-old Manatee County woman survives workplace shooting after being shot 4 times<\/p>\n

Summer Freitag was working at a lab processing center when she witnessed a deadly shooting on Thursday, Jan.15.<\/p>\n

26-year-old woman survives workplace shooting after being shot 4 times<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 As the Tampa Bay Rays explore the possibility of a future stadium across the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[205,3816,63112,63113,2152,7143,740,31740,12632,26619,202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-127610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-abc-action-news","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-chamber-president","11":"tag-chris-steinocher","12":"tag-development","13":"tag-economic-development","14":"tag-economy","15":"tag-gas-plant-district","16":"tag-innovation","17":"tag-mayor-ken-welch","18":"tag-st-pete","19":"tag-st-pete-headlines","20":"tag-st-pete-news","21":"tag-st-petersburg","22":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","23":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}