We\u2019re asking thought leaders, business people and creatives to talk about the upcoming new year and give us catalyzing ideas for making St. Pete a better place to live. What should our city look like? What are their hopes, their plans, their problem-solving ideas? This is Catalyze 2026.<\/p>\n
\u200bBoosting economic development in St. Petersburg was a focal point for Pinellas County Commissioner Vince Nowicki on the campaign trail and throughout his first year in office.<\/p>\n
\u200bHe believes an expansive convention center in the Historic Gas Plant District, currently home to Tropicana Field, will help achieve that goal.<\/p>\n
\u200bNowicki noted that previous plans for a downtown convention center encompassed roughly 60,000 square feet. \u201cAnd now you see proposals for the Gas Plant at 300,000 square feet,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cI think that\u2019s something that would be a real economic driver for the city,\u201d Nowicki said. \u201cSo that\u2019s something that I\u2019m working on, to use TDT (tourism development taxes) to help fund and establish, if those plans move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u200bARK Investment Management, Ellison Development and Horus Construction submitted\u00a0a $6.8 billion redevelopment proposal <\/a>in October. Mayor Ken Welch\u2019s administration is currently considering the bid and will formally open a 30-day window for additional offers Jan. 4.<\/p>\n \u200bTDT funding stems from a 6% surcharge on overnight stays in the county. Pinellas officials previously planned to give the Tampa Bay Rays $312.5 million to build a new ballpark in a reimagined Gas Plant.<\/p>\n \u200bThe team and its redevelopment partner, Hines, planned to include 90,000 square feet of conference, ballroom and meeting space as part of a vibrant, mixed-use community surrounding a stadium. However, former Rays owner Stuart Sternberg exited the deal in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u200bIn April, Nowicki told his colleagues on the commission that he submitted a two-page document to the Tourist Development Council (TDC) \u201csupporting the idea of a feasibility study\u201d for a convention center in St. Petersburg. City administrators floated a since-nixed idea for a boutique facility along the waterfront<\/a> later that month.<\/p>\n \u200bPinellas and St. Petersburg officials subsequently agreed to study<\/a> the feasibility of building a much larger convention center in the Historic Gas Plant District, with or without a new stadium<\/a>, in June. Welch\u2019s administration notified the city council hours after the Rays announced they were in \u201cexclusive discussions\u201d to sell the team.<\/p>\n \u200bNowicki said Dec. 23 that \u201csomeone has to be selected first<\/a>, obviously, and then things have to be fleshed out from there.\u201d He also noted that Ark Ellison Horus met with him \u201cseveral times.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200b\u201cAnd I know they met with county staff to let them know that they want the county involved in the project,\u201d Nowicki added.<\/p>\n