St. Pete City Council gives first approval to Rays stadium plan

St. Pete City Council members last week gave an initial blessing to the Tampa Bay Rays stadium redevelopment plan .

Why it matters: The preliminary approval at Thursday's Council meeting signals where members stand before the next votes which are scheduled for July 11, the Tampa Bay Times reported .

• The deal is also subject to approval by Pinellas County commissioners. Those votes haven't been scheduled yet, a county spokesperson told Axios on Friday.

State of play: Council members voted 5-3 to approve a development agreement for a new stadium and mixed-use project that will make up the Historic Gas Plant District — a nod to the predominantly Black neighborhood that was razed to build Tropicana Field.

• Voting no were council members Richie Floyd, John Muhammad and Lisset Hanewicz.

Friction point: Hanewicz and several residents who spoke during the meeting complained the process was being rushed.

• "It is not the right thing to do to any of us … to put these deadlines in time frames that honestly, based on the information we have, seem really unrealistic," Hanewicz said, per WUSF .

The other side: "It's very important to get [Rays' development partner] Hines started in the permitting process," city administrator Rob Gerdes said, per the Times.

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