Don’t Start with a Convention Center. Start with a Plan.
This week, both the Catalyst and the Tampa Bay Times reported that St. Petersburg and Pinellas County are planning to study the feasibility of a convention center at the Gas Plant Property.
Apparently the city and county think a convention center can be a good investment, and we need it as an anchor for the 86-acre site after the Tampa Bay Rays depart.
While it’s good to think ahead, let’s be clear:
- A study is not a substitute for a thoughtful, community-led master plan – for the whole site as the first step.
- A convention center isn’t automatically a smart investment — especially if it’s publicly funded.
- Properly developed, the Gas Plant will have plenty of anchors – we don’t need a convention center anymore than we needed a baseball stadium to be an anchor for this great piece of land.
A better test: launch a master plan for the Gas Plant site, then let experienced private developers decide if a mid-sized event space makes sense. If there’s demand, they’ll invest. If not, the city avoids costly mistakes and can redirect funds to proven priorities like housing, parks, and local economy development, and the county to beach renourishment.
We’ve Tried “Build It and They Will Come” Before
We’ve seen this story before — with Tropicana Field…