City vote on Rays stadium, development a 'regulatory' but hopeful step

The St. Petersburg City Council voted Thursday to take initial, tentative steps toward moving forward with a plan to build a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays and a massive multiuse development to be built around it.

At an afternoon meeting not far from where the team was about to take on the Chicago Cubs, council members voted on a development agreement for the new ballpark and the redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District as well as to change the zoning on seven publicly owned lots.

The measures were approved 5-3 with council members Richie Floyd, John Muhammad and Lisset Hanewicz opposing.