St. Pete and Tampa Bay Rays select design-build team for garages for new stadium
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 14, 2024

St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay Rays have selected an Apopka-based company to design and build garages near the proposed new $1.3 billion stadium downtown.

The team and the city released a request for qualifications in March seeking bids to design and build one or more event parking garages in the Historic Gas Plant District. Bids were due April 9, and according to public documents, there were 11 respondents.

A selection committee comprised of Rays and city staff chose Finfrock as the vendor. The Rays will now begin contract negotiations with Finfrock. Finfrock could not be immediately reached for comment.

“With over 350 completed parking garage projects under our belt, Finfrock stands as a leader in the field, boasting unparalleled experience and a track record of excellence,” Daniel Helmick Jr., executive vice president of Finfrock, wrote in its bid. “Our commitment to delivering projects on time and within budget has earned us consistently high satisfaction ratings from both local and national clients.”

St. Pete and Pinellas County have not yet approved the development agreement with the Rays to redevelop the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District. However, the agreement between the Rays and the city permits the team to begin soliciting projects prior to approval. This will allow the team to take steps to get a new stadium completed by 2028.

Finfrock has completed multiple garage projects in the area, including the Tampa General Hospital parking garage, the Carillon parking garage and the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital parking garage. Finfrock’s portfolio also includes office buildings, apartment projects, student housing and hotels.

According to the RFQ, the selected group is expected to build one or more garages — each five to seven stories — on the site. The garages will need to have between 500 and 1,500 parking spaces. There is an option for the garages to have space on their ground floor for future retail or business use.

“The primary purpose of the garage(s) will be to provide parking for attendees of Rays games and other large events at the new ballpark,” the RFQ states. “During non-event time periods, the garage(s) will be utilized for day-to-day parking serving visitors to the site and the surrounding neighborhoods.”

Two sites were highlighted in the RFQ as potential locations for the garages: the lot at Fourth Avenue South and 10th Street South that abuts Interstate 175 and the parking lot at First Avenue South and 16th Street South along the Pinellas Trail.

The garages may need to be completed in time for the 2025 baseball season, however the precise timeline will be determined by the Rays and Finfrock.

“If any firm has the capabilities to deliver structured parking in time for the maximum benefit of the 2025 MLB season, it is Finfrock,” the company said in its bid.

Last week, St. Pete City Council spent nine hours evaluating the first of two development agreements between the city and the Rays. The workshop was for redevelopment of the land surrounding the stadium. The stadium deal will go before council at a later date.