Right now, it's an eyesore that's going to cost the city millions of dollars to fix, with no plan for the future of baseball in St. Petersburg. But one former mayor is proposing his own plan for Tropicana Field, and it doesn't involve the Tampa Bay Rays. Rick Baker, mayor of the city from 2001-2010, and who narrowly lost a bid for a third term in 2017, says part of the 86-acre, city-owned tract should be developed into a 30-acre park. “This would be so cool in St. Pete [and] at the Trop site,” he says. “It also becomes a great quality of life for the people in the community.” Instead of a new ballpark, for Baker, a restored gas plant district would be centered on a giant park doubling the green space from the original plan. His design features a large circle path where the stadium now lies, with spokes leading to the center, which looks similar to a feature at the Boston Common, the oldest city park in the nation. “They have an area, really the anchor of the entire downtown is Boston common,” he says, adding he recently visited the large 50-acre park and was smitten. “My suggestion is you make kind of the center of it a rectangular 30-acre [common,] I would call it St. Pete Common that you can then build around it and develop whatever the city decides they want to develop around it, let Booker Creek flow right through it, and really make a gorgeous natural amenity for the city.” We showed the design to people who live near the Trop. Jordan Phillips was throwing a frisbee to her dog, Sailor, on the stadiums now-barren black top parking lot. She’s holding out hope the Rays will stay there and bring back customers to the bars and restaurants nearby. She says many in her social circle are bartenders and servers and are struggling. “We have Crescent Lake, we have a park right across the bridge on south side with neighborhoods,” she says. “Why do we need to build more parks? We have plenty of parks in St. Petersburg.” Still others think it is a novel approach to move beyond the beleaguered stadium. “I think move on to something else have a park have something for the community to go do that's outside and free for everybody,” says neighbor Chloe Phillips. We know it's going away you know so honestly bringing something new like that that'd be sweet for the city,” adds Marcus Beaton. Where it goes from here, the former mayor will leave it to those currently elected. “I don't have any dog in the fight other than I love the city,” Baker says. The city is committed to repairing the Trop so the Rays can return in 2026. Their lease runs out in 2029. The new roof is being constructed overseas and the replacement should begin in August.