The St. Pete Pride Festival has been postponed. Disney has closed its gates, and everyone is still wondering where the hell Don Lewis disappeared to—but one thing hasn’t changed.
The St. Pete Pier’s opening date is still set for May 30… for now.
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman is meeting with an emergency team before the end of April to decide whether or not the city will move forward with its original date, postpone it or open the pier in a “modified way,” Benjamin Kirby, spokesperson for the City of St. Petersburg, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
Options for opening in a “modified way,” weren’t clarified, though Kirby reassured CL that “many options will be contemplated.”
The meeting, however, has not been scheduled.
“Public health and safety and the well-being of citizens is the mayor's first priority,” Kirby said. “He (Mayor Kriseman) is soliciting feedback from a 'Restart St. Pete' advisory group (related to the entire city, not just the Pier) and will follow the guidance of the CDC as well as our state and local health leaders, and make a decision then.”
On Friday morning, Kriseman shared the names of the 17-member “Restart” advisory group, who'll engage with the mayor on a one-one-one basis in accordance with social distancing orders and guidelines (see a list of the advisors at the bottom of this post).
In the meantime, Kirby hopes that city leaders and St. Pete citizens will explore its website to “learn all the things our new Pier District has to offer.”
As far as numbers go, the 26-acre Pier District can hold about 20,000 people, while 8,400 can fit on the structure over the water. A number on the turnout for the pier’s opening day has not been estimated, but most experts agree that large gatherings of people are a bad idea until at least next year.
“Larger gatherings — conferences, concerts, sporting events — when people say they’re going to reschedule this conference or graduation event for October 2020, I have no idea how they think that’s a plausible possibility,” Dr. Zeke Emanuel—vice provost for global initiatives and director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania—told New York Times Magazine. “I think those things will be the last to return. Realistically we’re talking fall 2021 at the earliest.”
The $92 million Pier will feature a $1 million wooden playground with a splash pad, a fishing deck, a local market vendor area, several restaurants, a 3,000-square-foot interactive classroom and a $1.5 million sculpture from renowned Tampa Bay artist Jane Echelman called “Bending Arc.”
When it does open, you can visit 30 minutes before sunrise and will have to leave at 11 p.m.
“I would encourage everyone's patience. It has taken us a long time to get here,” Kirby told CL. “Don't worry, the long wait will be worth it.”
Restart St. Pete Advisors:
- Dr. David Berman, Board certified pediatric infectious disease specialist, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
- Olga Bof, Executive Director, Keep St. Petersburg Local
- Amber Boulding, City of St. Petersburg Emergency Management Manager
- John Collins, Executive Director, St. Petersburg Arts Alliance
- Duggan Cooley, CEO, Pinellas Community Foundation
- J.P. DuBuque, President and CEO, Greater St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation
- Dexter Fabian, Publisher, ‘I Love the Burg’
- Rene Flowers, Pinellas County School Board Member
- Rev. Watson Haynes, President and CEO, Pinellas County Urban League
- Dr. Mona Mangat, Member/Past Board Chair Doctors for America, Board-certified allergist & immunologist, Bay Area Allergy and Asthma
- Jason Mathis, CEO, St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership
- Brad Miller, CEO, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority
- Scott Smith, President, St. Anthony’s Hospital
- Chris Steinocher, President and CEO, St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce
- Dr. Kanika Tomalin, City Administrator and Deputy Mayor
- Michael Vivio, CEO-Owner, Corp Fitness Works
- Dr. Israel Wojnowich, City of St. Petersburg Physician, Board certified Family Medicine, Bayfront Health Medical Group
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This article appears in Apr 23-29, 2020.