The old Toytown landfill could get a new life as a spring training facility and sports park, but Pinellas County commissioners aren't quite ready to commit yet.

For 20 years, the land east of I-275, known as Toytown, was a dump. On Tuesday, county commissioners got a closer look at the top-ranked proposal for that land: a new sports park.

The park, proposed by SportsPark Partners LLC, would include space for the new spring training home of the Atlanta Braves, as well as fields and venues for eight outdoor sports and 10 indoor sports, including a field house, an aquatics facility and a track and field stadium.

The proposal also includes 175,000 square feet of corporate office space, 164,000 square feet of retail space, 432 hotel rooms, a 4,500-bed dormitory and room for sports medicine facilities, both clinical and research.

MORE INFO: SportsPark site plan (.pdf)

Commissioner Ken Welch sees potential, but still has a lot of questions.

"Amateur sports and spring training, minor league ball does have a huge impact,” he said. “But we really need to vet those numbers and see how accurate they are, but it has potential economic impact for the county."



Several commissioners questioned moving forward with this project, considering things are up in the air between the Tampa Bay Rays and city of St. Petersburg.

"Our first priority, as you heard today, is the Rays," Welch said. "That conversation in St. Petersburg between the council and the Rays has to move forward. We can't just stand here and tread water when we have opportunities like this that we need to give a rational look at."

So the county commission won’t move forward for now.

"We can't be held hostage because a partner can't make a decision," Commissioner Janet Long said.

The new sports park is estimated to bring about 3,300 jobs to the area and has the potential for tourism.

But leaders in that industry want to know more, too.

"There is no doubt about it, a mixed-use sports facility definitely has a place here,” said David Downing, the executive director of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater. “The question is in the details. Is that replacing existing sports tourism business that we have? Or is it bringing in new sports tourism business?"

Commissioners will revisit the proposal after the November elections.