ST. PETERSBURG — There's an election about to take place in the city.

No, not the mayoral election. Although one could be excused for mistaking former Mayor Rick Baker's tour of neighborhood associations and political groups as a campaign to challenge incumbent Mayor Rick Kriseman in November.

Baker was actually stumping for the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Voters will decide Tuesday whether the city should negotiate a 25-year lease with Rowdies owner Bill Edwards. He and his investors, in turn, would then spend up to $80 million to expand and upgrade Al Lang Stadium, more than doubling capacity to 18,000 seats.

It's all being done in the hope that Major League Soccer will award St. Petersburg — and the Tampa Bay region — an expansion franchise in the next few years. The lease would be contingent on MLS awarding the franchise, and it would have to be approved by City Council.

But unlike the contentious fights over the city's precious waterfront in years past, Edwards' proposal hasn't produced the kind of organized and vocal opposition that disrupted past plans: The failed 2003 effort to turn Albert Whitted Airport into parkland; the Tampa Bay Rays' defunct 2007 plans to build a stadium on the Al Lang site; and the Pier's replacement, the $50 million Lens, which was rejected by voters in 2013.

So why, then, is the Rowdies' referendum seemingly unopposed? Baker said it's because they laid the proper groundwork.

"I think it's because we frankly spent the year before we announced talking to the folks about the plan so we tried to identify what the issues were," he said after giving a now-familiar pitch to the Suncoast Tiger Bay club luncheon on Wednesday.

The Rowdies assured Saturday Morning Market organizers that they could still hold their popular weekly event in Al Lang's parking lot. They also promised to build stadium restrooms that will be accessible to market-goers. They met with opponents of the Rays' Al Lang plans and waterfront activists, Baker said, and gathered feedback about the added seating.

In early March, when the City Council unanimously approved holding Tuesday's referendum, downtown residents turned out in force. Most of them supported the idea, a stark change from previous efforts to transform the waterfront.

Downtown Neighborhood Association president Gina Driscoll said residents felt included in process: "It makes all the difference in the world when someone gives you a seat at the table from the beginning and your opinion matters."

The Rowdies' plan to build no higher than the neighboring Mahaffey Theater and avoid negatively impacting nearby streets and sidewalks were selling points, she said. As was the promise to keep the Saturday Morning Market in the Al Lang parking lot.

Some downtown residents, though, continue to voice fears of a parking crunch, excessive noise and glaring lights at night.

Edwards' promise to spend his own money on the stadium was also a big plus, Driscoll said. The Rowdies' owner is also paying the $271,000 bill for the referendum.

City Council member Steve Kornell echoed the reason why the Rowdies' plans haven't generated the kind of pushback the Rays received in 2007: The Rowdies are paying for everything, and said they won't expand the Al Lang footprint.

"It's a good deal and it doesn't expand the footprint on the waterfront," Kornell said. "Al Lang was already there and . . . it's a good way to use it. I haven't heard any negatives."

But some still have concerns. At the Tiger Bay gathering last week, community activist Vince Cocks asked Baker about an ongoing federal lawsuit which alleges that Edwards looted millions from his defunct mortgage company. Baker repeated Edwards' stance that the lawsuit has no merit.

"Where's there's smoke, buddy, there's fire," Cocks said. "This is not a frivolous case."

Council of Neighborhood Associations president Marlene Murray said she is concerned that the referendum hasn't been properly vetted.

"My biggest concern, I just felt that not enough information was given," Murray said. "Everything was rah-rah, everything was great. There are more questions to be asked."

The details of the use agreement won't be known until negotiations begin after the vote, Murray said, meaning that the City Council has to be the watchdog for any major changes.

And, she asked, how long does the right to expand Al Lang for MLS last? It won't expire after MLS awards two teams during the upcoming round of expansion, said Assistant City Attorney Jeannine Williams. But the city has to research when those rights would expire.

A dozen cities, including San Diego; Sacramento, Calif.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Charlotte, N.C., are competing for the two MLS expansion teams being awarded this year and the two to be awarded in the future. If St. Petersburg is selected, Edwards and his partners would be responsible for paying the $150 million expansion fee to MLS.

Contact Charlie Frago at cfrago@tampabay.com or (727)893-8459. Follow @CharlieFrago.