St. Petersburg candidates: Next mayor should decide on Trop redevelopment Wengay Newton, Darden Rice and Ken Welch each expressed skepticism about heavy public spending for a new stadium. Â Â An aerial view of Tropicana Field and the surrounding area looking east towards downtown, on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ] By William March Updated 4 hours ago The three most prominent current candidates for mayor of St. Petersburg â Wengay Newton, Darden Rice and Ken Welch â said this week that the next mayor, not current Mayor Rick Kriseman, should make the final decision on a plan to redevelop Tropicana Field. Kriseman has narrowed the field of developers who made proposals for the redevelopment project to four and, clashing with the City Council, hired a consultant without their approval to evaluate the proposals.