Here’s what images of the Rays’ new stadium say about the Gas Plant District

When you view an aerial rendering of St. Petersburg’s proposed $6.5 billion Historic Gas Plant District, the new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark at the center looks a bit like a pavilion. Or a pyramid. Or a circus tent. The design, though, was actually based on the pop-up. There wasn’t much data on how baseballs were hit back when the Rays’ current stadium, Tropicana Field, was built in the 1980s, said Zach Allee, a senior architect with the club’s stadium design partners, Populous. That’s no surprise for anyone who’s ever seen...