Razed

Lies, baseball, and the price of progress

Before there was Tropicana Field and its surrounding acres of asphalt, there was the Gas Plant Neighborhood. A primarily Black neighborhood, the Gas Plant was home to families, businesses, churches, and a deep sense of community and place. The people were displaced and the neighborhood was leveled—all to make way for baseball. The story of the Gas Plant Neighborhood follows a narrative of community displacement that has been repeated throughout our country for the sake of “progress.” At the core of this film are the first-hand stories and memories from a community cut short, presented in a historical context that’s rarely accessible to the masses. As we look to the next few decades of development in St. Pete, Razed cautions us to consider the true cost, and encourages us to imagine a better way forward.