25-04-2025
‘Bulldozing and erasing history': More unmarked graves detected at Tropicana Field
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The uncertainty of Tropicana Field's future is now paired with new developments from the past.
Some may not know unmarked burial sites have been discovered under the parking lot over recent years.
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However, new findings are at the forefront of the conversation.
The embattled Tropicana Field and its unknown fate in the future is at the forefront of conversation once again.
Over the years, radar searches detected unmarked burial sites beneath the parking lot; however, new developments are coming to the surface.
'We know that the city has done further testing,' St. Petersburg Councilman Corey Givens Jr. said. 'We know that there have been some results that have proven that there are at least ten more bodies that have been identified underneath that parking lot at Tropicana Field.'
Corey Givens Jr. is shedding light on challenging history under the lot and the survey discoveries of the last five years.
'For me this is personal,' Givens Jr. said. 'I have a great-great-grandfather who may or may not be buried underneath that parking lot. My grandmother passed away not knowing whether her grandfather had been reinterred at Lincoln Cemetery or if his body was buried underneath that parking lot.'
Givens Jr. said there were once three cemeteries that existed under the lots.
He believed more needs to be done to preserve history.
'Sometimes I wonder if the plans went under because we discovered there were bodies that existed underneath that parking lot,' Givens Jr. said. 'It's just like Indian burial grounds. It's sacred space. You don't want to disturb those bodies.'
The St. Petersburg City Council is expected to discuss the recent developments in an upcoming meeting on May 1.
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