Rays on track for Tropicana Field return in 2026 as St. Petersburg approves $22.5 million for new roof
St. Petersburg is poised to spend more than $50 million so the Rays can play at Tropicana Field for three more seasons. (Photo by)
(Kirby Lee via Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Rays are officially on track to have a home again in St. Petersburg. The bigger question remains how long they will stay.
The St. Petersburg city council voted 7-1 on Thursday to approve $22.5 million for a new Tropicana Field roof after Hurricane Milton shredded the last one, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The new roof will reportedly be made of the same teflon-coated fiberglass of the old roof.
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That step covers roughly half of the estimated $55.7 million the stadium needs for its full repairs, with additional work required inside the stadium.
The city of St. Petersburg was contractually obligated to repair Tropicana Field as part of its landlord agreement with the Rays, who have been open with their intentions to leave the stadium as soon as it finds a new home. The team pulled out of a $1.3 billion agreement to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg last month and have been speculated to be ready to move to a new city, with Orlando as a possibility.
In the meantime, the Rays have begun playing the 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees and the stadium used by the Yankees' Single-A affiliate Tampa Tarpons. The Rays are currently expected to return to Tropicana Field next season and remain there through 2024.
The St. Petersburg city council didn't sound particularly enthusiastic about spending eight figures to repair a stadium for three more years of use, but on member indicated they didn't really have a choice, via the Times:
'I'd much rather be spending that money on hurricane recovery and helping residents in our most affected neighborhoods,' said council member Brandi Gabbard, 'but this is our obligation.'
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The lone "No" vote on the council, Richie Floyd, said he would have liked to see how expensive a settlement with the Rays would have been compared to the expense of repairing the stadium.
For the Rays' part, team president Brian Auld said the team is happy with the vote and planning for a return on Opening Day of 2026:
'We are pleased to see City Council take this important step toward preparing Tropicana Field for Major League Baseball in time for 2026 Opening Day,' Auld said in a statement Thursday. 'We commend in particular City, Rays, and MLB staff for their cooperative efforts to get us to this point.'
Some groups that aren't happy with the situation, beyond the city council, are the Rays' fans, who chanted "sell the team" at Opening Day, and the MLB commissioner's office, which is reportedly sending a similar message behind closed doors to team owner Stuart Sternberg.
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