St. Pete officials approve $22.5M to replace Tropicana Field roof
St. Petersburg owns the ballpark and is contractually obligated to provide the Tampa Bay Rays with a playable home. The new Teflon-coated fiberglass roof will cost the city $22.5 million.
The council voted 7-1 in favor of the project.
"I'd much rather be spending that money on hurricane recovery and helping residents in our most affected neighborhoods," council member Brandi Gabbard told the Tampa Bay Times, "but this is our obligation."
The Rays are expected to return to the indoor facility for the 2026 season.
The damages to Tropicana Field came amid a longstanding tussle between Rays ownership and local government over the future of the club in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays wanted to build a new ballpark that would cost $1.3 billion, and local officials had approved the sale of bonds to pay for their share, but the Rays could not move forward because of the project's shifted timeline and cost overruns.
The Rays are playing the 2025 season in George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the American East rival New York Yankees.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
21 hours ago
- Reuters
Road warriors? Rays will need to be entering opener vs. Angels
August 4 - The Tampa Bay Rays will begin a pivotal two-week West Coast trip on Monday night when they open a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif. Tampa Bay, which is just 8-22 over its last 30 games, enters the series five games behind the Seattle Mariners for the final wild-card spot in the American League. The Rays then will play three games at Seattle followed by a trip back down the coast to West Sacramento, Calif., for a three-game set with the Athletics. The trek will end with three games in San Francisco against the Giants. After dropping two of three games at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers, including 3-0 on Sunday afternoon, the Rays could get a reset with the lengthy trip. "It's an opportunity for us to turn the page," pitcher Drew Rasmussen said. "It's a sprint ahead of us, and if we show up to win one game every single day, we will have a good opportunity to play meaningful games down the stretch." "There are a lot of positives to take from the series," infielder Brandon Lowe added. "Focus on those and get rid of any negative thoughts we have and get ready and go play good baseball on the west coast." Los Angeles, which is 7-9 since the All-Star break, is 5 1/2 games behind the Mariners. Right-hander Adrian Houser (6-2, 2.10 ERA), picked up at the trade deadline last week from the Chicago White Sox, will make his Rays debut in Monday's series opener against All-Star left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (4-7, 3.30). Houser has yet to face the Angels in his career. He won his last four decisions with the White Sox, including 12-5 over the Chicago Cubs on July 25, when he allowed three runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings. Kikuchi, meanwhile, has faced the Rays 13 times (12 starts) and has a 6-3 record and 3.70 ERA against them. He took the loss the last time he faced them, April 9 in Tampa, allowing four runs on six hits and four walks in six innings in a 5-4 setback. The Angels have gone just 5-5 on a 13-game homestand and needed a dramatic comeback from a five-run deficit on Sunday to avoid being swept by the White Sox. Taylor Ward hit a three-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth, and Zach Neto homered, doubled and drove in three runs in Los Angeles' 8-5 win. It was biggest comeback win of the season for the Angels, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Ward hit a 3-2 sweeper from reliever Tyler Alexander into the bullpen in left field for his team-leading 26th home run. "Huge (win)," Ward said. "Getting down early like that, and the fight with the boys, it's what we've been doing all year. It's awesome." Ward was asked how much momentum the comeback win would give the Angels heading into the series with Tampa Bay. "A lot," he said. "We've just got to keep going out there and doing our thing, play good fundamental baseball, and good things will happen." --Field Level Media
Reuters
3 days ago
- Reuters
Rays place All-Star 1B Jonathan Aranda (wrist) on IL
August 2 - The Tampa Bay Rays placed All-Star first baseman Jonathan Aranda on the 10-day injured list on Friday after a collision in Thursday's game resulted in a fractured left wrist. Aranda left the game after a fifth-inning collision with New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who hit a soft ground ball to third base. Junior Caminero rushed the throw, an attempt that was off the mark and forced Aranda to reach across Stanton's body near first base. After his glove collided with the 245-pound Stanton, Aranda dropped the ball and mitt as he clung to his wrist. Aranda had a hit and an RBI in what ultimately was a 7-4 road loss for the Rays. Through an interpreter, Aranda said he needs to rest for three weeks, but he remains optimistic he will make his way back to the field with Tampa Bay fighting for a playoff spot. "I have hope of returning, but it was scary," Aranda said. "It was very painful. I have never had that feeling before." A first-time All-Star, Aranda leads the Rays with a .316 batting average to go along with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs. Tampa entered Friday four games out of the final AL Wild Card spot. "I think it's pretty good news, given what we saw yesterday,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Let's see how the bone heals. I think we'll do re-imaging in about three weeks ... and hope." --Field Level Media
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
A winner either way: José Caballero traded from Rays to Yankees while teams were playing each other
José Caballero turned an inning-ending double play for the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth inning, then batted in the sixth. By the bottom of the seventh, he was on the other team. In a strange development even for trade-deadline day around Major League Baseball, the Rays shipped Caballero to the New York Yankees — while the teams were still playing each other Thursday afternoon. Caballero was removed from Tampa Bay's lineup during the seventh-inning stretch, and the deal was announced after the Yankees nailed down a 7-4 victory in a game interrupted by rain for nearly three hours in the fifth. 'I just saw Caballero in the clubhouse, so that was a little odd,' New York manager Aaron Boone said afterward. 'I saw him actually hugging people in the eighth.' After learning he'd been traded, Caballero exchanged hugs in the Tampa Bay dugout at Yankee Stadium with his Rays teammates and manager Kevin Cash. Both clubs were active right up until the 6 p.m. deadline, and Tampa Bay sent the speedy Caballero to the AL East-rival Yankees for Triple-A outfielder Everson Pereira and a player to be named or cash. Pereira played 27 major league games for New York in 2023. The 28-year-old Caballero has 34 stolen bases this season, tied for most in the majors. He's batting .226 with two homers and 27 RBIs in 86 games and has started at shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield positions. Caballero didn't start Thursday for the Rays but entered in the bottom of the fifth when All-Star first baseman Jonathan Aranda got injured. Caballero came in to play second base, and Brandon Lowe shifted from second base to first. Caballero stayed in the game following a rain delay that lasted 2 hours, 45 minutes. But when Tampa Bay took the field for the bottom of the seventh, he came out. Lowe moved back to second base and Matt Thaiss entered at first. 'It's definitely weird, but you've seen it on TV multiple times of people saying goodbye in the middle of the game in these situations,' Lowe said. 'It was a little weird to see it happen, but you just kind of put all the pieces together and figure it out for ourselves.' After the game, Caballero conducted his postgame interview as a member of the Yankees in their clubhouse — after clearing out his Rays locker on the other side of the stadium. 'I was winning today regardless,' Caballero said. 'We won the game, I guess. That's what I feel right now.' Tampa Bay made two other trades Thursday, acquiring starting pitcher Adrian Houser from the Chicago White Sox and reliever Griffin Jax from Minnesota. The team obtained catcher Nick Fortes from Miami early Tuesday, after sending veteran catcher Danny Jansen to Milwaukee the previous night. Zack Littell pitched five scoreless innings Wednesday night for the Rays at Yankee Stadium, then immediately was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. 'It's been a unique week,' Cash said. Caballero was acquired by Tampa Bay from Seattle in January 2024. As a rookie with the Mariners in June 2023, he annoyed Yankees ace Gerrit Cole so much the right-hander — sidelined this season with an injury — threw a 97 mph fastball to him that landed high up on the backstop. Cole's pitch was in response to Caballero stepping out repeatedly during his first two plate appearances until the pitch clock was down to the 8-second requirement to be in the batter's box and alert. 'I talked to him for a second,' Boone said. "I said, `We've had some battles but I like your game.' So I think he brings a lot to the table and I think he's going to be a very useful player for us, just a lot of different things he can do on a diamond and provide a lot of position flexibility." ___
