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USA Today
04-04-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
St. Petersburg officials approve $22.5M to replace Tropicana Field roof
St. Petersburg officials approve $22.5M to replace Tropicana Field roof Show Caption Hide Caption Hurricane Milton's winds rip roof off baseball stadium roof in Florida The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team, was torn off by Hurricane Milton's powerful winds. The city council in St. Petersburg, Florida, voted Thursday to replace the roof of Tropicana Field, which was destroyed in October by Hurricane Milton. 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 AL East division rival New York Yankees. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Reuters
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
St. Pete officials approve $22.5M to replace Tropicana Field roof
April 4 - The city council in St. Petersburg, Fla., voted Thursday to replace the roof of Tropicana Field, which was destroyed in October by Hurricane Milton. 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.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rays on track for Tropicana Field return in 2026 as St. Petersburg approves $22.5 million for new roof
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. Advertisement 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.' Advertisement 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.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Petersburg approves $22.5 million for new Tropicana Field roof
ST. PETERSBURG — City Council members voted Thursday to approve replacing Tropicana Field's roof shredded by Hurricane Milton last year. The city will spend $22.5 million for a new teflon-coated fiberglass roof, made of the same material as the original. It's about half of the total estimated cost to fix the stadium, tallied in November at $55.7 million. The vote represents a major step toward readying the dome for the Tampa Bay Rays' return to St. Petersburg in time for the 2026 season. The team is using a temporary home at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. As the Trop's landlord, the city is required to make the Trop playable again, per its agreement with the team. Council members said they recognized the city's contractual obligation. The Rays are expected to play home games back in the dome through the 2028 season. Council members voted 7-1 to replace the Trop's roof. Richie Floyd voted no. '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.' Under the agreement approved Thursday, the contractor that assessed the Trop's damages last year will return to repair the stadium. AECOM Hunt, the Indianapolis-based construction management firm, is also the same company that built the Trop 35 years ago. The firm will partner with St. Petersburg construction company Hennessy Construction Services to construct a new roof made from white fabric. Major League Baseball preferred a white roof, which is less expensive than a beige roof and will take less time to install. Roof repairs would wrap up just in time for Christmas, and turf replacement would continue through February, according to the agreement. Council members voted to transfer or lend $2.5 million from the city's Parking Revenue Fund, $7.6 million from the Commercial Insurance Fund and $12.8 from a $50 million loan the city took out in December. The vote also included an additional $500,600 to cover project oversight, inspections and permit costs. The council still needs to vote on non-roof related repairs, such as metal panels, sports lighting, audio visual equipment and drywall, and flooring and carpets. Those votes are expected to come before the council in May, June, July and August. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
