St. Petersburg approves $5 million more for Tropicana Field repairs

Colleen Wright, Tampa Bay Times on Jun 5, 2025

Published in Baseball

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — More money is flowing to Tropicana Field as the city is working toward getting the Tampa Bay Rays’ home ready in time for opening day 2026.

The City Council on Thursday unanimously approved about $5.3 million more for repairs and expenses to help make that happen. That’s a total of $38.5 million approved to date. The total cost of the project, some of which will be covered by insurance, is still on track to come in around $56 million, city officials said.

“I look at what we have and what is to come and I worry about that [$56 million] number,” said council member Gina Driscoll, whose district includes the Trop. “I want to make sure that if it’s going to be more, please manage our expectations ahead of time.”

Engineering and Capital Improvements Director Brejesh Prayman said the city is keeping track of all its estimates.

“We are trending in the right path,” he said. “We are keeping an eye on everything.”

The Rays are under contract to play at the Trop through the end of 2028, a year later than expected after Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off last year. Under that agreement, St. Petersburg is obligated to repair the Trop. The Rays are playing at the New York Yankees spring training stadium, Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, in the meantime.

Council member Richie Floyd, who voted no on repairing the roof because he favored a settlement between the city and the Rays instead, said he would vote with his colleagues to get the project done. City officials have said that they wanted a settlement that would go toward paying for a new stadium.

The first $1.67 million approved is for more waterproofing and remediation through Dec. 31, when the roof is expected to be completed. That includes daily maintenance heading into the rainy season: extracting standing water, monitoring and maintaining leak diverters and collection basins and cleaning and sanitizing affected areas.

That money will also pay for about 5,000 ceiling tiles to separate air conditioned and non-air conditioned spaces, plus cleaning, sealing and covering the lower-level seats.

Another $2.35 million will go toward repairing and replacing storm damaged metal wall panels inside and outside the stadium.

Once the roof is in place, contractors Hennessy and AECOM Hunt will work on lighting, catwalk electric and lightning protection, audio and video equipment, fire protection and security; playing field equipment and architectural finishes.

The council also approved $284,000 for architectural and engineering plans for non-roof repairs, including mechanical, plumbing and structural engineering for rooms, playing fields and other repairs.

The city is also picking up the tab for security costs at the Trop while it is under repair. City officials said that’s a typical practice when the city assumes control of a construction site. The council approved $800,000 for all labor, material, training and equipment to guard the Trop through Feb. 28, 2026.

Major League Baseball Rob Manfred said Wednesday that the league officials “remain optimistic” that the Trop will be ready for or near opening day. The Rays could open the 2026 season on the road to allow for more time to get repairs done. The big wild card, he said, is a possible delay caused by hurricane season.

The council approved spending $22.5 million on a new roof in April. Consternation over what to do about the Trop happened while a deal to build a new stadium was falling apart. Agreements governing the stadium deal expired March 31.

Despite that delay, city officials say they can get the dome ready for next season. Beth Herendeen, managing director for city development, said on May 20 that 50% of the roof material has been made in Germany with the remainder done within the next 30 days. She said the material will be shipped to China for assembly and the city expects to receive the first shipment in August.

The city has built in $100,000 for contingency costs, given talk of tariffs imposed on imports from China. At that point, Herendeen said, the city may have a better idea of how tariffs may affect the project.

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Tampa Bay Times staff writer Marc Topkin contributed to this report.