Janelle Irwin Taylor
St. Pete City Council voted to approve $22.5 million to replace the iconic domed roof on Tropicana Field after it was destroyed by high winds from Hurricane Milton in October.
Replacing the roof has been a source of contention throughout the city as the future of Major League Baseball in St. Petersburg — or even perhaps the Tampa Bay region — remains in peril. The Rays are contractually obligated to play at Tropicana Field through the 2027 season, and as the team’s landlord, the city is required to fix the stadium.
While the vote may come as a frustration to some — including City Council member Richie Floyd, who voted against the expenditure because he wanted to see numbers worked up on how much it would cost to buy the Rays out of their remaining contract — the approved expenditure is about half the original estimated cost to fix the roof, estimated at nearly $56 million in November.
In response to Floyd’s concern about buying the Rays out of their remaining contract, City Administrator Rob Gerdes said it was considered, but doing so would have cost the city insurance reimbursements and Federal Emergency Management Agency aid, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The vote paves the way for the Rays to return to Tropicana Field for the 2026 season, after they play this season in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field.
A report sent to St. Pete City Council in November outlined needed repairs and estimates to complete them, including $24 million to replace the roof. In all, the estimate came to $39 million in damages to the stadium, with another $16 million in other related needs.
The price tag is particularly stinging considering a calculated risk the city took last March, reducing its insurance coverage on Tropicana Field from $100 million to just $25 million. The move saved the city $275,000 on insurance premiums. The policy also has a $22 million deductible.
And it comes less than a month after Rays leadership announced it would not move forward with a previously approved stadium deal.
The team blamed “a series of events beginning in October” for its “difficult decision.” That’s in reference to Hurricane Milton and its damage to the stadium, which led to approval delays for bonds necessary to move forward with the deal.
The team has said those bond approval delays caused cost overruns and blamed the city of St. Pete and Pinellas County for hitches in what had seemed like a done deal.
Rays Principal owner Stuart Sternberg said at the time that the team was “excited to return to our home field next spring,” pointing to the city’s efforts to move forward with stadium repairs.
The latest also comes as investors are lining up to buy the Rays amid frustration with current ownership.
Tampa businessman Joe Molloy, who is a former minority owner of the New York Yankees, is heading a group of prospective Tampa-based investors seeking to buy the Rays. They would keep the team in St. Pete under the existing stadium deal, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
