Janelle Irwin Taylor
The St. Petersburg City Council will vote Thursday on two items expected to raise the total cost of repairs to Tropicana Field to $4 million above the city’s original estimated cost.
The latest funding items include $1.3 million for new turf and $14.4 million for certain architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, audio-visual and low-voltage data portions of non-roof repairs.
On the turf, the city is proposing, and expected to approve, use of Turf Solutions, the same company that installed new turf at Tropicana Field last March. The surface was damaged by a storm only months later when Hurricane Milton struck in October.
Using the same company allows installation of the same turf and infield material “without the need to create new specification or provide additional design or engineering services,” according to the City Council agenda item.
The latest approvals are expected to increase overall Tropicana Field repair costs by about $4 million, bringing the total cost from the originally estimated $55.7 million to $59.7 million.
The city is banking on reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and insurance coverage on the Trop, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The repairs and replacement covered under the $14.4 million proposed agreement add to the project’s largest cost: $22.5 million for replacing the iconic domed roof that was approved in April. The city is also spending $2.35 million that was approved in June to repair or replace storm-damaged metal wall panels, as well as $5.26 million OK’d in July for repairs to the lighting system and catwalk electrical services.
This round of funding approval covers architectural finishes, such as wall and ceiling drywall repairs, millwork and countertops, flooring, and painting. It also covers the replacement of light fixtures, outlets, switches, fire protection, HVAC, plumbing repair and other associated items.
The funding will also cover replacing the stadium’s speakers, lightning protection system, data cabling, fiber wiring and the right field video board.
Other repairs or replacements in this agreement include field padding, baseball netting and stadium seating.
Approval will be required at a future date for video production repairs.
The roof is expected to be complete in December, with turf installation and major interior work to begin after the roof project concludes.
The entire Tropicana Field repair project is expected to be complete by April 2026.
But even with repairs underway and a tentative timeline in place, the future of the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Pete is uncertain.
The Rays are currently playing the 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, and are expected to return to Tropicana Field next season after repairs are complete. But even with a one-year extension to the team’s contract to play ball at Tropicana Field — added in response to them playing this season elsewhere — the team is only contractually obligated to play at the field through the 2028 season.
And St. Pete has already officially canceled its contract with the Rays and development partner Hines, a procedural vote taken last month cementing the Rays’ announcement in March that they were backing out of the agreement.
Rays owner Stu Sternberg is reportedly closing in on a sale of the team to a group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski. Zalupski is expected to keep the team in the Tampa Bay area, but he has a strong preference to move the team to Tampa.
St. Pete City Council member Corey Givens Jr. at Thursday’s meeting will request a referral to the Committee of the Whole, or another committee, to discuss possible revenue generators to replace lost funds should the team decide to leave St. Pete. He has requested that the discussion also include the loss of direct revenue to the city, as well as indirect revenue losses to surrounding businesses.
