There’s both good news and bad news in the initial hurricane damage assessment of Tropicana Field. The facility, battered by Hurricane Milton last month, can be repaired and the $55.7 million projected cost to do so isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker. But the work will require about a year, leaving the Rays in a temporary facility for all of the 2025 season.
The St. Petersburg, Fla., city council received the initial, 412-page assessment Tuesday, with the report detailing that the 34-year-old ballpark is still “structurally sound.” But it will require substantial repairs, including $23.6 million alone to replace the shredded roof. In addition to the lost roof, the stadium took on substantial rainfall, and as an indoor facility, was not designed with a drainage system.
“Overall, the stadium appears structurally sound and would be a viable candidate to continue to serve the city (should they so decide) in providing continued service following hurricane damage repairs,” the report’s summary reads in part.
The findings provide more clarity to a notion already growing in recent weeks that the Rays will need a new facility not just for the start or some other portion of next season, but for all of it. Where that will be is still being evaluated, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed a preference for the Rays to stay in the Tampa area, if possible, and wants to have clarity on their 2025 path by Christmas.
It’s increasingly likely, however, that the Rays will be in a minor league stadium, joining the A’s, who are playing the next three years at Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park.
Bigger Decisions
The key question with Tropicana Field, however, is whether St. Petersburg will opt to make these repairs. The city owns the facility, which is now perhaps entering a lame-duck period with last summer’s deal to build a new, $1.3 billion ballpark for the Rays with a projected opening in 2028. Upcoming changes in the Pinella County commission membership, however, could also threaten that project happening.
City leaders have already filed an insurance claim to recoup some repair costs, and the Tampa Bay Times reported that the policy on Tropicana Field carries $25 million of coverage after a $22 million deductible. But the coverage was reduced in March from a prior level of $100 million to save $275,000 in premium payments.
