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St. Petersburg City Council Approves $1.4 Million to Start Process of Fixing Tropicana Field Roof

The roof was nearly completely torn off in October's Hurricane Milton, but the process of fixing it has now started.
Brady Farkas|
Tropicana Field, home to Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, on June 3, 2024. The 1.1 million square foot stadium is located in St. Petersburg, Florida, which was in Hurricane Milton's destructive path across the state on Oct. 9, 2024. Hurricane Milton spawned tornadoes and unleashed heavy winds, rain and flooding across the state as the region was still reeling from Hurricane Helene.
Tropicana Field, home to Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, on June 3, 2024. The 1.1 million square foot stadium is located in St. Petersburg, Florida, which was in Hurricane Milton's destructive path across the state on Oct. 9, 2024. Hurricane Milton spawned tornadoes and unleashed heavy winds, rain and flooding across the state as the region was still reeling from Hurricane Helene. | Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Tampa Bay Rays

On Thursday, the St. Petersburg City Council took the first step toward making Tropicana Field playable for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2026.

Back in October, Hurricane Milton badly damaged the roof, nearly ripping it completely off and exposing the inside of the ballpark, causing more damage. The field has been deemed unplayable for 2025 and the Rays will spend the season at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

Now, the Rays are locked in a legal battle over their potential new stadium (set to open in 2028), so the future is still murky for the organization. Furthermore, given that the Rays are down the road on a new stadium, there may not be a huge appetite to fully fix Tropicana Field for just two seasons, but the council's fund approval satisfies a legal agreement to fix the roof.

Per FOX 13:

St. Pete's council wanted to move forward with the vote because saying yes to the repairs satisfies their use agreement, but they also wanted to look at other paths forward. 

It's unclear what those "other paths forward" might represent at this time.

The Rays went 80-82 this past season, finishing fourth in the American League East. Though they will be playing in a minor league stadium, the Rays should still be competitive in 2025. They have a good roster and return ace pitcher Shane McClanahan from injury. He missed all of 2024 with Tommy John surgery and will help provide high-end talent to the starting rotation under manager Kevin Cash.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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