Tampa Bay Rays Secure $22.5 Million in Funding to Replace Tropicana Field Roof

The City of St. Petersburg voted to approve replacing the roof at Tropicana Field after the Tampa Bay Rays' home stadium was destroyed by Hurricane Milton in October.

The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, was torn off by Hurricane Milton's powerful winds. | Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays are just one week into their temporary stay at George M. Steinbrenner Field, but they have already gotten some promising news regarding their real home.

Per the Tampa Bay Times' Jack Prator and Colleen Wright, the St. Petersburg City Council voted Thursday to approve replacing the roof at Tropicana Field, which had been destroyed by Hurricane Milton in October. The city will spend $22.5 million on a new teflon-coated fiberglass roof, using the same material that the original roof was made out of.

The new roof will be white rather than beige, since the material is less expensive and takes less time to install.

Construction would be done in time for the 2026 season, should the project remain on schedule. Roof repairs are expected to be done in December, while turf replacement wouldn't be done until February.

Back in November, the city council hired Hennessy Construction Services to evaluate the wreckage at Tropicana Field. They estimated that it would cost $55.7 million to repair the park prior to the 2026 campaign, $23.6 million of which would go to the roof.

That leaves just over $30 million in additional costs required to fix the rest of Tropicana Field. The city council is set to vote on the funding for metal panels, sports lighting, audio visual equipment, drywall, flooring and carpets in the coming months.

St. Petersburg is required to make Tropicana Field playable, per their agreement with the Rays as the stadium's landlord. They already spent about $6 million in November to create a temporary drainage system and waterproof areas left exposed by the damage.

Last month, Rays ownership squashed their deal with the St. Petersburg that would have resulted in a new stadium opening in 2029. The club's lease at Tropicana Field is set to expire at the end of the 2028 season.

The Rays have called Tropicana Field home since their inaugural season in 1998.

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