Tropicana Field Repairs Underway, but When Can Tampa Bay Rays Move Back In?
In this story:
Last October, Hurricane Milton destroyed the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., sending the Tampa Bay Rays into temporary quarters for the 2025 season. It also was part of a chain of events that led to the abandonment of plans for a new stadium for the Rays, as well as the likely sale of the team.
But one piece of news should provide the Rays with some stability as everything else is figured out.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch announced that crews are hard at work on a $59 million repair to the stadium.
“Repair progress is well underway at Tropicana Field,” Welch posted to Facebook on Thursday. “My team and I visited to get a closer look at the roof repairs up close. The first of 24 roof panels is getting installed this week.
“At this pace, we're on track to complete the panel installation by the end of December.”
That moves the Rays closer to spending the 2026 season back at Tropicana Field, their home since their expansion year of 1998.
With Tropicana Field out of commission this season, the Rays are playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring home of the New York Yankees.
Almost since the time he bought the team in 2004, owner Stu Sternberg had been trying to secure a new home for the Rays. Several options fell through, but in September 2023, the club and public officials announced a public-private partnership to build a $1.3 billion stadium as part of the revitalization of St. Petersburg’s historic Gas Plant district.
However, the club’s future has been in flux since the fall. Sternberg contended delays caused by the hurricane altered his stadium timeline and increased his costs, and he backed out of the plans earlier this year.
Sternberg also reportedly has an agreement to sell the team, leaving any stadium decisions for new ownership.
The Rays are scheduled to return to a revamped Tropicana Field in 2026 with a three-year lease.
