The roof of Tropicana Field wasn't the only part of the 35-year-old stadium damaged when Hurricane Milton clobbered the Tampa Bay area in October– but it will be the first thing to get fixed.
The St. Petersburg City Council approved nearly $23 million on Thursday to put a new roof on the Trop.
But there’s still a list of repairs that need to be approved, funded and completed before Opening Day of the 2026 baseball season, when the Rays are scheduled to return to St. Pete.
The replacement fabric panels are coming from Germany and China. Contractors are going to lay a net over the gaping hole above the field for workers to walk on as they put the new panels on.
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Council Vice Chair Lisett Hanewicz said the Tampa Bay Rays feel confident they can get the Trop playable by next year’s Opening Day.
"This is the first step in the process because, in order to repair the rest of the interior, you have to work on the roof first,” Hanewicz said.
Laying panels will start in August and be completed around December, meaning the stadium interior will likely remain uncovered during hurricane season, which runs from June through November.
Hanewicz said the Rays have built some buffer time into their plan.
"They even have time within that schedule just in case there is rain and other delays,” she said.
Once the interior is protected from the elements, contractors can start replacing audio and visual equipment, installing turf and repairing drywall.
The budgets for those repairs have yet to be proposed to the city, but the total cost of the project was estimated at $55 million.
Hanewicz said the Rays will need to bring those items to a future council meeting when they want to move forward.
