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 on Thursday approved spending nearly $23 million to put the new roof on the domed ballpark.
But there’s still a list of repairs that need to be approved, funded and completed before Opening Day next season, when the Tampa Bay Rays are scheduled to return to St. Petersburg.
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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City council Vice Chair Lisett Hanewicz said the Rays are confident they can get the Trop playable before next season begins in late March.
"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 roof 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 is estimated at more than $55 million.
Hanewicz said the Rays will need to bring those requests to a future council meeting when they want to move forward.
