If hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field does get repaired, it likely won't be in time for the start of the 2026 baseball season. That's because St. Petersburg is saying there's no deadline to fix the Trop's tattered roof.
A letter sent Jan. 15 from the city to the Tampa Bay Rays says the use agreement with the team "does not establish a deadline for completing those repairs. As a result, it is possible the term of the Use Agreement could extend beyond the 2028 season."
That's because according to the current agreement, every year the stadium is not in usable shape, it extends the agreement by another year. The team was originally going to play at the Trop through the end of 2027.
How this will affect the ongoing negotiations over building a new stadium to replace the Trop is unclear. The team has gone back and forth over repairing the stadium, which could cost over $56 million. It would then be torn down to build a new stadium.
The Rays plan to play the upcoming regular season at Tampa's George Steinbrenner Field, the spring home of the New York Yankees. They have until March to complete a list of conditions before they can access public money dedicated to build the $1.3 billion stadium.
In December, Pinellas County commissioners agreed to help pay for a new baseball stadium. It would use bed taxes, which are collected on hotel room stays.
Since St. Petersburg council members also approved their portion of the funding, the ball is now in the Rays' court to fulfill their obligations in the contract.
The Rays at first said the original deal was effectively dead because of cost overruns from the delay and damages to Tropicana Field. But they recanted, saying they're willing to work on finding new funding sources.