St. Petersburg leaders will spend nearly $900,000 to study how to make Tropicana Field "suitable" for Major League Baseball. But city council members Thursday expressed concern about the final price tag.
There's still a lot of uncertainty about what "suitable" means. City officials also need to talk to the Tampa Bay Rays and MLB on the final plans and cost, which so far has been estimated at $55 million.
Council member Gina Driscoll says she would like some answers before the bill comes due.
“I will say that I'm really surprised that at this point in the game we do not have a definitive list from Major League Baseball on what is required. That is the only thing that keeps us from overspending unnecessarily," Driscoll said.
"We don't want to miss something that later is required," she said. "I don't want to spend a dime beyond what we absolutely have to to meet those requirements. So please tell me that someone has legally defined 'suitable'."
City leaders say MLB officials are mainly concerned about the condition of the field, the lights and the roof, which was torn to shreds in October by Hurricane Milton.
City architect Raul Quintana said the city needs to get together with the Rays to determine exactly will be on the final to-do list.
"We don't have all the answers. I don't think the Rays have all the answers on this, so that's part of what we need to have happen over the next couple of months with the work that's being done now," Quintana told council members.
"I mean the walk-through through the building, the detailed list of all of the the elements that we know that have been damaged, the determination of what goes on to those final drawings and get priced out still has to happen. That's a discussion that we're going to have to have."
Council member Richie Floyd wants to know if the repairs will cost more than the estimated $55 million.
"I want to see us have a very broad and open discussion about the future of Tropicana Field before I am willing to spend money on funds to reconstruct it," Floyd said. "In the past, there was discussion of settlement, and now I know the Rays have changed their mind and they want us to rebuild it."
"Any discussion we have on actually expending funds to do the reconstruction of it has to include what the potential for a settlement looks like with the Rays in order to not do something that on its face does appear to be wasteful, rebuilding a building that's life is not very long."
Quintana said it looks like the Trop could be repaired in time for the 2026 season opener. The Rays will play home games this season at Tampa's Steinbrenner Field, the 11,000-seat spring training home of the New York Yankees.
The team has until the end March to decide if it is sticking with a plan to redevelop the entire Tropicana Field property. If that happens, a new $1.3 billion stadium would be built, and the Trop would be demolished.
In December, Pinellas County commissioners agreed to help pay for the new stadium using bed taxes, which are collected on hotel room stays. St. Petersburg council members also approved the city's portion of the funding.
The Rays have agreed to pay the rest, including any cost overruns.
As the city awaits a decision, Mayor Ken Welch said this week St. Petersburg was prepared to move on without baseball.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that getting the Trop fixed is an immediate priority. But he also said he wants to keep the team in Tampa area and has been talking regularly with team owner Stuart Sternberg.
“I remain committed to the idea (that) we’ve got to get the Trop fixed, because we have an interim period beyond 2025 that we have to cover no matter what,” Manfred said Thursday at the baseball owners' meetings in Palm Beach.
“I think Stu is on board with that idea that we need to get it fixed as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we have a ton of uncertainty in terms of how fast can you get it fixed.”
As for long-term, Manfred said the Tampa Bay market is big enough to keep the Rays.
"There is passion for the game. Having said that, it is challenging," he said.
“It’s important the way I say this: I am spending a ton of time with Stu. I think he’s confronted with an extraordinarily difficult situation, and we’re trying to work that situation through.”
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
