A damage assessment report on Tropicana Field was presented to St. Petersburg City Council members today, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Per that report, the stadium could be fixed in time for the 2026 season at an estimated cost of $55.7MM. It’s still unclear whether the city will actually want to pay that cost for essentially just two years of use, since the facility is slated for demolition prior to the 2028 season, when the club is hoping to unveil a new stadium.
About a month ago, the Trop was significantly damaged by Hurricane Milton, with the roof appearing to be the part most affected. The takeaway from today’s report is that the building is structurally sound and could return to an operational state after some repairs, primarily to the roof. Fixing the roof is necessary because the field doesn’t have drainage. Given the frequency of rain in the area, playing without a roof would be logistically difficult, which is why it was built in the first place.
The city of St. Petersburg owns the stadium and has already filed an insurance claim. Per Topkin, the policy has a $22MM deductible and $25MM of coverage, though it had $100MM coverage as of March, when the city opted to save $275K in annual premium payments by reducing their coverage.
It’s a bit of an awkward spot. As mentioned, the plan has long been to build a new stadium on essentially the same plot of land that currently houses the Trop. As part of that plan, the Trop would be demolished and the new stadium opened in time for the 2028 season. With the extensive damage of the storm, a decision has to be made about whether it’s worth investing resources into a doomed facility. Presumably, the city has plenty of other repair projects that could use that money.
That leaves 2026 and 2027 sort of undecided for now. In the short term, it seems all but guaranteed that the Rays won’t be playing in the Trop in 2025. Though it’s not stated outright, that seems to be the implication of today’s assessment report. That’s not necessarily a surprise, as it already seemed unlikely the roof could be fixed so quickly, but it does seem to confirm that the Rays will be nomads next year.
That means the Rays will need to find somewhere to play their home games for at least one year and possibly longer. There’s little clarity on where that will be, though Topkin notes that both MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and Pinellas County politicians have encouraged the Rays to stay in the area. That could perhaps be somewhere like BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, home of the Threshers, the Single-A affiliate of the Phillies.
That scenario or any similar proposal would have the domino effects of needing to find a new home for the displaced club or altering the schedule enough for the two clubs to share one park. Such logistical challenges and others will need to be smoothed out over time. For now, it seems a lock that Major League Baseball will have two nomadic clubs at the same time, at least for one year. The Athletics are leaving Oakland but their new stadium in Las Vegas isn’t slated to be ready until 2028, so they are planning to play the next three seasons in West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park, home of the Giants’ Triple-A club.
Orange you glad that Tropicana can be fixed?
Juice the news we wanted to hear.
Didn’t you read? With only two years left, the opportunity for rebuilding is fruitless
The – I don’t think anybody read Marc’s article. LOL!!
Lots of important points that weren’t mentioned above:
1) St Pete mayor Welch has a strong desire to repair The Trop.
2) Whatever repair costs not covered by insurance would likely be covered by FEMA.
3) Repairing The Trop would delay the new stadium opening until 2029.
4) Newly elected members of the Pinellas County Commission have expressed reservations about approving the necessary bonds for constructing a new stadium, which could kill the new stadium altogether.
That’s a whole lot of important info!!!
Honestly, I get more leisure reading comments. The writers lack credit when they say things like the Red Sox are after Juan Soto. Give me a break if you actually believe that
The seeds of humor are all a rind here.
I’m sorry
I think that we’ve squeezed all the pins we can out of this article.
There’s simply no lemon to these puns.
Can they not play the season in their spring training facility?
I think there would have to be the understanding that if they play in the playoffs, a different “home stadium” would be used.
They will never play another game in the Trop. Why bother? Moving to a new stadium in a few years. Fixing would be a sunken cost. Nomads for a while
Tampa’s mayor was a man-darin fate with that insurance policy
Get a clue. Rays play in St. Pete.
It’s all the same to me. Florida will probably in the ocean in 15 years anyway lmao
> the policy has a $22MM deductible and $25MM of coverage, though it had $100MM coverage as of March, when the city opted to save $275K in annual premium payments by reducing their coverage.
woof
Agreed. Trading $75M of potential coverage in a hurricane-susceptible area for $275k of annual savings is….interesting.
Why? The building was scheduled to be torn down in late 2027
Because the roof was already due to be replaced years ago. They knew they had a compromised roof, yet reduced insurance coverage anyway.
If you want to take your chances with an old roof, fine. If you want to take your chances with reduced coverage, fine. But don’t do BOTH. They were asking for trouble. Sometimes spending money is the most financially responsible option.
Pads – Sometimes tempting fate and taking huge risks ain’t worth it.
This was one of those times.
Would you drastically reduce your auto insurance coverage because there’s only 2 months remaining on the policy? I would hope not.
Would you reduce your auto insurance policy because your car was 30 years old and was going to be crushed into a block in 2 months? Absolutely..
Even if the city kept the higher insurance the Rays would be looking for a new home in 2025 and would probably never play in Tropicana again. There is no reason to invest money in a ballpark that is scheduled to be demolished in 2 years. The city just got crushed by a hurricane and has more important things to spend their taxpayer’s money on.
Pads – No I wouldn’t, because it’s all about potential exposure to liability. In those 2 months if I accidentally run over a person or a Yankee fan with my car, I could be sued for everything I’ve got. Is it worth the risk just to save a few bucks on the insurance premium? Heck no!
I agree with your last sentence, and ironically that’s exactly why the funding for the new stadium most likely will fall through …. which means repairing The Trop becomes a necessity.
It was not liability insurance on the Trop. There is no liability in this case. Just damages to the building. The city of St Petersburg does not have to repair the facility at all.
In this case it saved the city of St Petersburg $550k on insurance and they get out from under a lease that was costing the city money, not making it money,
You realize that Tampa hadn’t had a direct hit hurricane in 100 years. Timing is everything.
You realize more and more places are having “once in a 100 year” weather events recently? Also, does that mean people shouldn’t buy earthquake insurance just because ‘the big one’ hasn’t hit in 100 years?
Nelson Muntz laugh.
youtu.be/eOifa1WrOnQ?si=Fa4pdW9lT17lavwr
I thought for sure this would be the lamp proprietor from Family Guy canceling his insurance.
Oh, that too!
youtu.be/Q5OzvvDcgtg?si=705FXsFwd3Vousxg
Coincidentally or not, the estimated repair cost falls just a hair below the $57M insurance coverage max, of which the first $22M would be out of pocket.
The extra $75M coverage they had until March wouldn’t have added any value, so long as the repair cost comes in at the estimate.
I can’t add. The insurance coverage is only $47m. So extra insurance would have covered about $8M more.
Either way I can’t see the city spending on a structure they’ll need to tear down. But where to go? To Clearwater (another minor league facility). Yikes!
Pete – If deciding to pocket the insurance payout means a significant amount of lost revenue for the Rays, how could the city in good conscious make that decision?
And depending on the terms of the lease, I’m not even sure the city could legally do that without coming up with a compensation agreement with the Rays.
To be fair they thought they were outta there soon, did not work out though
Good lord. Add in the fact that they neglected to upgrade their roof years ago (when it was due) and it’s hard to imagine this ballpark could’ve been managed worse.
Wouldn’t you have reduced your coverage when given the opportunity knowing that in 3 years the building would be torn down?
Not if I knew the roof was compromised and losing it would disable the entire stadium. Penny wise and pound foolish.
Why not just take that money that would go to the deductible (22M, though it should take much less, tbh) and enhance the Wide World of Sports Field in Orlando, FL, which would be allow them to continue having games in the same state/vicinity as their home (though Tampa is a ways from Orlando), while growing it, getting tourists to watch that would be going to Disney World.
Rather than waiting a few years for the new stadium build project, they can move forward earlier demo-ing and rebuilding on the same site, as planned. You have limited sunken costs (pun not intended, but appreciated after the fact), and could possibly increase the fan base in a another region of the state (Orlando) that has been pushing for team.
I think the city of St. Petersburg is responsible to repair Tropicana – why would they pay to enhance the Disney Stadium?
Not saying they need to pay, but they probably should pay some as a goodwill gesture, while they (under this plan) would get working on building a new stadium in their city earlier than expected. Any funds they could devote would be an olive branch and they wouldn’t need to devote those funds to repairing a roof for 2 years, only to be torn down. But I’m sure Orlando would also help with some of those funds if they knew there were getting MLB games for 1-2 seasons. For example, the city of Birmingham, AL committed 4.5M for 1 MLB game at Rickwood Field (STLv.SF) to celebrate Negro League/Willie Mays ties. So is it really that crazy to spend 3-4x that on ~80+ home MLB games for the displaced Rays?
If the choice for them is pay $22M for Tropicana or pay $5M for Disney I can definitely see the merit of option B.
The city and county are threatening to pull their funding for the new stadium if the Rays don’t play in Pinellas next year, so Disney is probably out. Of course, with the new commissioners who won election last week (anti-stadium guys), they may pull their funding no matter what. Anyone want to bet on where the Rays play in 2028? It’s not looking good for St. Pete.
Mp2, that would be a good thing. St Pete, especially the area around the Trop, is a terrible place to put a stadium in terms of getting fans there. Private finance and build in Tampa.
Where does the money come from? The workers? Materials? There’s a reason this stuff is planned so many years in advance, you can’t just snap your fingers and make it happen 2 years sooner.
They’re waiting on you to launch their GoFundMe. Get busy.
You’re the one talking about cities offering 10’s of millions of dollars to other cities as a “good gesture” and an “olive branch” lol. Go back to playing video game GM because you’re detached from reality.
LOL — read the post above, Birmingham paid 4.5M this past season to renovate Rickwood for 1 MLB game (possibly more in the future)! This team has been looking for an excuse to relocate for years, while they’ve been trying to figure out funding for a new stadium, which is still years away. MLB wants to keep them there, but like OAK, it may not have a choice (esp. for the short term) if there’s no MLB-approved place to play in the vicinity. It’s just an idea, but not one without challenges. Got a better one? Let’s hear it.
Yeah, George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Rays aren’t spending 85% of their payroll on a roof…
Wander Franco is owed 173.6M (8M in 2025). Let that marinate.
He’s owed nothing on the commish exempt list
Ah yes, not paid while on exempt list, which I’d imagine would the remainder of the deal, so it’s interesting predicament. Do they divert costs, or wait until it’s settled (convicted/sentenced, etc.). Crazy situation.
He just got a gun charge in a country he’s not allowed to leave due to other charges
That contract doesn’t have a lot of time left before it’s squashed.
If he’s not available to play, which he isn’t (can’t leave the country), he won’t be paid. There should be any number of ways to cancel the contract. Due to his own actions/decisions, Franco can’t hold up his end of the deal.
He’s never playing in MLB again. They can count on that money not going to Franco.
Franco will never be paid another penny by the Rays. That contract is just waiting on a resolution of the court case. No matter what that resolution is, MLB will find a way to terminate that contract. Even if is proven 100% innocent, which I highly doubt will happen, he’ll never get another dime from Tampa.
Doesn’t even need to be proven innocent.
See Bauer, Trevor.
Yeah, lets hope the Franco situation doesn’t get resolved the same way Bauer’s was. Bauer was paid his contract. Franco shouldn’t get another red cent.
The city owns it, not the team. The city is responsible for fixing it.
“The city of St. Petersburg owns the stadium and has already filed an insurance claim.”
Rays aren’t paying anything. It’s not their obligation to maintain the stadium. It’s the city’s responsibility.
No it’s not their responsibility but if I read the cities insurance policy correctly they are only covered for 3 million. 25 million policy triggers after 22 million deductible. I don’t see the city doing it.
Now if the Rays determine that they gain 80 million in ticket sales for a 55 million roof is the city going to stop them from footing the bill? Of course not.
You read the policy? Wow! Where did you find it? As I understand it, the Rays have $25MM in coverage after a $22MM deductible. A $3million policy after a $22MM deductible is ludicrous. They commissioned a study last year to get a sense of the expected damages the Trop would incur from a major storm and that report came back a little below $50MM. Hurricane Milton caused $56MM in damages, so about what was expected. Rays lost out by reducing their coverage to save a couple hundred grand, but they made an informed decision and it’s hard to fault their logic. The Tampa Bay area hadn’t been hit by a major storm in 100 years.
As for your 2nd paragraph, I believe the city is obligated to provide the Rays with a Major League caliber baseball stadium through 2027 (and to maintain the Trop). There may be provisions in the Lease that allow them to get out of that obligation, but I doubt it considering how difficult it is for the Rays to just find a new stadium to play in. Long story short, if the city refuses to perform, the Rays can sue them for their damages (which I’m guestimating will be in the $40-50MM range per year). It’s that very risk that had the city agree to pay $6.5MM in mitigation repairs before receiving the full damage report.
They Averaged 16,500 fans per home game. A single A facility should be plenty big enough.
For real. Not even joking.
Even Triple-A ballparks are usually only 10,ooo. Single-A wouldn’t be nearly big enough, but it might be worth it anyway in the short-term.
None of the current Spring Training facilities/minor league parks in Florida have a larger capacity than 11,026 (Tampa – Steinbrenner Field). That would be 5,500 short of the Rays’ average.
I’m guessing that when the big market teams aren’t in town they probably run 10k through the gates.
You might want to google minor league stadium sizes before posting. Here, I’ll help – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Triple-A_baseball_st…
The city is responsible for fixing the Trop.
The city is within their rights to choose not to repair the facility if it won’t prove to be worth it for the taxpayers. The city’s responsibility is to its taxpayers.
Since it was scheduled to be torn down in November 2027 I doubt they do any repairs unless the team agrees to play in the Trop longer.
It makes ZERO sense to spend that much money to repair a stadium that would only be used for two years. There are enough Spring Training parks in Florida to find some place or multiple places for the Rays to plays until their new stadium is done in 2028.
It makes “some” sense only in ticket sales. They averaged 16,500 attendance. You’re not getting 16,500 into a spring training facility that doesn’t host a minor league team like they are expected to play in so they need to math this out and see if the additional revenue even for only two years exceeds the cost. If it doesn’t they don’t but if it does they might. Rays gotta get dollars however they can.
Having a “barnstorming” team throughout the state of Florida would arguably be better for their long term success there than missing a few thousand ticket sales in 2026 and 2027. Tampa’s fan base just isn’t that strong, but if they could find some new fans in different surrounding areas, it might serve them better.
Yep… and the trop would have to withstand hurricane season 2025-27…
Flip side of that when Hurricane Holyshit comes thru next year and destroys the spring training field they are on they could move back to the Trop lol
Would it make sense if the Rays sue the city for violating their Lease Agreement and the Rays incur $50 million in lost revenue each year they play away from the Trop?
I’m willing to bet, in Florida especially that there are natural disaster clauses in those contracts.
There are force majeure clauses in many contracts, but I seriously doubt the Lease includes a generic force majeure clause that allows the city to walk away from the lease permanently. They most likely have to repair the Trop timely. Think about the risk to the Rays of allowing the city to just walk away from their commitment to repair the Trop. The Rays are going to be losing more than the city’s non-insured damages every year they can’t play in the Trop just in lost stadium related revenue. The loss in value to the franchise in other ways (loss of fans who can’t see them play) is incalculable. .
I don’t believe the city has a responsibility to the Trop they have a responsibility to provide a place for them to play. It sounds like they’re gonna fix it and push back the new stadium a year but I’ll put good money down the bill goes up by the end. If I had a professional sports field with super high grade plastic as a roof in hurricane alley I’d have built drainage into the field. They didn’t. Understood post hurricane season is the “dry” season in Florida but it won’t take much to ruin the turf, padding etc. nowhere for the water to go.
I hope you’re right. The city and county’s new commissioners are anti-stadium and the anti-stadium commissioners now number in the majority. Rays could be on the move…. permanently.
I think the current bond deal gets pulled. Whether something can replace it in Tampa remains to be seen
The Phillies will require a Rays top 5 prospect as a non-refundable security deposit for the use of BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater. And no Wander Franco funny business.
it would never happen, but what if MLB has the Rays play in Oakland this year so Tampa can just tear down The Trop & starting building the 2028 stadium a year or two earlier?
or spilt Miami with the Marlins and/or Atlanta with the Braves
43 dates that both teams have scheduled home games in 2025. That would not work. That is why MLB wants an alternative in the Tampa area like George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
MLB has already stated they want them to stay in market. Oakland is decidedly not in market
which is why I already stated “it would never happen”
So by your own words your comment was pointless. Thanks for clarifying.
and so were yours douchebag
@28rings,
My cousin knows a guy who says it could happen.
Just come and play at Nashville’s AAA stadium and have fans that will appreciate the team. I went to a Yankees vs Rays game at the Trop last year. Place was half filled at best and 80% of the crowd was Yankees fans. The team deserves better!
That would be an intriguing proposition. I can see the stadium packed in Nashville
Do they though? Other fanbases our outsiders will blame the fans and cry poor for the Rays. The team is run by a penny-pinching owner, and his group of passionateless data analyzers. No matter where they are, they will continue to penny pinch. They have an embarrassing online presence, lack of community outreach, and lack of care for the local area. The Bucs and Lightning do it right. The Rays management is just awful. They don’t even try. And their method of selling super cheap tickets hasn’t worked tl build a fanbase (but they’re still doing it and cheapening the brand).
Yes fans should take some blame, but let’s not pretend the owners are trying their best. They might be so e of the most passionateless owners in the league.
You’re not wrong on any of it. I think the difference is with baseball…..half the area is retired, lifelong Yankees fans. The games I’ve been to at the Trop, it was literally a Yankees home game.
Just wait until 2028 for the new Ballpark. And play in a minor league field until then.
why wait for 2028? … play in the minor league fields for 1 or 2 years and knock down The Trop & start building the new ballpark NOW so it’s ready for 2026 or 2027
The new stadium is being constructed in the parking lots, so new demolition needed to start. The construction was already scheduled to start in January, and take until 2028. 2026 is definitely not possible, and I doubt 2027 is likely. Massive construction takes time to safely complete.
Yea Hurricane saving money for early demolition.
Should use any spring training park and have the complex league team play on back fields when there’s a conflict
2 teams will likely be playing in minor league ballparks for the next 3 seasons. We’re about to see some flunky stats, particularly on offense.
Any flunky stats on offense will have an equally flunky effect on pitching stats.
Not necessarily since most of the spring training parks are close enough in dimension to MLB parks. There will be more home runs since the balls will fly in the heat, but most of their other stats should stay the same. I guarantee an everyday player on the A’s or Rays will hit 50 HRs. Look at those Texas Rangers teams before Globe Life, for example.
Explain how if more HR’s are hit that it won’t adversely affect the pitchers stats that are giving up those HR’s?
For one, no A’s and Rays pitchers will pitch exclusively at their home park. An everyday player will play more so they’re more likely to benefit from a more friendly offensive environment.
This also is not a situation like in altitude where pitchers will have a difficult time throwing breaking pitches or have problems with fatigue. A switch in ballparks should to a non-altitude ballpark should not impact K/9, BB/9, hard hit contact, innings pitched, etc.
It will also depend on a pitcher’s stuff. Flyball pitchers will struggle like they did in Texas. I’m just saying, you will see more out of nowhere hitting numbers than you will see pitching numbers.
…and the Blue Jays when they had to play in Buffalo, particularly Vlad Jr.
Fred – there is no way around a pitchers ERA and related stats not going up if he is giving up HRs in any game in any park on any day. So l, as you suggest if an offense has a clunky day of hrs, that pitcher(s) will have inflated stats as well.
Home pitchers will pitch in that park 1/2 the year. If every offense coming in has said flunky stats, the pitchers will have inflated stats.
One team flunky stats
The other still flunky offense
Whether they play in a Minor League park, or multiple parks, what happens if they make the postseason? You can justify a small park with their average attendance, but can’t possibly host a playoff game there. Imagine hosting a World Series game in a 15K capacity location. . . yikes. . .
I would guess any postseason games would be held in Miami’s dome, where there would be certainty of games without weather problems.
They’ll just increase the ticket prices.. Would probably at least be 3x the normal price for a playoff ticket at the Trop.
I would hope they would go for LoanDepot Park in that scenario. It would make the most sense. I think it’s unlikely that both Florida teams will make the playoffs at the same time.
I know Manfred expects the public to pay for everything, but one does wonder why the same entity that represents the beneficiaries of tens of billions in public subsidies can’t step up to the plate for a little leadership. Even a small amount, to deal with the situation. Probably revenue neutral, when you count in even lower attendance
I can’t currently think a of basic fairness argument for the team, fans and fiscally responsible reason to waste $ on a fix on the existing stadium If it planned on being demolished in 2 years.
If they find a tentative new temporary 2 year home the total cost of the lease plus any additional additions (seating and MLB quality lighting maybe)
I don’t mean this with sarcasm or as a cheap shot but what capacity does the team need based on expected ticket sales etc.
Is 28,000 with some extra SRO capacity reasonable? 25K?
Copilot AI says the TB Rays average home attendance for 2024 was 16,515 a decrease from 17,781 from the previous year
MLB Leadership could step up and make use of Rickwood Field in Alabama former home to Birmingham Barons. Wikipedia says capacity is 8,300. Birmingham is 147 miles from Atlanta GA
I bet we could find enough smart engineers to design extra capacity at a reasonable cost. Create local construction jobs.
>>> Honor the history of the Negro Leagues.
Other Ideas
Disney locations OR with all the Spring Training facilities there has to be a location that can work. (Independent league stadiums use while on the road?
C’mon Make it Happen. Let’s Get Things Done! No bureacracy nonsense!
TB Rays gets a lot of credit for building a borderline playoff team on a shoestring budget but this might require a miracle.
Cover the roof in Franco affidavits.
Noice!
*Laminated copies
Has MLB fallen so far that we may have 2 teams playing the next 3 regular seasons in Minor league stadiums? Maybe there needs to be a “stadium upkeep” committee or something, this is absurd…
It was a HURRICANE. It was not failure to do upkeep.
Not fixing the roof years ago when it was recommended was a failure to do upkeep
Time to get rid of the A’s and Rays.
Contract them. The Arrays!
Better yet, The Dope Vectors!
The Rays said they were gonna blow the roof off the place before they left, and they meant it.
Always use the article posted after a Wander Franco article to discuss MLBTR’s He Who Shall Not Be Discussed. Before I get the “its a business decision” people in here… yes it is… and this is a consumer reaction. Monsters don’t deserve to be shielded because you’re afraid of serious but necessary discussions about terrible subjects. That all being said, maybe the disgraced former and future US prez could bail him out of the country on his Lolita Express. They deserve each other!
Do they have room for Stormy Daniels?
White Sox Park currently has a Double A team using the facility, no doubt the Rays, an MLB team, can find a stadium to play in.
Time to move the Rays franchise out of Florida, permanently. Montreal would be my choice. The Marlins can go too. Florida weather is best-suited for Spring
Training games which they already have. I’m sure there are several non-Florida teams that would love an MLB franchise and would treat it as the privilege that it is.
Ironically, Olympic Stadium in Montreal is having its roof replaced and won’t be available until 2028.
For only 55mil
1 year of Juan Soto!
It is really difficult to imagine that a strong financial case can be made for the repairs. Take a few bucks to upgrade a nearby Spring Training facility (or two) to host the team for the next few seasons.
Probably unlikely but perhaps they can get an early start on the demo and new stadium and get it done before the planned open date.
They should take over Durham Bulls park! It’s big, nice and already in the Rays’ farm system. A good size market with Raleigh and Chapel Hill close, and Greensboro and Charlotte not that far. The Bulls can play at the old field across town, or at UNC or in Raleigh somewhere.
Two nomadic teams at one time, for whatever reasons… not a good look for MLB.
They have the attendance numbers of a Minor League team, so what does it matter where they play?
HAHAHA. You’re a funny guy. Rays averaged 16,500 last year, while minor league games average about 4,000.
Might as well tear it down now and start building the new stadium
Construction was supposed to start on the new stadium in january. They don’t need to tear down the Trop to begin construction on the new stadium.
Is it going to be hurricane proof?
Asking for a friend.
I imagine it will be more hurricane resistant than the 30+ year old Trop.
Choctaw in Arlington, TX maybe…
Play at Yankees spring training facility, demolish today, take the insurance payout as down payment for the new stadium and have it ready at least a year earlier!