Florida city council changes mind on paying to repair Tampa Bay Rays' ballpark after hurricane ripped roof off

Just hours after voting to finance repairs to the home stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays, the St. Petersburg City Council reversed course. 

The Rays will now pay the division rival New York Yankees $15 million to play their home regular-season games at New York's spring training ballpark. That is now the only certain home the Rays will have until further notice. 

The stadium's fiberglass roof was ripped clean off Oct. 9 when Hurricane Milton swept ashore just south of Tampa Bay. Then came the destructive water damage inside the venue, causing an estimated $55.7 million in damage. The extensive repairs cannot be finished before the 2026 season, city documents show.

The city at least would have supplied some funding and started the process with its initial vote, which was a 4-3 decision.

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The initial vote Thursday was to get moving on the roof portion of the repair. Once that was done, crews would begin working on laying down a new baseball field and fixing damaged seating and office areas and a variety of electronic systems, which would require another vote to approve money for the remaining restoration.

Members who opposed it said there wasn’t enough clarity on numerous issues, including how much would be covered by the ballpark’s insurance and what amount might be provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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The reversal on fixing Tropicana Field came after the council voted to delay consideration of revenue bonds for a proposed new $1.3 billion Rays ballpark. Just two days earlier, the Pinellas County Commission postponed a vote on its share of the new stadium bonds, leaving that project in limbo.

"This is a sad place. I’m really disappointed," council Chair Deborah Figg-Sanders said. "We won’t get there if we keep finding ways we can’t."

The Rays say the lack of progress puts the new stadium plan and the future of Tropicana Field in jeopardy.

"I can’t say I’m confident about anything," Rays Co-President Brian Auld told council members.

The reversal now means the city and Rays must work on an alternative in the coming weeks so that Tropicana Field can possibly be ready for the 2026 season.

"I’d like to pare it down and see exactly what we’re obligated to do," council member John Muhammad said.

Several council members said before the vote on the $23.7 million to fix the roof that the city is contractually obligated to do so.

"I don’t see a way out of it. We have a contract that’s in place," council member Gina Driscoll said. "We’re obligated to do it. We are going to fix the roof."

The team's planned new stadium would be ready for the 2028 season, if that project advances, the team said Tuesday.

Rays top executives said in a letter to the Pinellas County Commission that the team has already spent $50 million for early work on the new $1.3 billion ballpark and cannot proceed further because of delays in approval of bonds for the public share of the costs.

"The Rays organization is saddened and stunned by this unfortunate turn of events," a letter, signed by co-presidents Auld and Matt Silverman, said. They noted the overall project was previously approved by the County Commission and the City of St. Petersburg.

Asked if Major League Baseball can survive long term in the Tampa Bay area, Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg said the outlook is "less rosy than it was three weeks ago. We're going to do all that we can, as we've tried for 20 years, to keep the Rays here for generations to come."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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