The St. Petersburg Metropolis Council permitted $22.5M in funding to restore the Tropicana Area roof, in keeping with the Related Press (h/t ESPN). That’s much less the half the general estimated $55.7M essential to get the Trop again to playable after final fall’s hurricane injury. Different needed fixes embody repairs to the taking part in floor and lighting. The roof is anticipated to take 10 months, in keeping with the AP.
“We’re happy to see Metropolis Council take this essential step towards getting ready Tropicana Area for Main League Baseball in time for 2026 Opening Day,” Rays president Brian Auld mentioned in an announcement. “We commend specifically metropolis, Rays and MLB employees for his or her cooperative efforts to get us thus far.”
The Metropolis of St. Petersburg owns Tropicana Area, which it leases to the Rays. The town is due to this fact obligated to cowl restore prices. Main League Baseball and the Rays have maintained hope that the sphere shall be prepared by Opening Day. They’ve three years left on their lease. Because the subject shouldn’t be in use this yr, the lease is prolonged by one season. They’re contracted to play at The Trop by way of 2028, assuming they’re in a position to return to the stadium subsequent yr.
What occurs after that’s unknown. Colleen Wright of The Tampa Bay Times wrote earlier this week that the undertaking for a brand new ballpark to be in-built St. Petersburg formally died on Tuesday. The Rays had already announced they might not proceed with that plan, citing value overruns associated to delays within the county’s approval of bonds. Not like the Tropicana Area repairs, the Rays would have been chargeable for extra prices on the brand new stadium. The bonds however technically remained accessible till March 31, when the tentative settlement formally lapsed as a result of the Rays had not met needed development benchmarks.
The Rays weren’t permitted to talk with different municipalities till the St. Petersburg deal formally expired. Crew president Matt Silverman suggested last month that they may reengage with the Metropolis of Tampa and Hillsborough County after March 31. Commissioner Rob Manfred has repeatedly said that MLB stays dedicated to discovering an answer within the Tampa Bay space. The Rays couldn’t discover relocation with out league approval.
