City council to tackle Trop repairs, future funding

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Many of St. Petersburg City Council members were all in the same room Wednesday night for the first time since the city’s report came out showing how much it would cost to fix Tropicana Field.

While some city council members expected the stadium’s future to be a talking point at the city’s “Hurricane Recovery and Resource Meeting” held at the Colesium, the two-hour meeting ended before the topic came up.

City councilors now have until their next formal meeting on Thursday 21 Nov. to review the 412-page damage report. The agenda says council members will discuss both the Trops’ storm-related cost report and bonds related to financing the new stadium and the Historic Gas Plant District.

The damage report indicates that repairs will run over $55 million and not be completed until the 2026 season. Roof repairs alone will cost $23.6 million.

The Rays will play their home games in 2025 at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

Councilor Deborah Figgs-Sanders says she is grateful the report has been completed and released.

“Now we have actual numbers to work with,” she said. “But at the end of the day, we were contractually obligated to make the decision that the mayor made.”

Figgs-Sanders says under the current agreement, it’s up to the city to foot the bill for repairs.

“We certainly want our resources … we want to talk to legal entities and we want to have those conversations to make sure we understand that was the only option we had,” she said. “So we’re still going through it because it’s a big decision to have made, but at the end of the day we were contractually obligated,” she said.

While the cost of fixing up Tropicana Field to get the Rays back before the 2026 season is one piece of the puzzle, the other is the brand new stadium that officials say will be completed by Opening Day in 2028.

Ron Diner is a longtime resident and leader of the citizen-led group No Home Runwho are against the new stadium. He says he hopes this gives the city the chance to take a closer look at the deal.

“If we suddenly get a reputation that we have a huge problem with our sewers and our toilets that don’t flush, maybe the businesses won’t come here,” he said. “They’re going to have trouble attracting people who want to live here and care about all these things. Why shouldn’t we prioritize what matters?”

He believes major sewage and flooding problems that emerged during the hurricanes should be the city’s priority.

“I want them to look the residents in the eye who have all their possessions in front of them and say… instead of fixing the sewers, or fixing the seawalls or protecting the infrastructure, we’re going to put it in a stadium,” said he.