TAMPA — In less than two months, Tampa Bay Rays fans will be back inside Tropicana Field for the first time since Hurricane Milton ripped off the roof and damaged the inside. Spectrum News was given a final look inside ahead of the home opener.

What You Need To Know

Tropicana Field was heavily damaged during Hurricane Milton in October 2024 

Since then, crews have replaced roof and gutted any areas where water intruded

St. Petersburg’s city council approved $59.7 million for the project

City officials maintain the Trop will be open for the Rays home opener on April 6

Work has been underway for more than a year to bring baseball back to the Trop. Crews have racked up an impressive quarter million man hours replacing the roof and gutting and repairing areas where water came in.

City of St. Petersburg officials say they’re on track to open on time and remain within their nearly $60 million budget.

“Once the roof came back on, it really was warp speed with all the drywall, all the finishes, the paint. Even just remediating anything that had gotten wet over the last few months, getting all that out,” said Beth Herendeen with the City of St Petersburg.

On Friday, city officials celebrated lots of construction milestones. The new net has been hung, data and fiber cable have been laid, and audio is in. And with crews finishing up work on the new $1.3 million artificial turf, Tropicana Field is starting to look like a baseball stadium again. 

By the end of the month, crews will have the field stripped, allowing the new lights to be aimed at the refurbished diamond.

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Meantime, air quality tests are underway to ensure that the facility is safe for fans to return.

“Some things are minor, some things are major, but those areas that did get water intrusion really did get a significant amount of water intrusion,” Herendeen said.

While construction continues, city officials confirm FEMA has approved $16.5 million in reimbursements for their work on the Trop. The city’s insurance is paying out another $10.8 million, and the city is expecting $2.7 million more from the state when it’s all said and done. But there is much work left to do.

“We’re going to be putting the outfield padding, there’s a lot of drywall, lot of carpet replacement, the locker rooms for both the home and visiting teams remains to be done. We have those materials on site and are getting started. But a lot of it is just buttoning up the little things that need to be done,” said Catherine Corcoran, senior capital projects coordinator with the City of St. Petersburg.

There may be paintbrushes out touching up early the morning of the home opener, but officials stress they will be ready.

The Rays are set to take on the Chicago Cubs on April 6. The cheapest ticket, as of Feb. 13, will run you $80.