Just over one year after Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, the iconic dome roof over St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field has been restored.
City officials confirmed Friday that all 24 replacement panels have been installed over the Tampa Bay Rays beleaguered home turf, which has sat sodden and exposed to the elements ever since Hurricane Milton ravaged the city and its stadium in October 2024.
The storm forced the Rays to play their entire 2025 season out of Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees 10,000-seat spring training stadium. But with roof repairs completed ahead of schedule, city officials announced Friday that Tropicana Field’s $59.7 million makeover should be completed before the 2026 Major League Baseball season begins next April.
“I want to thank our city team and our contractors for their diligent work in getting the roof installation completed ahead of schedule,” St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch says in a statement. “This project was a massive undertaking, but we have an outstanding team working on it and making sure we’re prepared for opening day. We look forward to completing the remaining repairs and welcoming fans back for the 2026 season.”
It may be the last season the Rays play out of their Tropicana Field home, which is only a rental. The City of St. Petersburg owns the stadium and had to foot the bill for its repairs under a contract that ensures the Rays play ball at Tropicana Field until the end of the 2028 MLB season, when the terms of their lease expire and the team is free to seek out a new home base.
That’s likely what the team’s new owners will choose to do, they say. Jacksonville homebuilder Patrick Zalupski, the new managing partner and co-chair of the Rays, told reporters in October that he intends to build a new ball park for the team by Opening Day 2029 and is looking at possible locations on both sides of Tampa Bay.
Until then, though, the Rays are still contractually obligated to stay in St. Petersburg. The MLB schedule puts the team at the Trop for its home opener on April 6.
The stadium’s new roof is made of a thicker, more durable Teflon-coated material than the fiberglass panels destroyed by the storm. While the old roof was built to withstand winds up to 115 mph, the new panels, manufactured in Germany, can withstand winds up to 165 mph winds, according to city records. The total cost for the new roof is about $22.5 million.
With the new panels in place, city contractors can now begin repairs inside the stadium, which include replacing its artificial turf, damaged wall panels and seats as well as numerous architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, equipment and audio-visual repairs.
According to a release from the city, workers will begin installing a new audio system in the stadium next month, along with new backstop netting and outfield wall padding. Turf installation is scheduled to begin in January, with final repairs expected to be completed in March.