Florida city council changes mind on paying for Tampa Bay Rays ballpark repairs after hurricane rips off roof

Hours after voting to renovate the Tampa Bay Rays’ home stadium, the St. Petersburg City Council reversed course.

The Rays will now pay the division rival New York Yankees $15 million to play their regular season home games at a New York spring training ballpark. It is now the only designated home until the Rays remain until further notice.

The stadium’s fiberglass roof was removed on October 9 when Hurricane Milton washed ashore just south of Tampa Bay. This was followed by catastrophic water damage inside the venue, causing an estimated $55.7 million in damage. City documents show the extensive repairs may not be completed before the 2026 season.

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

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Thursday’s initial vote was to move on the roof portion of the repairs. Once that’s done, crews will begin work on installing a new baseball field and repairing damaged seating and office areas and a variety of electronic systems, pending funding for the remaining repairs. will require another vote.

Members who opposed it said there was insufficient clarity on several issues, including how much the ballpark’s insurance would cover and how much money could 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 the proposed new $1.3 billion Ray Ball Park. Just two days earlier, the Pinellas County Commission postponed a vote on its portion of the new stadium bonds, leaving the project in limbo.

“It’s a sad scene. I’m really disappointed,” said Council Chair Deborah Figg-Sanders. “We’re not going to get there if we keep looking for 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 sure about anything,” Reese co-president Brian Auld told council members.

The reversal now means the city and Rays will have to work on a replacement in the coming weeks so Tropicana Field can potentially be ready for the 2026 season.

“I’d like to narrow it down and see what we’re bound to do,” said council member John Muhammad.

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

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“I don’t see any way out of this. We have a contract that’s in place,” said council member Gina Driscoll. “We’re bound to do it. We’re going to fix the roof.”

The team’s planned new stadium would be ready for the 2028 season, if the project moves forward, the team said Tuesday.

Rays officials said in a letter to the Pinellas County Commission that the team has already spent $50 million on preliminary work on the new $1.3 billion ballpark and is delaying the approval of bonds for the public portion of the cost. Can’t go any further due to

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

Asked if Major League Baseball could survive in the Tampa Bay area long-term, Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said the picture was “less rosy than it was three weeks ago. We’re doing everything we can.” Going to do what we can, as we’ve done for 20 years, to keep the rays here for future generations.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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