castle. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After some uncertainty, the Tampa Bay Rays are now backing a $55.7 million city plan to repair hurricane-ravaged Tropicana Field in time for the 2026 season opener, with the team set to return this year to the New York Yankees’ spring training home near Tampa. We are preparing for the game. .
Rays co-chairman Matt Silverman said in an email to St. Petersburg’s top administrator that the team wanted to “clear up” all questions about rebuilding aid. The city is required to pay for the work under its current contract with the Rays.
“While we were considering a scenario in which the city purchased the obligation to rebuild the ballpark, the Rays support and expect the city to rebuild Tropicana Field under the terms of the current use agreement,” Silverman wrote.
Hurricane Milton shattered the Trop’s fabric roof when it made landfall on Oct. 9 and caused water and other damage to now-exposed interior portions of the ballpark. Work is underway to prevent further damage from the weather, but there have been questions about a full renovation in part because it will eventually be demolished to make way for a new $1.3 billion ballpark under current plans to keep the Rays in St. Louis. .Petersburg is 30 years away.
Time is of the essence, Silverman announced Monday in a Dec. 30 email to the city. He wrote that playing even part of the 2026 season at Tropicana Field would “create enormous logistical and revenue challenges for the team.”
Therefore, it is important to begin reconstruction in earnest as soon as possible, preparing a realistic construction schedule by the 2026 opening date, he added.
The city had no immediate comment on the email. Its own architect first presented its proposal for repairs on December 12, but it has not yet been fully approved. City Council members have been reluctant to foot the bill, especially for residents and businesses still recovering from Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helen before that.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said insurance and Federal Emergency Management Agency funds should cover most of the costs. Silverman said Major League Baseball has told the team it will hire its own advisors to monitor repair work and schedules.
The planned new downtown Rays ballpark is part of a $6.5 billion project that includes affordable housing, a Black history museum, retail and office space, restaurants and bars. The project is known as the Historic Gas Works District, once a thriving black community fueled by the construction of ballparks and interstate highways.
The Rays are preparing to play their 2025 home games at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees’ 11,000-seat spring training site in Tampa. Once Tropicana Field is repaired, Silverman acknowledged the Rays will be obligated to play three more seasons there under their contract with the St. Louis Blues.
“We’re looking forward to a grand reopening,” Silverman said.
