St. Petersburg council still mulling over stadium fix

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two hours after voting to spend about $24 million to start repairing hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field by replacing the ballpark’s roof, the St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday voted a second time and decided to halt that plan.

The rare action added to the uncertainty over where the Rays will play starting in 2026 amid larger issues that have placed their long-term future in the Tampa Bay area in question.

The city was hoping that with the new roof, and additional repairs currently estimated at about $26.5 million (in addition to $6.5 million already spent to protect the stadium from further damage), the Rays would be able to return to Tropicana Field in time for the 2026 season.

The initial 4-3 vote was taken amid dissent and doubt, including from the Rays, that the project can be completed on time and at that cost.

Copley Gerdes, Brandi Gabbard, Gina Driscoll and Deborah Figgs-Sanders voted for the spending; Lisset Hanewicz, John Muhammad and Richie Floyd voted against it.

But after a vote to delay finalizing bonds for the planned but now in jeopardy new stadium, Gabbard brought up revisiting the Trop repair vote, and it was reversed unanimously. City Administrator Rob Gerdes said city staff was good with that plan, as it would allow time to get further information on the full repair plan.

Council members who initially voted to start the repairs said they did so to remain in compliance with the lease agreement that requires the city to provide the team a suitable facility to play its home games. The agreement runs through 2027, and because the Rays won’t play there in 2025 it can be extended through 2028.

“I just don’t see any other path that is legally responsible for us at this point,” Gabbard said.

Rays president Brian Auld, who attended the meeting, said after the first vote that the Rays are skeptical about the planned repairs being completed on time, which would be more problematic for the team than not making the repairs.

“I would say that the challenge of being ready for 2026 is enormous. … “ Auld said. “So we in all likelihood are going to have to plan for ‘26 somewhere, in addition to hoping that the city can get Tropicana Field up and ready. That said, as was said on the dais a number of times, our staff will work as hard as we can to partner with the city to get it ready to mitigate damages.”

Auld said the team would “have more certainty” working out a deal with the city, such as a settlement check, than dealing with the additional uncertainty of the repair plan.”