Tropicana Field roof repairs looking good with Rays ready for MLB return Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY November 22, 2025 at 3:17 AM 0 Tropicana Field took a major step toward reopening for the business of baseball. All 24 replacement panels have been placed on the roof of the stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida the largest step toward ensuring the hurricanedamaged stadium is set to open on time for the 2026 season.
- - Tropicana Field roof repairs looking good with Rays ready for MLB return
Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY November 22, 2025 at 3:17 AM
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Tropicana Field took a major step toward reopening for the business of baseball.
All 24 replacement panels have been placed on the roof of the stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida the largest step toward ensuring the hurricane-damaged stadium is set to open on time for the 2026 season.
Hurricane Milton ravaged the stadium as it made a surprise turn through Tampa Bay in October 2024, destroying the translucent roof and leading to significant interior damage, as the stadium has no drainage system. The disaster forced the Tampa Bay Rays to play the 2025 season at the spring training home of the New York Yankees, 10,000-seat Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
But the city of St. Petersburg, per terms of its lease with the Rays, footed the bill for the more than $60 million in repair costs; the Rays' season in Tampa ensured they'd play one more year at the Trop, through 2028.
Panel by panel, thank you to everyone who worked tirelessly to make @tropicanafield whole again.With the placement of the last piece, yesterday was a massive step forward for us, The City of St. Pete and Rays fans everywhere. pic.twitter.com/VloIHETGhe
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) November 21, 2025
The club is essentially back to the starting line on finding a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area after it backed out of a deal with the city of St. Petersburg to build and develop the land around Tropicana Field.
The dead deal and the damaged stadium thrust the franchise into flux, but in that period owner Stuart Sternberg sold the club to Jacksonville-based owner Patrick Zalupski for $1.7 billion.
Now, even as the team's long-term future remains cloudy their old home is getting nearly-baseball ready, several months before the Rays' April 6 home opener against the Chicago Cubs.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tropicana Field roof repair updates as Rays prep for MLB stadium return
Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: Sports
Published: November 21, 2025 at 09:27PM on Source: MARIO MAG
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