St. Pete council votes to start Trop repairs, then changes its mind (2024)

ST. PETERSBURG — 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 unusual action added to the uncertainty over where the Rays will play starting in 2026 amid larger issues with their planned $1.3 billion stadium that have placed the team’s long-term future in the Tampa Bay area in question.

It also created the real possibility the Rays have played their last game at the Trop. Team president Brian Auld said Thursday the Rays could be better off negotiating a settlement with St. Petersburg than having the 35-year-old stadium repaired.

The city was hoping that with the new roof ($23.7 million), plus additional repairs estimated at about $26.5 million (in addition to the $6.5 million already spent to protect the stadium from further damage), the Rays would be able to return to their domed home in time for the 2026 season.

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

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

But after a 5-2 vote to delay approving bonds for the planned new stadium, Gabbard suggested revisiting the Trop repair vote, and it was reversed unanimously, presumably to be revisited at a future meeting.

City Administrator Rob Gerdes said the administration was “supportive” of the plan to change the vote and would work on contracting for the architectural renderings needed to meet the lease agreement requirement to start the repair process within 90 days of the damage from Hurricane Milton, which occurred on Oct. 9.

Council members who initially voted to start the repairs said they did so to remain in compliance with another portion of the lease agreement that requires the city to provide the team a suitable facility to play its home games. The agreement runs through 2027, but 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.

But following the decision to delay deciding on the bonds and talk of the stadium deal being in peril, Gabbard said that with “even greater uncertainty” about the team’s future in St. Petersburg she wanted to reconsider the Trop vote. “I’m not quite ready to put $22 million towards something with an entity we may never have a deal with again,” she said.

Auld, who attended the meeting and answered questions, 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 at all. That’s because the Rays would have to prepare for the additional contingency of the park not being ready by making arrangements for an alternate home, which would require more costs and resources.

“I would say that the challenge of being ready for 2026 is enormous. ... “ Auld said. “If I was confident the Trop could be ready by 2026, I would be strongly in favor of improving it.’'

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

“Our certainty is actually greater if the decision is made not to repair Tropicana Field, because I don’t believe we’re going to have a firm answer on whether it can be done for a very long time,” Auld said. “Based on the conversations we’ve had with our engineers, I believe we’re looking at a ‘26 situation where the city is trying to have the stadium ready, and we have to make alternative plans, and all the costs that come with that, that is actually more problematic for us. That’s why we’ve been working on trying to get to a settlement.”

Auld said following the second vote that those discussions will continue.

“Had they chosen to go forward with rebuilding, we would do everything we could to make that as simple and easy and efficient as possible,” he said, noting the team/city collaboration on recent work to mitigate further damage. “I guess (the second vote) keeps the doors open. But I think we’re going to have conversations anyway. We have a lot to work through. What I sense is that we’re all dealing with the same set of facts now.”

The chances of a settlement likely will depend on the dollars, specifically whether the city decides it is better to write a check to the Rays than weigh how much of the cost will be covered by insurance (there is a $22 million deductible) and FEMA reimbursements.

In making a deal, Auld said settlement “obviously helps us with some of those revenue challenges” from being displaced and playing in smaller stadiums.

But not returning to the Trop could add further uncertainty for the team.

The deal to play the 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees’ spring home in Tampa, is expected to be limited to just the one year. That means the Rays would need to find another home for 2026 and almost certainly one outside of Florida, as Major League Baseball would want to avoid a second season dealing with summer rains. (That search is likely to start sooner than later.)

And there could be another interim stop, as the Rays by then would need to be looking for a permanent home, whether a new deal can be made in the Tampa Bay area, which Auld said was still the Rays’ preference, or they get permission from MLB to explore relocation.

The lack of certainty also could spark speculation about whether principal owner Stuart Sternberg will look to sell the team.

“I don’t know how to make it more clear,” Auld said, “we have a very challenging future ahead of us.”

The initial resolution approved by the council would have provided for the city to authorize an agreement between it and Hennessy Construction Services to start the project. It planned to replace the tattered roof with a similar fiberglass-coated material as the original, a project it had hoped to conclude by October or November 2025, allowing other work, such as replacing the playing field, to begin.

The estimate was based on just a single layer roof, rather than one with a liner like the original. That would require MLB approval of the quality of the lighting and acoustics.

Should the roof repairs be approved, the city would borrow money from four other funds to provide $23.73 million to the General Capital Improvement Fund to cover the cost: loans of $10 million from the fund for workers compensation, $7.5 million from parking revenues, $5 million from the Equipment Replacement Fund (5002) and $1.230 million from technology and infrastructure.

City staff said the total would fall within the city’s insurance coverage.

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