With measurable progress on a new ballpark and renewed energy from new ownership, the Tampa Bay Rays will return today to Tropicana Field, 18 months after Hurricane Milton ripped off the facility’s roof.
The 4:10 p.m. game sees the Chicago Cubs in town to mark the occasion. As you’ll recall, Hurricane Milton caused millions of dollars of damage to Tropicana Field in 2024, tearing off most of the six acres of Teflon-coated fiberglass panels comprising the roof. The panels and 180 miles of cables make up what the Rays call the world’s largest cable-supported roof—an impressive engineering feet, especially for a ballpark built in 1990, even if you’re not a fan of indoor baseball. The roof was designed to withstand hurricane-level winds of 115 mph, but that wasn’t enough.
Even though the Rays were in search of a new-ballpark plan when Hurricane Milton struck, the team and St. Pete decided to repair the roof, to the tune of almost $60 million. In addition to the repaired roof, new lights and a new synthetic playing field were added. The Rays also decided to implement some facility improvements on the player side, including fitness space, while on the fan side the suites were overhauled.
You could argue that the money spent on repairing and updating Tropicana Field was wasted, considering the Rays could be on the move in three years. St. Petersburg, though, didn’t have many options considering the city did indeed have a lease with the Rays: it was either buy out the lease or utilize the insurance money and make the repairs. For the Rays, playing more than a season at George M. Steinbrenner Field didn’t make much sense: it is, after all, a spring training/minor league facility, and the economics of paying $15 million in rent to the New York Yankees plus ceding concessions to Legends are daunting. If the team was to indeed continue in Tampa Bay, playing at Tropicana Field until a new ballpark opens makes the most sense.