St. Petersburg Council Approves $950,000 for Tropicana Field Repairs
St. Petersburg’s City Council gave the green light to a $950,000 repair fund for Tropicana Field on Feb. 6, 2025. This kicks off a $56 million stadium makeover needed before next year’s baseball season.
The council split the money between two main tasks. A smaller chunk, $55,000, will pay for roof and metal panel removal. The bigger portion, $896,962, goes to Hennessy/AECOM to start construction work. Crews will put in new roofing from August through November 2025, then lay down field turf until January 2026.
Project leaders check on progress weekly. MLB staff ensure everything fits their standards. This upgrade is the biggest investment since the stadium first opened its doors. Every week, city architect Raul Quintana sits down with MLB officials to check on repairs and map out the next steps. The Rays join in to make sure all changes line up with MLB rules.
Fox13 News reports that Raul Quintana, the city’s architect, told the council on Thursday there’s going to be a “tremendous amount of effort now going on to try to identify what those are,” when talking about the process to identify repairs. He said it would be an “intense next couple of months.”
Before putting up more money, council members want clear rules in place. The old stadium needs major fixes while talks about a new ballpark continue. The baseball club faces a March 31 deadline to lock down new stadium funding. The city chipped in $600 million for growth plans linked to the new stadium. While Mayor Ken Welch pushes for quick money decisions, team owner Stuart Sternberg insists on keeping the team in the area.
Built in 1990 as the Florida Suncoast Dome, it became the ThunderDome in 1993. Three years later, it got its current name, Tropicana Field. The stadium has hosted baseball, hockey, basketball, football, and concerts.
Workers need to finish everything before the 2026 season begins. The new roof will take four months to complete. After that, they’ll spend two months putting in the turf.
