St. Petersburg Businesses See 60% Sales Slump After Rays’ Temporary Move

Downtown St. Petersburg merchants watch their profits sink as the Tampa Bay Rays play at Steinbrenner Field. 

Mark Ferguson runs Ferg's Sports Bar next to the empty stadium. He told the Tampa Bay Times his customer count dropped 60% when games moved. "We cut staff, work with fewer people, buy less stock, that's how we'll make it through."

The storm struck hard, causing $56 million in damage. City officials approved $38.5 million to fix the stadium. They want baseball back by 2026.

The ripples spread through the area. Cage Brewing now stays shut two days each week. At Ferg's, soccer matches pull in 100 fans, a far cry from the 800 who packed in for baseball.

Kyle Frantz at Poppo's Taqueria misses the old days. He told Bay News 9, "You can think about last year and you had people coming from different cities. You could see the jerseys. You had all sorts of people coming in."

The storms hit tourism, too. Hurricanes Helene and Milton pounded the beaches. Hotels still patch up damage from floods and storm surge that broke records.

Jarrett Sabatini owns Intermezzo and Bar Mezzo on Central Avenue. His spots miss the steady flow of fans who came "two or three times weekly" for games.

Pride Month usually draws 100,000 visitors, but 2025 looks different. The NAACP and Equality Florida warn tourists to skip the state, citing new laws.

Smart owners adapt. Ferg's added pickleball courts. Others focus on local guests. Sabatini puts it straight: "We can't count on tourists or the Rays."

At Craft Kafe, Teddy Skiadiotis saves cash to help workers through future storms. He wants backup power, but loans prove tricky. His words stay upbeat: "We thank our community and keep hope alive."

The Rays' deal runs through 2028 at Tropicana Field. The city thinks baseball will return in 2026 after workers finish repairs.