Is there ‘life’ after Steinbrenner?

TAMPA, Fla. – Since the major league season began about a month and a half ago, attention and focus has been on the diamond.

Rightfully so, and the impact players have on the game.

Yet, lurking under an omnipotent, impending dark sky of a stormy central Florida summer lay the effort to get the Tampa Bay Rays back into Tropicana Field. Since Hurricane Milton ripped the roof from the structure last October, the Rays, the St. Petersburg City Council, the Pinellas County Board of Supervisors, fans, the media, and concerned merchants have all remained on the sidelines.

That’s because there has been little movement and less effort, and many are skeptical that reasonable repairs will not be concluded in time for the Rays to get back into their permanent home for the 2026 season.

In total, the city of St. Petersburg, which owns the stadium, allocated $55 million for the entire repair project. Tropicana Field opened on March 3, 1990 at a cost of $138 million. The facility has been home to the Rays since the club entered play in the American League on March 31, 1998.

The overall repair timetable is spread through next January. Currently, tensile fabric, the roofing material, is being made in Germany and assembled in China. Any tariffs placed on the tensile, manufactured in Europe and assembled in Asia, are expected to be minimal. The roof cost alone is projected at $22.5 million.

“It’s the same material, but it’s designed to today’s codes,” St. Petersburg City architect Raul Quintana told Tampa Spectrum News. “So, it’s a much stronger material. It’s thicker than it was. So, it’s designed to the wind loads today that far exceed the wind loads we had in 1995. The material is fabricated in Germany, then it’s shipped to China, where it is assembled, and those bundles are going to be sent in groups to the city.”

Installation of the roofing material is scheduled between August and November and non-roof repair to the interior is expected between July and next February. The final phase is the installation of the turf and that is expected between December and January.

If the work is completed and passes municipal inspections, the Rays will resume playing home games in Tropicana Field. By previous agreement, the Rays would commit to at least a three-year stay in the Trop and through the 2028 season.

Beyond that point, their future home is uncertain.

The agreement with the New York Yankees to play home games in George Steinbrenner Field, spring home of the Bronx Bombers, in 2025 is simply a one-year deal. Should Tropicana Field not be ready next season, that would present a significant challenge for the Tampa Bay franchise.

At this point, city and county officials all point to a successful repair of Tropicana Field and for the Rays to settle back in their familiar digs for the 2026 season.

In the diamond … after taking their second consecutive series with an 8-3 victory at Toronto on May 15, the Rays head to south Florida for the upcoming weekend, and a three-game set with the Marlins. In the opener on Friday, it’s righty Taj Bradley (3-2, 4.24 ERA) going against righthander Max Meyer (2-4, 4.37). On Saturday, look for righty Drew Rasmussen (1-4, 3.38) opposing righthander Edward Cabrera (0-1, 5.52). In the Sunday matinee getaway game, righty Shane Baz (3-2, 5.02) opposes righthander Sandy Alcantara (2-5, 8.10). The Rays then return to Steinbrenner Field for a 9-game home stand, which features three each against the Astros, Blue Jays, and Twins.

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