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St. Pete leaders request report on Tropicana Field damage following Hurricane Milton

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Published  November 7, 2024 10:16am EST
St. Petersburg
FOX 13 News

City discussing Tropicana Field repairs

Aaron Mesmer reports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - St. Pete City Council members requested a report on the damage to Tropicana Field and storm-related costs, including remediation and mitigation, at a meeting on Thursday.

Council Member Brandi Gabbard of District Two submitted the request and wants the report by the Nov. 21 City Council Meeting.

This comes after the City Council approved about $6.5 million to start the cleanup process at its meeting last week. The money will come from the city’s $22 million deductible with the Trop’s insurers. St. Pete’s current agreement with the Tampa Bay Rays requires the city to make repairs, but that’s different in the new stadium’s deal.

Drone footage of Tropicana Field without a roof after Hurricane Milton.

PREVIOUS: City approves $6.5M to clean up and protect Rays stadium after Hurricane Milton

Crews have removed the pieces of the roof from the frame. They’ll remove damaged turf, and waterproof spots like the scoreboard, seats and suites. They also want to create a drainage system. Tropicana Field doesn’t have one right now.

All of this comes as city leaders approved the new $1.3 billion stadium in July. That’s set to open in 2028.

Some city council members at last week’s meeting questioned if this investment in repairs is worth it if the building will only be used for a few more years. Some also wanted to wait to vote on the millions to start cleaning up and protecting the Trop until they got more information about the stadium’s future and the extent of the damage. Others said they needed to act quickly to minimize further damage.

"I’m not saying the city council is not going to approve it later on," Council Member Lisset Hanewicz of District 4 has said. "I'm just saying to ask us and bring us this now with the fact that we don't know what our maximum exposure is with the Trop. We don't know what our maximum exposure is with the cost to the city in terms of storm damage, and then this is $6 million. It's just a hard pill to swallow."

Tropicana Field roof ripped to shreds by Hurricane Milton

A portion of the roof at Tropicana Field has been ripped to shreds by Hurricane Milton.

Blaise Mazzola, the city’s risk manager, was among those who believed the city needed to act fast or risk potentially affecting the insurance claim.

According to City Architect Raul Quintana, the contractors, who’ve been evaluating the damage at the Trop for nearly three weeks, will tell the city’s Engineering and Capital Improvement Department what they’ve found by the end of the week. That includes options to replace the roof, if the Trop can be re-roofed, how long it could take and details on the damage overall.

The written report will also include conclusions on the structural stability of the roof, of the superstructure of the roof, the cables, the beams, the concrete ring beam, the columns, and then each of the elements, the electrical systems, mechanical systems, plumbing systems, the architectural finishes and more, Quintana said.

Newly-elected St. Pete City Councilman Mike Harting told FOX 13 he's unsure if discussions about repairs to the Trop will continue into next year, but if so, he has thoughts about it.

RELATED: Safe and sound: Stingrays removed from Tropicana Field

A drone image shows the dome of Tropicana Field which has been torn open due to Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2024. (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)

"If that process progresses to January when I get sat, there is still too much we still don’t know today: the cost of the damage, the extent of the damage, what our tax base will look like in 2026 when all of this gets reassessed from storm damage, it’s a complex issue and at the same time its an emotional issue," Harting said.

If repairs aren’t finished by the Rays’ season, Major League Baseball said it wants them to play home games in the area, possibly at one of the many spring training sites. MLB hopes to have a plan for the Rays’ next season by Christmas.

City Council will also talk about the recovery process from both hurricanes, and Florida Division of Emergency Management disaster relief funding for the storms at their 1:30 p.m. meeting on Thursday.

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