PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — On Wednesday, ABC Action News got a first look inside Tropicana Field since Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off the stadium and damaged the inside.
Rays of sun shined through the once-covered top of Tropicana Field.
"Professionals that do this and work on stadiums day in and day out, they have given us a schedule that says, 'yes, this is doable,'" said Beth Herendeen with the City of St. Pete.
Engineers have hope that the Trop will once again host the Tampa Bay Rays.
"Anything can happen. I'm not going to predict that, yes, we will be done, and they will be back in here, but by getting started when we start, it gives us the leeway and the opportunity to get it done in time," said Raul Quintana, St. Pete City Architect.
Engineers with the City of St. Pete have been crafting a plan to repair the field. It includes a strong roof material that will be constructed in Germany and shipped out of China, but possible tariffs are a concern.
"We can't predict that it will, but we know that at least with the product in its final form coming from China, that could be an issue, so we do have a contingency for that," said Quintana.
Another possible issue is the majority of the work would be done during hurricane season.
"It's designed to the wind loads that we have today, which far exceed the wind loads we had in 1995, so I can't predict what might happen, but again, we are setting it up to succeed," said Quintana.
Tarp covers parts of Tropicana Field to protect certain areas from further rain damage.
Experts said if everything goes according to plan, the roof would be installed in August and could be completed by December.
Once the roof is installed, repairs will be made on the inside, including turf, lighting, drywall, flooring, and electronic system repairs.
The St. Pete City Council is scheduled to vote on the roof replacement project at Thursday's meeting.
Engineers are hopeful the Rays will return in 2026.
"We've got enough contingency, I feel, to address any of those issues that might come up," said Quintana.
“The bottom line is this: if we don't see better pricing, we're all going out of business”
After 25 years of farming blueberries, Bill Braswell is navigating the complex landscape of tariffs and their potential impact on Florida's agricultural industry.
