PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Petersburg City Council approved a plan to repair Tropicana Field on Thursday. It passed 6-2 during the city council meeting.
When Hurricane Milton swept across Florida, Jake Strickland watched as one of St. Petersburg’s iconic landmarks was torn apart.
“I didn’t even realize the top was even cloth, but you could see it kind of tearing off the individual pieces and flapping in the wind and rolling down the street…so it was pretty crazy," said Strickland.
Now Tropicana Field stands with a roof that’s tattered and damage inside.
The City of St. Petersburg is discussing a plan that would repair the baseball field. The plan involves two construction companies BMS CAT and Hennessy Construction Services.
The project includes removing the damaged roof material, removing damaged turf, implementing waterproofing materials to protect from future rainfall, and almost $4 million to repair the ballpark.
The total cost would be roughly $6.5 million.
But Rays fans are torn about whether or not the project is worth it.
“They can stay in the area without sinking money into a place that’s going to be torn down anyway," said Patrick Hartley, a Tampa Bay Rays fan.
Earlier this summer, the City of St. Pete and Pinellas County voted to move forward with the new Rays-Hines Stadium and Historic Gas Plant District Redevelopment Plan, expected to cost roughly $6.5 billion.
Hartley said he would rather the team play in another nearby stadium than for the city to spend that much money to repair the temporary ballpark.
"I would go to Clearwater or Tampa to see them play on occasion," said Hartley.
Strickland agrees it’s a costly endeavor, but said that if the city is able to repair the stadium so the Rays can continue playing in St. Pete, it should be done.
"Obviously getting them set up to play is number one. Preferably here if possible, obviously it depends on the numbers, but either way I hope to be able to go to games next year," said Strickland.
He said it would be beneficial for local businesses for the next three years until the new ballpark opens in 2028.
“Obviously the hurricane is a big thing to deal with anyways so having the baseball games for people to look forward to is definitely something that's fairly important because it brings money to the city too," he said.
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