Tropicana Field will be ready for Rays' April 6 home opener
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — City officials in St. Petersburg showed off the newly enclosed dome at Tropicana Field on Wednesday and said they are confident the ballpark will be ready for the Tampa Bay Rays' homer opener on April 6 against the Chicago Cubs following work to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Milton.
“We have no concern about being open or ready for opening day,” said Beth Herendeen, managing director of City Development Administration. “We hope we keep it that way.”
Some seam work remains on the final panels to close small gaps at the top and interior repairs are well underway.
Tropicana Field sustained extensive damage on Oct. 9, 2024. High winds ripped sections of the original roof, allowing rain to fall into the stadium bowl for months. Water caused mold and damage to electrical, sound and broadcast systems.
The city contracted ETS, AECOM Hunt and Hennessy Construction to lead the repairs, and brought back Geiger Engineering, the dome's original designer, to help reengineer the roof. The synthetic membranes of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are thicker and built to current wind-load codes.
“The roof that was replaced had to be designed to today’s codes,” city architect Raul Quintana said. “It’s a much stronger material than it was 35 years ago, and it’s going to last.”
The Rays played 2025 home games across the bay in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees.
Installation of the new roof began in August, and the final panel was put in place Nov. 21. Some triangular panels still show color variation, with newer pieces beige and earlier ones already bleached white, but Quintana said they will eventually match.
“It took about three months to bleach out the ones that were first installed," he said.
The air-conditioning system has been reactivated, and contractors are focused on electrical work, seating and sound equipment. The team is upgrading the luxury suites and the stadium video board.
“Drywall is being hung, seats are being painted, and the catwalk electric is being installed,” Herendeen said. “The new stadium sound system will be installed this month and tested in January.”
New artificial turf is scheduled to arrive in mid-January. Other final updates include new home-plate club seats, clubhouse carpet and lockers, and new flooring on the outfield deck.
Tampa Bay starts the season with a nine-game trip to St. Louis, Milwaukee and Minnesota.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB