Sports Venues
Tampa Bay Rays Stadium Deal Falters After Hurricane Milton
The Tampa Bay Rays have planned to build a new baseball stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla., but funding and schedule issues could derail the project.
Rendering courtesy Tampa Bay Rays
Plans to build a $1.3-billion stadium for Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla., appear to be at risk in the wake of Hurricane Milton and public disagreements between team leaders and local officials.
During a meeting in late October, Pinellas County commissioners deferred a vote on issuing bonds to pay for the county’s portion of the new stadium over concerns about where the team will play home games following damage to their current stadium, Tropicana Field. Milton’s winds tore fabric roofing off the stadium’s cable-supported dome, and rain caused water damage inside parts of the building. The team had already been planning to build a new ballpark prior to the storm.
While repairs are made, commissioners want the Rays to play at BayCare Ballpark, which is in the same county and used by the Philadelphia Phillies for spring training. But in a letter the Rays later sent to commissioners, they said they “could not get BayCare Ballpark into a condition where it could host regular season Major League Baseball games by Opening Day in March.” The Rays instead want to use George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is also nearby but located in Hillsborough County.
Delaying the vote to November meant that two new county commissioners took office after the deferral. The team’s leadership apparently believes they no longer have the votes to advance the plan. At their Nov. 19 meeting, commissioners again held the vote off until December.
“It’s been nothing short of heartbreaking to inform our staff, our partners and our fans that our agreement effectively died when the county commission replaced two ‘yes’ votes with two ‘no’ votes,” Rays President Brian Auld said during a St. Petersburg City Council meeting Nov. 21.
According to the letter the Rays sent to county officials, even the first deferral put the project behind schedule to the point that the new ballpark would not be ready in time for the start of the 2028 baseball season, as had previously been planned. Completing the project later could “result in significantly higher costs that we are not able to absorb alone.”
The proposed ballpark in St. Petersburg is planned as the anchor of a $6.5-billion redevelopment of the city’s historic Gas Plant District led by developer Hines. The company did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the development’s future. Contractor Mortenson, which the Rays selected to build the new stadium, also did not immediately respond to inquiries about the project's status.
In a Nov. 25 letter back to the team reported on by the Tampa Bay Times, Kathleen Peters, chair of the Pinellas County Commission, asked the team to formally declare its intent for the stadium development and funding agreement, which includes about $600 million combined from the county and city. She gave the team a deadline of Dec. 1 to indicate in writing that they will move forward or provide a notice of termination.
“Pinellas County has operated in good faith, working toward the stadium deal while balancing the needs of our community after back-to-back hurricanes,” Peters wrote. “If the Rays want out of this agreement, it is your right to terminate the contract. Clear communication about your intentions will be critical to the next steps in this partnership.”
County commissioners plan to vote on the stadium bonds at their Dec. 17 meeting.
Stadium Damage and Repairs
At the same time, a team including contractors Hennessy Construction and AECOM Hunt, along with engineering firm Geiger Engineers and other firms, has completed its assessment of the hurricane damage to Tropicana Field. The stadium was originally built by AECOM Hunt’s predecessor, Huber, Hunt & Nichols, and Geiger was the original structural engineer.
St. Petersburg City Architect Raul Quintana said during the last city council meeting that the repairs are estimated to cost $55.7 million. The building is still structurally sound, as is the dome’s support structure.
The plan is to install new outer fabric panels similar to the original but with an intended service life of less than five years. Some exterior and interior metal cladding panels will need to be repeated, as will some administrative areas used by Rays staff. Some electrical systems in the field area were impacted by water after the damage to the roof and some components may need replacement, but the building’s electrical and mechanical systems are otherwise mostly intact.
City staff aim to have the repairs completed next year, Quintana said.
The city council unanimously rejected a pair of resolutions Nov. 21 to approve loans to fund the work and to sign a design-build agreement with Hennessy for the work, but officials indicated they would re-tool the proposals ahead of an upcoming council meeting. Under the terms of the stadium-use agreement between the city and the Rays, repairs must begin within three months of the damage occurring. Milton made landfall in Florida late Oct. 9.
