City dedicates $1.7 million to Trop repair planning

St. Petersburg will now take the first step to repair a storm-damaged Tropicana Field despite uncertainty surrounding Major League Baseball’s future in the city.

City Council members unanimously approved two contracts totaling $1.66 million at Thursday afternoon’s meeting. The money will cover pre-construction, design and engineering services for an emergency roof repair project.

Approval ensures the city will meet contractual obligations under its current use agreement with the Tampa Bay Rays. Hurricane Milton’s gusts shredded the Trop’s fabric dome Oct. 9, and officials had three months to begin repairs.

“We know this is our last meeting of the year, so if we’re going to take action, it has to be now,” said Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz. “Once the vote happens at the (Pinellas) county commission, and the parties have time to chat further, we will have more clarity.”

Council members approved spending $23.7 million to repair the roof at a Nov. 21 meeting. They reversed their vote after Rays president Brian Auld called it a “bad use of funds” and said delayed plans to build a new $1.37 billion ballpark were essentially dead.

However, the public-private partners have since expressed optimism for a path forward. The Rays now anticipate Pinellas County Commissioners will approve a bond sale Dec. 17 that would finance their contribution to a new stadium, an integral part of the Historic Gas Plant District’s $6.7 billion redevelopment.

Councilmember Richie Floyd voted against dedicating $23.7 million to repair the Trop’s roof repairs in November. He said Thursday the new phased approach was his “preferred path from the get-go.”

An alternative?

The total cost to repair the aging stadium is at least $55.7 million. City administrator Rob Gerdes has said he and the Rays discussed a cash settlement that would negate St. Petersburg’s current use requirements.

Mayor Ken Welch believes fulfilling previously established obligations is best for the city. The Rays claim the county’s delay caused a funding gap for the new ballpark.

The average annual inflation rate for nonresidential construction is 8%. The Rays will contribute $700 million to the Trop’s replacement and cover all cost overruns. A year-long postponement on a $1.37 billion project equates to an additional $109.6 million.

Floyd asked administrators to “please give us some sort of public update as to what the negotiations with the Rays look like for some sort of settlement.” He said the Trop’s total repair bill would likely surpass the $56 million estimate.

“It’s just wasteful when we know it’s going to get – well, depending on (the commission) next week – we assume it’s going to be knocked down soon,” Floyd added. “I’m not going to be able to go with you there unless we can have more public conversations about what the alternative is – and what a settlement would look like.”

Tropicana Field in Hurricane Milton’s aftermath. Contractors have since removed the fabric. Photo by Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Rays.

Next steps

Contractors have removed the Trop’s Teflon-coated fabric membrane. Raul Quintana, city architect, said weatherproofing efforts are mostly complete.

St. Petersburg-based Hennessy Construction will receive $1.45 million for pre-construction planning. The council also approved a $206,000 contract with Indianapolis-based AECOM Hunt to provide architectural and engineering services.

Required design and engineering work will run through April. Councilmember Copley Gerdes clarified that officials could terminate those efforts if their use agreement with the Rays changes in the coming weeks.

Administrator Gerdes said there was “nothing new to share” regarding negotiations with the team, and he expects the county’s Dec. 17 vote to “loosen up the conversation.” However, Gerdes and Mayor Ken Welch recently discussed the repair process with Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred.

“They gave us direct contact information to work with their team on approvals and assured us that Major League Baseball had had no interest in sending us down a path of spending money on something they wouldn’t approve,” Gerdes said. “So, gave us some strong assurances.”

Moving forward, Quintana said a specialty engineer will discern acoustics and lighting issues. Ongoing structural inspections will “really dig into” potential problems unseen during previous visual inspections.

While Quintana listed future construction plans and contractors, any contracts must receive the council’s blessing. MLB must also approve of the work.

“I think we should all get the information sooner than later on what the real scope is here,” said Councilmember Gina Driscoll. “The sooner we know that, the sooner we can understand and plan accordingly.”

Council Chairperson Deborah Figgs-Sanders looked further ahead to a repaired stadium without a team. She said officials should have the “financial foresight” to explore other revenue-generating options for Tropicana Field.

“I want us to be a little more proactive, barring whatever happens next week,” Figgs-Sanders said. “We will have those future conversations in regards to that.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect a mathematical error.