Thrive
St. Pete commits $6.5 million to storm-damaged Trop
St. Petersburg’s City Council reluctantly approved two contracts totaling up to $6.5 million to keep Tropicana Field from further deteriorating after Hurricane Milton shredded the baseball stadium’s roof.
The city is responsible for repairing the Trop, and officials must take reasonable steps to prevent further damage or risk violating insurance terms. Council members voted 6-2 Thursday evening to begin waterproofing the once-domed stadium and remediate water damage.
The contracts do not encompass roof or structural repairs, and council members bemoaned a lack of related information. However, administrators repeatedly stressed that not approving the work 22 days after the storm could exponentially increase the city’s liability.
“We’re putting money into this, and we don’t know what’s happening,” said Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz. “How many people out there that have a house that’s damaged can do that?”
Amber Boulding, emergency management director, said city facilities suffered $75 million in damage from the storms. The bill drops to $27 million when excluding the stadium.
That would place initial cost estimates for the Trop at $48 million. The mayoral administration expects a final damage assessment by Nov. 8.
After paying a $22.5 million deductible, the most the city could receive from insurance is $22 million. The administration must work to ensure the stadium can host Tampa Bay Rays games, and breaching the agreement could result in litigation.
“This sucks,” said Councilmember Richie Floyd.
The stadium’s interior has been exposed to the elements for over three weeks. Screengrab, X (formerly Twitter).
The city could still demolish the stadium. Administrator Rob Gerdes said officials would stop the work if a structural report showed the Trop is a total loss.
“I would not be here before you today asking to do this if I had any indication at this moment that there were serious, significant structural problems at the stadium,” Gerdes added. “Now, it’s a fluid situation – something could change.”
Hanewicz said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would only cover about half of the city’s $100 million debris collection cost. Milton will likely cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars.
Gerdes said officials were taking a calculated risk by sinking $6.5 million into a stadium set for demolition. Barring any post-storm changes, the Rays will move into a new ballpark at the site by April 2028.
“Nobody wants to be here in this position,” said Council Chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders. “But we’re here, and we have to make a decision. Either way, it has to be done.”
The council approved a $2.5 million guaranteed maximum price proposal from Hennessy Construction Service to prevent water from leaking from seating areas into concourses and mechanical rooms. City architect Raul Quintana said a piping system would collect and remove water.
He said officials would immediately commence the “urgent” work. He expects it to conclude in six to eight weeks.
The council also approved a $3.99 million proposal from BMS CAT. Beth Herendeen, managing director of city development, said water remediation work would encompass front office areas.
She expects those efforts to continue for about 60 days. “If we get to a point where we don’t want to continue the work … it could be stopped,” Herendeen said.
The city already paid Hennessy $250,000 to assess damages as part of the insurance claim process. Administrators also accepted a $416,353 proposal from Global Rope Access to remove what’s left of the Trop’s roof. Quintana said that work is about 80% complete.
Councilmember Brandi Gabbard said the stadium’s interior resembled a post-apocalyptic movie set. She also wanted to defer the vote until officials had more information.
Gabbard said she was “having a really hard time with this” when many residents have lost their homes. Gerdes said the administration was “trying to protect ourselves and taxpayers” from the risk of rain exacerbating the problem.
Blaise Mazzola, the city’s risk manager, said insurance adjusters wanted officials to mitigate further stadium damage on “day one.” He said not approving the work 22 days later would present “some serious issues.”
“The risk versus reward here doesn’t jibe with not doing this,” said Councilmember Copley Gerdes. “It just doesn’t make sense not to try to protect ourselves as much as possible.”
Gerdes, Gabbard, Figgs-Sanders and Councilmembers Ed Montanari, Gina Driscoll and John Muhammad approved the contracts. Hanewicz and Councilmember Richie Floyd dissented.
Velva Heraty Lee
November 4, 2024at7:18 pm
Penny wise and pound foolish has taken on a whole new meaning.
Ryan Todd
November 1, 2024at6:49 pm
This is wild. We should have waited for the structural assessment before committing any money to the repairs. Remember what Gerdes said: he says he doesn’t foresee any structural problems holding up this funding.
Hold Gerdes responsible for this expenditure when the Trop fails the structural assessment. It’s time to start holding the so called leaders accountable.
james gillespie
November 1, 2024at5:00 pm
the preceding comments accurately reflect the opinions of the vast majority of residents. the administration and council have made a decision that will stand or haunt them. hope the pols stop spending so much money.
SB
November 1, 2024at4:00 pm
So let me get this straight. The city dropped its insurance coverage on that stadium for $75 million before hurricane season in order to save around $275,000 in premiums? With hurricanes just missing us the past few years. And the Gulf of Mexico hotter than it’s ever been in recorded history. Interesting decision making.
And all our tourist tax money is committed to this stadium… and yet we are going to have in the hundreds of millions of dollars of losses just for St. Petersburg. And that money needs to be paid by taxpayers or bonds taken out… But we’ve already taken out lots of bonds. Huh.
It’s a shame that stadium deal has wrecked the city’s short and long-term finances.
Who could’ve seen that coming?
Lots of people is the answer.
In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, along with the severe summer storm that inundated St. Petersburg, the city faces substantial recovery costs. If we estimate the total expense at $100 million, this translates to approximately $377.38 per resident, based on the 2024 population of 264,982. This per capita cost encompasses every individual in the city, including homeless individuals, nursing home residents, men, women, infants, and hospital patients. Every resident.
HAL FREEDMAN
November 1, 2024at3:39 pm
The City’s risk management folks were sure on top of it in March 2024, when they reduced insurance coverage on the Trop from $100M to $25M to save $275,000 in premiums. The Rays/Hines stadium & land grab deal took most of our resources and future borrowing power. Hurricane recovery should take the rest.
SB
November 1, 2024at3:34 pm
Note on the $6.5 Million Stadium Roof Repair
Isn’t it heartwarming to see the city council step up with $6.5 million to patch up the Tropicana Field roof? Especially considering that it’s been the city’s most underutilized landmark for years and is set to meet the wrecking ball soon enough. Rumor has it that, right before the storms, the insurance coverage on the stadium was dialed down—though whether that’s true or not, we may never know. Apparently in the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Anyone know whether this is true?
But hey, every resident of St. Petersburg can feel good knowing we just chipped in about $50 each for this “fabulous” last-minute fix. It’s like buying a gourmet meal for a houseguest who was already packing their bags.
$50 each for every child, baby, man, woman, nursing home resident… Every person living in the city of Saint Petersburg contributing $50 each.
This only gets better!
Anyone know how much the future cost per person for this great baseball deal is going to cost each taxpayer? Immediately and over time? Apparently there about 249,000 residents of the city of Saint Petersburg currently.
I’m guessing it’s way more than $50 per person.
And I don’t even go to the games! And apparently I’m not alone.
Alan DeLisle
November 1, 2024at11:26 am
And it begins. If only the Mayor and the sold-out five cared more about the city than the Rays. If only there was some money left over after the Rays took it all.
Steve D
November 1, 2024at11:21 am
Can’t wait to see the commentary that this news will spawn from the usual suspects.