St. Pete will not increase Trop insurance until 2026

St. Petersburg officials received widespread criticism for reducing insurance coverage on Tropicana Field seven months before Hurricane Milton shredded its roof. They stand by the decision.

The aging stadium has become a fiscal albatross as it remains the costliest structure in the city’s portfolio. St. Petersburg will spend about $56 million repairing the Trop amid uncertainty surrounding its planned demolition and the Tampa Bay Rays’ future.

The once-indoor ballpark has remained exposed since October 9, 2024, and a new hurricane season begins in less than three months. However, insurance coverage will remain unchanged until 2026.

Blaise Mazzola, risk manager, explained the rationale to city council members at a March 13 Budget, Finance and Taxation (BFT) Committee meeting. He said the $25 million claim limit is “holding up as we sit here today,” and a contractor would supplement municipal coverage while repairing the dome.

“We will be looking in the future, in April of 2026, to enhance that to $50 million or a different amount, depending on the modeling,” Mazzola said. “But this year, based on the multiple layers of coverage we might have between the contractor and the city, we believe the $25 million limit is still appropriate.”

In March 2023, the Catalyst reported that insurers considered the stadium’s dome a liability. City documents stated that the Trop’s “unique aging roof construction and lack of historical and actuarial loss data makes insurers uncomfortable.”

Officials maintained coverage that would pay $100 million for a wind and flood damage claim until March 2024. Reducing it to $25 million saved the city $275,000 in annual premiums.

Mazzola called the deal “palatable” Thursday and said the “modeling and everything held up as far as the valuation.” The committee and city council approved those changes based on a “very educated estimation.”

While it is a rapidly depreciating asset, Tropicana Field is worth nearly $449 million. Tony Leavine, executive vice president of Brown and Brown Insurance, said that is an extraordinarily high single structure value that increases the insurance program’s probable maximum loss.

St. Petersburg will spend an estimated $24 million repairing the 35-year-old stadium’s roof. After paying a $22.5 million deductible, the most the city could receive from insurance is $22 million. Administrators also expect Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) funding for the Trop.

Mazzola said the city could receive replacement costs for the new dome, “which is definitely a benefit for us.” He noted contractors would have it installed by late November or December after hurricane season concludes.

“So, the likelihood of a main windstorm of this nature to cause that to exceed the deductibles is incredibly low,” Mazzola added. “Historically, we’ve never had a loss on the Trop. It did happen this year.”

Once approved, a contractor’s insurance should help cover the stadium through the 2025 hurricane season. Photo by Mark Parker.

He called the $275,000 premium reduction a “large amount of savings” considering the program’s scale. St. Petersburg will spend $9.6 million insuring $1.9 billion in city-owned property this year.

Leavine said the city would never receive “anywhere near” the full replacement cost on a depreciating asset approaching its 40^th birthday. He noted that insurers also consider its remaining useful life.

Leavine believes reducing the city’s coverage was a “worthwhile conversation” and remains “very confident” in the council’s decision to heed his and staff’s recommendations. Mazzola said increasing a potential payout to $50 million “makes a lot more sense” with a new roof.

He estimated that a repaired dome could withstand 130 mph winds. While the stadium is not state-of-the-art, he said it is structurally sound. “If we have this great roof, we look at it as a different asset.”

Officials have already dedicated $9.9 million to the storm-damage stadium – without conducting any restorative repairs. The city council must still approve a roof replacement.

In February, Councilmember Gina Driscoll said she did not want to “spend a dime” beyond what a use agreement with the Rays stipulates. The lease runs through 2028 and does not define a “suitable” stadium. Major League Baseball had not provided a list of requirements as of that meeting.

The Rays were responsible for insuring, maintaining and repairing a new ballpark in St. Petersburg. Owner Stuart Sternberg recently walked away from those long-negotiated plans. The team has also pitched improving the Trop and extending their lease through 2038, to no avail.

St. Petersburg incurred an estimated $28 billion to $47 billion in insured losses from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. City officials must renew their coverage by April 1.