Rays players WORRIED after visiting Tropicana Field

It has now been more than five months since Hurricane Milton unleashed nature’s wrath on the Trop, leaving fragments of its fiberglass roof flapping in the 100 mph winds. Those fragments are gone. But there are so many questions about what comes next — for this ballpark and the team it used to house, the Tampa Bay Rays — that if we typed them all up and printed them out, they’d cover the whole darned roof.

Less than two weeks before Opening Day, the Trop is all but empty. A few stadium workers come and go. Two National Disaster Response Team trucks are parked outside. But only minor repairs are underway — until the politicians and the Rays get their next moves sorted out.

“It reminds me of one of those abandoned malls,” Rays closer Pete Fairbanks told me. “It’s wild.”

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[brodiebrazil]

WILL MLB EVER PLAY ANOTHER GAME HERE AGAIN?


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[The_Zilli]

Never forget, all of this because someone wanted to save a few bucks on insurance. Had they switched to Gieko, they could not only prevented all of this but saved 15% as well...

[LuisHervias]

I sincerely believe that Tropicana field is dead.

[curtis]

Flooded cars are a nightmare to work on, you always end up with electrical issues and mold. I can’t imagine how that stadium looks like now. If they think they can just slap on a roof and be done they are in for a surprise.

[NoamPitlick-bgkw]

This situation makes MLB and St. Pete look really bad.

[jasonfire]

I know it’ll never happen because of the Players’ Association, but the incompetence of both Rays and A’s management in figuring out their permanent homes is the best argument for contraction in sports that I could imagine.

[TacosTuesdays]

There is just no way i see the Rays actually playing in the Trop again. I could only imagine how nasty it is in there now! It would be a never-ending cycle of cleaning and fixing the place up.

[scottvann]

Drove past it yesterday…it’s rough. I feel the rehab is going to take a lot longer than they think

[delacruzjeffrey]

We’ve recieved a decent amount of rain since the hurricane. The Trop is a hazard.

[ciscojg]

It doesnt make sense to fix the trop, during rainy season its like daily mini hurricanes that come through. Another big storm and its done. Move it inland in a new retractable roof stadium. My money is on orlando

[Knightowl]

I just can’t believe they haven’t found a temporary solution to cover it and have left it open as long as they have.

[Kotahugg]

I remember about 10 minutes after learning the Trop lost its roof, a oak tree that got to much saturation from Helen ended up falling thru my roof. Thankfully it was a 2 story home and stopped it from falling to the first floor, but honestly, one of the scariest moments of my entire life. I love Florida and hope rays stick around but Milton still haunts a lot of us.

[Neckrollios]

It's been a very sad saga for Trop fans

[billwallenstein]

Classic Example of being underinsured. The owners of the stadium need to be held accountable.

[scottNNJ]

We’re living in the “now” at this point, but what lessons does this teach that will be employed in future covered stadiums? Do they install drainage, regardless? Do they rule out certain types of roofs? Additional protection on interior components? Flood gates? After Superstorm Sandy hit the Northeast in 2012, the approach to construction, particularly transportation and shore-community buildings, changed dramatically.

[winningfreak]

$50-60 million... is a rough estimate if the work had already started.


It's gonna be more every week because mold, sitting water and other hazards continue to pile up. With water coming through light fixtures it's likely the electrical has been compromised also and will need to be full inspected/replaced and that's not cheap either. The longer this sits the less likely a game is ever played there again.

[hotwax]

At some point, it might be cheaper to just tear it down.

[ANoss]

Sad to say I’d bet that stadium has seen its last game.

[thomasritter]

I have to say, this is a continuing behavior of neglect and mismanagement, not on the Rays part, but again on the city/cty for allowing this to actually happen? OK, call be an opportunist, but c'mon. Anyone whose been to Fla. KNOWS, it rains a lot and dries quickly. It's also a haven for hurricanes and not saying that they tested providence too many times, but in the state where hurricanes are the MOST prevalent, why continue to have a stadium with a fabric roof? Isn't that asking for trouble? Didn't anybody learn from the Metrodome and snow? IF the truth is you CANNOT permit the inside to get wet, why approve or NOT improve a fabric top with a more permanent or even add-on a retractable roof? No, the city/cty INSTEAD chose to "reduce" the insurance and premiums they were paying...THEY took that risk, not the team or Rays management. To SAVE money, granted a novel concept. But when "it' hits the fan, to expect the team or management to CYA by expecting THEM to cover cost overruns to a NEW stadium, knowing YOUR decisions ultimately is what COST THEM MORE MONEY!!! I think it's WAY beyond balsy & cocky to then complain about dealing with the Rays owner...The city/cty took a risk, and LOST. It may have cost them the team.

[martinarden]

Brodie: "It's like a bucket. There's no way for that water to get out."
Stu Sternberg: "open the stadium doors and everything will leak out that way."