Part 4/8:
Compounding the Rays’ predicament are the ongoing issues at Tropicana Field, which remains inactive following damages from Hurricane Idalia. While the City of St. Petersburg initially voted to allocate $23 million for roof repairs, this decision was astonishingly reversed shortly thereafter, leaving the stadium's future even more uncertain.
At the heart of the issue lies a $57 million repair estimate for the entire facility, with the city proposing to address only the roof. This incomplete approach raises further concerns—what good is a functional roof without the necessary internal repairs? The ambiguity surrounding the financing and execution of these repairs only intensifies the speculations regarding the viability of the stadium moving forward.