ST. PETERSBURG — Two years after Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off Tropicana Field and left its interior exposed to the elements, the rebuilt ballpark will host a World Series game Monday night for the first time since 2008, when the Rays face the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the Fall Classic.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch watched the roof fail in real time from the city’s emergency operations center during the fall of 2024 storm, monitoring roughly 20 screens as the Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric peeled away and fell into the seating bowl below. “It was surrealistic,” Welch said. “The weather was so bad, the rain was falling, and it looked like something out of a horror film or a sci-fi film — kind of post-apocalyptic.”
The St. Petersburg City Council approved nearly $60 million to rebuild the ballpark, a project city officials completed on time and under budget under the guidance of Beth Herendeen from the city development administration and city architect Raul Quintana. Baseball returned to The Trop on April 6, when Rays CEO Ken Babby called it a “great American comeback story.” The Rays’ previous ownership group had backed out of a deal for a new ballpark on the site following the storms.
“They got it done on time, under budget and ready for the ‘26 season, and the rest is history,” Welch said. “It’s an amazing story.”
Babby drew a direct line between the ballpark’s revival and the broader recovery of the Tampa Bay community. “I think when you look back on the last year, from the storms to the rebuilding of the building, it’s really symbolic in terms of what the community has gone through,” Babby said. “Many folks lost their homes, had to rebuild their homes, their communities, get their lives re-established. So to see that through our hometown baseball team and to see the city rise to the occasion, and then to celebrate the best home record in baseball this year, it’s all very fitting of the community’s resilience.”
The Rays posted a 55-26 home record this season, matching Milwaukee, and have gone 4-1 at Tropicana Field in the postseason while averaging 37,697 fans per game with the upper deck open. Manager Kevin Cash credited the crowd, calling Tampa Bay’s fan support “second to none in this postseason run.”
Welch, who attended the 2008 World Series with his father, said the atmosphere has reached a level he had never previously witnessed at the ballpark. “The Yankees don’t own Tropicana Field anymore,” Welch said. “In its twilight years, yeah, The Trop is better than ever before, and it’s really become a rallying point for Tampa Bay fans.”
The Rays’ new ownership group is moving forward with plans for a permanent home — dubbed the “Forever Home” — set to open in Tampa in 2029. Babby said he expects the ballpark to deliver again Monday. “Our fans have been great, and we’re going to need them to continue to be great through the World Series,” Babby said. “They’ve risen to the occasion, just like the team on the field, and we expect Tropicana Field to be raucous next week with cowbells and noise and fans on their feet screaming, welcoming our team back home for the first World Series games back in Tropicana Field since 2008.”
Game 3 is scheduled for Monday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.