Rays set for Trop homecoming 561 days in the making

This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. PETERSBURG -- There are seven cownose stingrays from The Florida Aquarium that have been on quite a journey over the past 18 months.

As Hurricane Milton tore apart Tropicana Field’s roof in October 2024, those stingrays rode out the storm inside Tampa Bay’s home ballpark. They were moved back to the aquarium a few days later, went to TECO’s Manatee Viewing Center at Apollo Beach in January and finally returned this week to a newly renovated “Cownose Clubhouse” beyond the Trop’s right-center field fence.

At long last, the rays are home. So are the Rays.

After so many uncertain moments regarding their future, so much work done to make this possible and so much sweat during a season outdoors at Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Rays are set to reopen Tropicana Field for its first game in 561 days when they host the Cubs in their home opener Monday at 4:10 p.m. ET.

For all the criticism the stadium and its tilted roof have taken over the years, all the complaints about catwalks and commutes, you’ll find nothing but gratitude from the people who still call the Trop their home ballpark.

“A lot of time was spent talking about what was wrong with the Trop when we were there. And then we left,” Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said. “And a lot more is spent on what's right with the Trop as we go back.”

A few days after Tampa Bay’s final home game of the 2024 season, Hurricane Helene unleashed massive flooding throughout the Tampa Bay area. Thirteen days later, Hurricane Milton raged through the region.

The most visible symbol of the destruction those storms wrought was Tropicana Field, with its domed roof ripped to pieces.

The ballpark belongs to the City of St. Petersburg, which was contractually obligated to return it to playable condition for the Rays. Incredibly, the nearly $60 million repair and remediation process took place on schedule and on budget.

“This is a truly heroic effort. It was not long ago that we looked at this building and wondered, ‘Could baseball ever be played here again?’” Rays CEO Ken Babby said while sitting in the shadow of the Trop during the club’s Fan Fest in February. “Not only is this building going to be special on April 6, but our fans are going to walk in and see Tropicana Field in a whole new way.”

For starters, they will be under a new roof.

AECOM Hunt, the construction management firm that helped build Tropicana Field (then known as the Florida Suncoast Dome) back in 1990, led the roof repair efforts. Using a full engineering team and drones to survey the existing structure as well as the original shop drawings from three decades ago, the company and its partners put together a globe-spanning plan to rebuild the Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric roof.

The material -- like the old roof, but of a new-and-improved generation -- is designed by the Serge Ferrari Group, a French industrial company. The PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene)-coated fiberglass membranes are produced only in Germany. They were shipped from Germany to China, where they were cut and sewn into 24 individual panels that eventually made their way to St. Petersburg for installation.

“Anything else was going to be a compromise, and nobody wanted to compromise this,” said Ken Johnson, the executive vice president of sports at AECOM Hunt. “This roof had to go back up and had to be right.”

Crews braved the roof on ropes and harnesses and used winches to pull each panel from the edge of the stadium and stretch it to the center.

Installing each panel required hours of favorable weather. Fortunately, this past hurricane season was far kinder than the one before it.

The last panel was put in place on Nov. 21, and the work inside -- highlighted by the installation of a new field -- kicked into high gear. In addition to the city’s repair efforts, the Rays’ new ownership group funded a number of additional upgrades, from improved premium seating areas to an expanded video board.

“Everyone says the last time it looked this good was Opening Day [28] years ago. It looks really good,” Johnson said. “Fans that walk in the building, they’re going to be surprised. This ownership team has really done some great things, too. They’re really on top of it.”

To their credit, the Rays never complained about their accommodations last year. They all realized it could have been way worse than a season at the Yankees’ Spring Training ballpark across the bay.

The location was ideal. Team staff worked around the clock to temporarily transform the place into their ballpark. For all the intense heat and humidity that limited their pregame work -- you'll never find bigger fans of an air-conditioned, 72-degree ballpark -- the Rays somehow avoided a single rainout at home.

The amenities were spectacular, so much so that the Rays are adopting some in their revamped home clubhouse. However, as Neander put it, “I've stayed in hotel rooms that are nicer than my home … but home's still home.”

“You know it's not your place. And it's not the Trop,” echoed longtime Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe, now with the Pirates. “That's something that's tied in with the Rays is being at the Trop and being indoors.”

From a baseball standpoint, the Rays are back where they’re built to win.

It’s a favorable environment for their pitchers, and their best teams are built on pitching and defense. Steinbrenner Field wasn’t necessarily the hitters’ haven many expected, but it definitely wasn’t the Trop.

“I'd like to see us get back to what has made us successful, and that's doing it really well on the mound and doing everything we can to prevent runs,” manager Kevin Cash said recently. “I think the Trop will help that.”

The club has spent decades working to secure a long-term home in the area, with high hopes for the current proposed plan in Tampa, but Tropicana Field is still theirs for the next three seasons. There’s history here, dating back to the area’s attempts to secure a franchise and starting anew with the Devil Rays’ inaugural game on March 31, 1998.

From an emotional standpoint, they’re back where they belong.

“Tropicana Field is the home of the Tampa Bay Rays. And while we're working on solidifying that forever home, we can't wait to be back here,” Babby said. “It’s important to our players. It’s important to our staff. And first and foremost, it’s important to our fans.”