City leaders set to vote on dumping more funding into fixing Tropicana Field

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Petersburg city leaders are set to vote on dumping more money into fixing up Tropicana Field. It has been about eight months since Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off the Trop and caused significant damage to other parts of the stadium.

There are three items on the council's agenda, and council members say that if approved, it could push the Trop into the next phase of recovery.

WATCH City leaders set to vote on dumping more funding into fixing Tropicana Field

First up, leaders will vote on metal panel repairs. This may not sound like a big deal, but council members say the panels are critical to the stadium.

They will also vote on whether the city should take over security duties at the stadium. The Rays used to handle that, but now that the team is in Tampa, St. Pete may take over.

Finally, council will vote on putting more money toward protecting and cleaning up the site. City councilwoman Gina Driscoll said this is part of a larger effort to preserve the inside of the stadium.

“We have to make sure we don’t have further damage to the stadium with the rainy season that’s coming up,” Driscoll said.

Some people are pushing back against the city spending more money on the Trop, but others say the repairs can’t happen soon enough.

"I want to see them not even talk about it, just vote the money into repairing the Trop. We need to get it ready for opening day," Mark Ferguson, owner of Ferg’s Sports Bar and Grill, said.

He said sales are down about 20% compared to past baseball seasons.

City leaders are reminding people that they are contractually obligated to fix up the Trop and get it back to playing standards.

Council will vote during the meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. Click here to read the agenda items.