ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — 10 Tampa Bay has received several documents showing St. Petersburg’s sense of urgency when it comes to removing what's left of Tropicana Field’s shredded roof, but less enthusiasm when it comes to some early discussion about whether it's possible to make repairs in time for the 2025 baseball season.
Our public records request yielded contracts, costs and a detailed timeline in at least one proposal that contends the dome roof could be replaced in time for the 2025 season.
Step one is removing the remnants of the tattered roof. For that, documents show the city entered into a $416,353 contract for a three-week project.
The contract, with a company called Global Rope Access, calls for a crew of seven on the job and a hefty insurance policy given the precarious situation they're tackling.
Other documents show the roof construction firm the city is working with, Dunn Lightweight, had originally proposed an ambitious timeline that would also install a replacement roof by mid-March.
In that document, the company said it would, "Airfreight some of the raw materials and use most of our stock to achieve this monumental task."
But the next day, a revised letter stuck only to dismantling the Trop's remaining roof.
Earlier this week, before game two of the World Series, Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB wants to know by Christmas whether the Trop could be ready to play ball in time for the 2025 season.
Manford said he’d been told that they're still trying to figure out the extent of the damage, and what needs to be done. He also said it wasn't just the roof that had sustained damage during the storm.
That sparked continued discussion about alternative playing sites if it’s determined the Trop can't be repaired in time.
The documents suggest there is an ambitious timeline to do so, but whether it's worth the expense given how many more years the team has to play in the stadium is another consideration.
The documents obtained by our 10 Investigates unit also show a projected price to replace the Trop’s fabricated roof.
The 400,000 square feet of fabric would cost just under $17 per square foot, for a total of about $6.8 million.