The Tampa Bay Rays are hopeful that Tropicana Field will be ready by opening day of the 2026 season, but St. Petersburg city officials recently informed the team that the city does not have a strict deadline to complete the repairs caused by Hurricane Milton.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg City Administrator Rob Gerdes told the Rays in a letter that the city is “under no obligation to repair Tropicana Field in time for Opening Day 2026." Gerdes said that the city’s agreement with the Rays “doesn’t come with a deadline” and as a result,

City Administrator Rob Gerdes told the Tampa Bay Rays in a letter last week that St. Petersburg is under no obligation to repair Tropicana Field in time for Opening Day 2026. The back-and-forth exchange between the Rays and the Pinellas County Commission over next steps after Hurricane Milton tore the roof off the stadium is now happening between the city and the team on repairs to Tropicana

Hurricane Milton's destruction in October 2024 took Tropicana Field off the roster and left the Tampa Bay Rays in search of stability. Fans find themselves caught in the crossfire with repairs to their home turf stuck in neutral.