Removing – and repairing – the remains of Tropicana Field’s shredded roof was a priority for St. Petersburg officials and contractors in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

Documents obtained by the Catalyst show that construction officials met with at least one specialty construction company a day after Milton made landfall. In a Friday, Oct. 11 email sent after a site visit, Javier Rattia, partner director of Dunn Lightweight, noted that his company was on a “very tight schedule” to complete the roof of Tropicana Field in time for the season 2025 to be dismantled and replaced.

“We will air-freight some of the materials and use most of our inventory to accomplish this monumental task,” Rattia wrote. “We understand that there are some internal processes that need to happen first, but due to the emergency situation, we can mobilize the decommissioning phase next Monday (14/10).”

Dunn’s proposal changed the next day. An Oct. 12 agreement was limited to dismantling and removing the “PVC roof material for disposal by the city” at a cost not to exceed $548,534.

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred recently told a podcast host that the Trop’s missing roof was “particularly problematic” in a building that was not designed to drain. “We were on a path where the lifespan of that facility was short. Really expensive repairs and a facility with a short lifespan, I don’t need to connect the dots there for you,” he added.

Removing debris and repairing the stadium’s dome was a priority a day after Milton made landfall.

The city hired local construction company Hennessy to assess the damage as part of the insurance claims process in the days after Milton. Officials also turned their attention to Global Rope Access (GRA) for stadium debris removal.

Raul Quintana, city architect, told GRA leadership in an Oct. 13 email that there is “much to discuss as this is work we are not familiar with.” “I also want to better understand the level of coordination required with the (Tampa Bay) Rays facility staff.”

The city decided to hire GRA on Oct. 16, pending the Rays’ approval. Officials issued a $416,353 purchase order on Oct. 21 for the demolition of roofing materials.

Videos recently leaked to social media show roofing equipment hanging from fallen cables and signage. The Teflon-coated fabric and other debris remained scattered across the Trop’s stands and playing field – still lined with camp beds to house storm response crews.

The contract includes labor for seven GRA rope technicians who arrived in St. Petersburg on October 23. They will use special rope access equipment to remove what is left of the dome.

When asked Thursday afternoon if the Rays would play another inning at the Trop, Mayor Ken Welch said, “That’s another issue we’re working on. We meet the Rays regularly. I met them this morning.”

He added that the “resilience of our city is the most important thing we are focusing on right now.”

The interior of the stadium was exposed to the elements for more than two weeks.

Welch said the city still does not have a final estimate of damage costs. He also noted that the responsibility for insuring and repairing a new $1.37 billion ballpark set to break ground in January would fall to the Rays.

Welch said starting construction on the new facility before January was among a “range of options.” These include playing in spring training and minor league stadiums in Tampa, Clearwater and Dunedin. Fans have floated Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Petersburg – home of the Rays-owned Tampa Bay Rowdies – as a dark horse option.

“There are a number of options in the agreement,” Welch said. “And once we have more clarity on what the costs are, I think we’ll say more about that. In the new stadium we would not be responsible for these repairs. And that is one of the strongest points of the new agreement.”

Much of the national storm-related spotlight shone on a decapitated Trop and the construction crane of a luxury condominium tower crashing into a neighboring building. Welch said all stakeholders in the city must work together to overcome two unprecedented “acts of God” in 13 days.

“My focus is once again on the 15,000 properties that have been damaged,” Welch added. “Rebuilding our economy – people who have lost their jobs and homes, and neighborhoods that will likely be changed forever.

“I think we have good partnerships in the private sector… we’re really all in this together.”