Baseball fans and business owners are brimming with excitement as World Series fever sweeps over St. Petersburg. The thought was unimaginable less than two years ago.
Hurricane Milton shredded Tropicana Field’s roof in October 2024. The following month, former Tampa Bay Rays president Brian Auld told city officials that repairing the stadium in time for the 2026 season was “next to impossible” and likely a waste of money.
St. Petersburg spent roughly $60 million repairing the Trop while the Rays spent the 2025 season playing in front of about 10,000 fans at the New York Yankees’ minor league stadium in Tampa. Stakeholders will likely recoup that money over the next several days.
“It’s like doing a month of business in one week,” said Mark Ferguson, owner of Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill, the sprawling venue located across the street from Tropicana Field.
While the World Series kicks off at 8 p.m. tonight in Milwaukee, festivities begin at 4 p.m. in St. Petersburg. A free pregame concert at Ferg’s starts then, as does the city’s block party on Central Avenue between 13th and 15th Street.
Milwaukee, which will also host Game 2 tomorrow, expects each home game to generate an estimated $10 million to $15 million economic impact. St. Petersburg could surpass that number, as many Brewers fans looking for relatively less expensive tickets and decidedly better weather are already in the city.
“I think it’s great that they’re coming down,” Ferguson said. “They’re going to help the bars, the restaurants. A little mini-vacation.”
Pete Boland, owner of The Galley and Mary Margaret’s Olde Irish Tavern, said he is a “little worried” the team will not enjoy the same home-field advantage they did during Monday’s pennant-clinching win against the Cleveland Guardians when St. Petersburg hosts the Fall Classic. However, there is a bright spot.
“The trade-off for businesses is that people want to have a communal experience for this,” Boland said of the entire series. “They’re going to be coming out and partying … it should be electric in downtown St. Pete.”
Starting on Monday, St. Petersburg will host a World Series for the first time since 2008. The city has changed dramatically over the past 18 years, said Brian Lowack, CEO of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater.
The number of hotels, restaurants, shops and activities in St. Petersburg and the surrounding area has increased exponentially. The fan base has also seemingly expanded, as evidenced by over 40,000 people attending multiple playoff games this season.
“This week, whether you’re at the game inside of the Trop, whether you’re across the street at Ferg’s, whether you’re at one of the parties going on around Central Avenue – it’s just going to be a big time for the entire city,” Lowack said.
“This doesn’t happen every day. And the folks who are coming down to St. Pete are going to really enjoy themselves.”
The city will host Game 3 on Monday, Game 4 on Tuesday and, if needed, Game 5 on Wednesday. That is likely, considering the matchup between two evenly matched, small-market teams that have never won a World Series but paced the American (Rays) and National (Brewers) Leagues this year.
Lowack expects an “across-the-board” spike in business. He also noted that Tampa Bay is between its peak and slow travel season, when hotels typically operate at about half capacity.
Businesses and hotels throughout Pinellas County will receive a much-needed “shot in the arm,” Lowack said. Nicole Waters, executive director of the stadium-adjacent EDGE District, believes World Series visitors will likely return to the area.
“Major events bring people to St. Pete, but it’s the experience of being here that brings them back,” Waters said. “That’s where the real long-term economic opportunity lies.”
Fox is broadcasting the World Series, which attracted 15.7 million viewers per game last year. The combined global audience for a Game 7 matchup between the L.A. Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays was 51 million.
All eyes will be on St. Petersburg next week. Ferguson called the exposure “tremendous for Ferg’s, the city and Tampa Bay.”
Boland believes it is the city’s “moment.” Jason Mathis, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, said there is a “palpable sense of excitement about our Rays advancing to the World Series.”
“Hosting a world-class event underscores the vibrancy and authenticity that defines downtown St. Pete,” Mathis continued. “Beyond the direct benefits of exogenous spending from out-of-town visitors, and the incredible media attention, we also benefit from a sense of civic pride and accomplishment that we can do big things as a community.”
The city did its part by repairing the Trop in time for the 2026 season. New ownership, led by Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove and Ken Babby, also spent millions of dollars enhancing the fan experience, which boosted attendance.
Players, coaches and staff deserve praise for an unexpectedly outstanding season. Ferguson thought the Rays were fielding a minor league team on opening day, “and then they got better and better and better.”
“And now we’re in the World Series,” Ferguson said. “God bless the baseball operations.”
Chris Steinocher, CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, called the moment “destiny” for those who’ve endured years of stadium uncertainty, relocation threats and natural disasters. He believes the city is “whole again.”
The Rays plan to open a new stadium in Tampa when their lease at the Trop expires after the 2028 season. Steinocher noted that while St. Petersburg may never host another World Series, the city “still has this day.”
“It isn’t bittersweet – it’s more like redemption,” Steinocher said.
