Many people questioned whether St. Petersburg would ever host a Major League Baseball game again after Hurricane Milton left Tropicana Field’s roof in tatters. A ceremony on Friday morning highlighted the ultimate response: Sold-out playoff baseball under a fully restored dome.
Fans, city leaders and a large contingent of kids gathered outside City Hall as elected officials hoisted the Tampa Bay Rays flag into the breeze. The ceremonial gesture marked more than just the start of the American League Divisional Series (ALDS), which begins Saturday at the Trop – it signaled a triumph of civic determination.
“From replacing the roof to restoring critical systems and repairing the interior of the stadium, it was a tremendous undertaking,” said Mayor Ken Welch. “We made a commitment to get the job done, and our team delivered. And today, seeing the Rays heading into the postseason with games right here at Tropicana Field, makes our hard work even more rewarding.”
Reaching this point required a team effort on and off the field, Welch said. Milton displaced the Rays, who spent the 2025 season playing in front of about 10,000 fans at the rival New York Yankees’ minor league stadium in Tampa.
After missing the playoffs in 2025, most pundits expected another year of mediocrity when the Rays returned to the Trop in April. The team missed the memo.
The 98-win Rays were one of the best teams in baseball this year. They finished with the best record in the American League, captured their fifth title in the ultra-competitive East Division and were the first team to secure a spot in the postseason.
“Fittingly, they clinched it in dramatic fashion, with Junior Caminero’s 417-foot, two-run home run against the Astros – right here in Tropicana Field,” said Council Chair Lisset Hanewicz. “I think we can all agree that the Rays have been a lot of fun to watch this year.”
On-field brilliance triggered a massive surge in fan engagement. Returning home to St. Petersburg drove an 80% increase in attendance over 2025, which accounted for 100% of Major League Baseball’s net league-wide attendance growth this season.
A serendipitous divisional series against the Yankees begins at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The game is sold out, which is welcome news for local business owners.
Stakeholders expect well over 40,000 fans to descend on the area. Mark Ferguson, owner of Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill, called it a “wonderful” feeling.
“I think our chances are very good to beat the Yankees,” Ferguson told the Tampa Bay Reporter. “I think they’re very good to win the American League Championship and to go to the World Series. But we have to beat the Yankees first, and it starts tomorrow night.”
St. Petersburg will host Games 1, 2 and, if necessary, 5 of the five-game series. If the Rays advance, they would maintain home-field advantage in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series (ALCS).
Winning the AL pennant would bring the World Series to St. Petersburg for the first time since 2008, with home-field advantage determined by regular season record. While the Rays advanced to the 2020 fall classic – and lost in six games – it was at a neutral site due to COVID-19 protocols.
One of the hometown heroes from that series addressed attendees Friday morning. Seminole native Brett Phillips, now brand engagement manager for the Rays, hit a walk-off, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure an 8-7 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and tie the 2020 World Series at two games each.
Phillips praised the shared grit that defined both the community and the clubhouse following the devastating 2024 hurricane season. “I am proud to be from this county, for the resilience that we have shown to get the Rays back at Tropicana Field,” he said.
Chris Steinocher, CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, credited the city for “working their rear ends off to ensure that we could have days like this.” A topless Trop became a disheartening symbol of what people endured; hosting the ALDS is “magic” for the city’s psyche, he said.
“Today is more about all the people who got us reopened,” Steinocher told the Tampa Bay Reporter. “Got the Trop looking so beautiful, so 40,000 fans – and more surrounding the place – can literally feel good about something in their life. Rewards do happen, if you do the right thing.”
After the ceremony, Councilmember Copley Gerdes pointed to the children, police officers, firefighters, elected officials and residents from all walks of life “rallying around something.” He noted that the moment was about “more than just baseball.”
“Baseball is the conduit in which that happened,” Gerdes added. “It’s an awesome morning, man, that’s the story.”
