PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Petersburg City Council approved $16 million in additional funding for repairs to Tropicana Field on Thursday.
This is something ABC Action News has kept a close eye on since last fall, when Hurricane Milton ripped the top off.
In April, the council approved $22.5 million to begin repairs. On Thursday, City councilmembers approved $16 million in additional costs in a 7-1 vote.
Councilmember Richey Floyd said he saw no legal opportunity to vote against this and voted to approve the measure.
WATCH City council set to vote on another round of funding for Tropicana Field repairs:
Councilman Copley Gerdes said this may push the price tag past the initial estimate, but they are still on track.
“We might be a little bit over the hoped cost, but we’re still in the margin of what we anticipated,” Gerdes said.
He said he is still hopeful the repairs will be done in time for opening day next year, something that local sports bars are banking on.
“We miss baseball! We want baseball back. We can’t wait for next April," Mark Ferguson with Ferg’s Sports Bar and Grill said.
Ferguson said baseball is their biggest money maker, but sales are down while the team is playing in Tampa.
Bill Georgiou from the Burg Bar and Grill said they are feeling that same pain.
“Between this year and years past, we are not getting foot traffic. We are definitely feeling the economic impact of the Rays not being here this summer,” Georgiou said.
Both bars said they need the team back in St. Pete because it is such a huge part of business.
“I am definitely concerned with the Rays not being here,” Georgiou said.
City Councilman Corey Givens Jr. is looking ahead to the future of a revenue replacement for the Rays. He is introducing a new business item to the council and told ABC Action News that several attractive options could fill the space.
The current contract has the Rays playing in Tampa until 2028.
“You know, it might just be time we take a look if HOAs are really even necessary.
Maybe we should just do away with homeowner associations as a whole.”
South Florida lawmaker Rep. Juan Carlos Porras (R-Miami) says it may be time to do away with homeowners associations altogether, as more Floridians speak out about rising fees, costly lawsuits, and even arrests tied to HOA disputes. He said this week that he is considering filing legislation in the next session that would abolish HOAs statewide.
