ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two years after severe damage to Tropicana Field left the Tampa Bay Rays without a roof, the team is back home and playing on baseball’s biggest stage.
The Rays have reached their third World Series and returned to a renovated Tropicana Field after a turbulent stretch that forced the team to play away from its longtime home.
Images of the damaged Tropicana Field became familiar across Tampa Bay after pieces of the roof were torn away and scattered across St. Petersburg.
“It was so so sad,” one person said at the time.
The Rays spent the following season playing at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees, while work continued at Tropicana Field.
“Everything has been done with a lot of thought a lot of effort done correctly working collaboratively with the Tampa Bay RAYS Major League Baseball and it hasn’t been easy a lot of back and forth pushing and shoving and lot of giving here,” one person involved in the process said.
The work eventually allowed the Rays to return home. The inside of Tropicana Field was renovated, and even the stadium’s stingrays returned.
“Shout out to city of St. Pete and all the Tampa area fans for showing out for us for everything we’ve been through,” Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson said.
A year after missing the playoffs, the Rays made a postseason run that ended with an American League Championship Series victory and a trip to the World Series.
Now, the Rays face another challenge.
Tampa Bay return home trailing the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0 in the World Series after consecutive losses in Milwaukee.
The Rays struck first in Game 2 and built an early four-run lead.
“Liam Hicks doing some yard work, we go to the second deck in the center, Rays grab a 4-0 lead,” Tampa Bay 28 sportscaster Kevin Lewis said.
But Milwaukee came back to win 5-4 and take a two-game lead in the series.
“And that is how the game ends. Brewers win 5-4 again taking a 2 to nothing lead in the World Series,” Lewis said.
The deficit adds another obstacle for a Rays team that has already endured two years of upheaval surrounding its home stadium.
“I completely understand what’s in front of us and what it’s going to take,” a Rays representative said.
The Rays now return to Tropicana Field looking for their first win of the World Series, with Tampa Bay fans getting their opportunity to welcome the team home on baseball’s biggest stage.
The estimated cost of repairs to Tropicana Field was about $60 million. The Rays are expected to play at the stadium through 2028.
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