St. Petersburg is quietly writing a bigger insurance check for Tropicana Field, moving Wednesday to boost storm coverage by about $25 million as final hurricane repairs wrap up on the dome. The change closes part of the gap that critics say left taxpayers painfully exposed when Hurricane Milton peeled off chunks of the stadium roof and sent repair costs soaring, even as the Rays’ long-term stadium situation remains unsettled.
As reported by Tampa Bay Business Journal, city staff recommended raising the Tropicana Field named windstorm and flood sublimit from $25 million to $50 million for an estimated extra premium of about $425,000. The City of St. Petersburg lays out that recommendation as “Option 1” in its insurance packet, complete with premium math and alternatives. Staff framed the move as a relatively low-cost way to shrink the city’s potential out-of-pocket hit if another big storm takes aim at the Trop.
Background: Hurricane damage and past coverage choices
Hurricane Milton in October 2024 ripped multiple fiberglass roof panels off Tropicana Field, triggering emergency cleanup and a longer reconstruction plan, according to The Associated Press. Since then, city officials and contractors have authorized roughly $60 million in work to get the stadium back into playing shape, and insurance has reimbursed only a fraction of that so far, per WUSF. Critics have pointed out that the city previously trimmed the Trop’s wind and flood cap from $100 million to $25 million before the storm, a decision that drew extra scrutiny once the repair bills started piling up, according to Insurance Journal.
What the options look like…