Here Comes the Sun: Rebuilding the Sunshine City

PARACLETE MARCH/APRIL 2026 – By Katherine Castaner
Part I: The Return of Tropicana Field

Since October 2024, the Sunshine City’s skyline has been missing its unmistakable, slanted dome. That is until this past November, when repair efforts culminated in the completion of a fully restored roof at Tropicana Field. Twenty-four panels of white fiberglass yarn now shine atop the stadium, calling to mind the familiar silhouette that had defined the city for more than three decades before the winds of Hurricane Milton left the dome tattered. With the Trop’s roof officially restored and internal repairs nearing completion in anticipation of the Tampa Bay Rays home opener against the Chicago Cubs on April 6, 2026, this moment, and the return of a repaired top to the stadium, marks a meaningful milestone in St. Petersburg’s ongoing recovery.

This article marks the first installment in a larger series examining how St. Petersburg is rebuilding in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. In September and October of 2024, the devastation of back-to-back hurricanes left visible scars across the city. Hurricanes Helene and Milton left entire neighborhoods flooded, longstanding businesses shuttered, and countless landmarks marred. The storms reshaped daily life across the city and the long road to recovery has begun to be paved through diligent, coordinated efforts across St. Petersburg.

Tropicana Field has earned its space in the city’s history and identity. The prolific stadium first opened in 1990, introduced as the Florida Suncoast Dome. Shortly thereafter, in 1993, it was briefly renamed the “ThunderDome” while the Tampa Bay Lightning called the facility home. It wasn’t until 1996 that its current namesake came to be when the naming rights were sold to Tropicana Products and “The Trop” was born. Spanning an impressive 1.1 million square feet, the Trop has hosted a variety of prominent sporting events including the 2008 World Series, the 1999 NCAA Basketball Final Four and Championship, and a decade of Gasparilla Bowl games between 2008 and 2017.

Any reflection on the Trop would be incomplete without acknowledging the void left by the displacement of the Tampa Bay Rays. The temporary departure of the team during this past season underscored that the loss of the Trop has been much more than simply the loss of a dome or a stadium. Rather, as we have seen over the past year, it was deep a loss running right through the city’s culture. The city’s Edge District, which was previously accustomed to the bustling energy that accompanies a home game, fell decidedly quiet during the regular season.

The stadium’s restoration represents a concerted effort to bring the old and the new together in a meaningful way during the ongoing process of repair. The Tampa Bay Rays report new, reimagined seating options to welcome Rays fans including the debut of the new, MaintenX SkyDeck located above left field and deemed the premier all-inclusive single-game ticket space for the ballpark. Keeping in mind the white dome has become emblematic for St. Petersburg, engineers overseeing the replacement of the stadium’s roof, AECOM Hunt, opted to repair the dome itself following the original structural design plan for the roof. The result is sure to be a revamped, reimagined interior enveloped in a familiar casing.

As Tropicana Field prepares to welcome back fans, its reopening signals the much-anticipated return of baseball to downtown. More than that, it represents a broader, longer road to recovery paved by policy, public interest, and strong leadership working in lockstep to rebuild the Sunshine City for its citizens. In the next installment of this series, expect more on the continued efforts to rebuild the city and restore not only our infrastructure, but our foundation as well.