{"id":197836,"date":"2026-03-19T14:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/197836\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:42:16","slug":"st-petersburg-artist-turns-damaged-tropicana-field-roof-into-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/197836\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Petersburg artist turns damaged Tropicana field roof into art"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 What was once a symbol of hurricane destruction is now inspiring creativity. Local artist, Dee Sheppard, is transforming pieces of the old Tropicana Field roof, torn off during Hurricane Milton, into unique works of art.<\/p>\n<p>With opening day fast approaching at Tropicana Field, Sheppard\u2019s project brings a positive spin to the stadium&#8217;s recent renovations. The old roof is now being repurposed into a one-of-a-kind artwork that Sheppard makes inside her St. Petersburg home.<\/p>\n<p>WATCH full story by Keely McCormick<\/p>\n<p>St. Petersburg artist turns damaged Tropicana field roof into art<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTaking things that would normally end up in a landfill and turning it into art it was kind of a natural thing. I could take something that\u2019s really iconic, that roof, and turn it into something positive to come from the whole situation,\u201d Sheppard said.<\/p>\n<p>Her focus on reusing discarded materials is not limited to the Trop. She has long been passionate about reducing waste while creating meaningful art for the community.<\/p>\n<p>Sheppard said, \u201cI was frustrated with the amount of waste going into landfills, and I was like, there\u2019s got to be something we can do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sheppards&#8217; project also carries a personal mission to empower young women. She is donating the proceeds from her artwork to Girls on the Run. It is a local non-profit that encourages girls to be healthy and confident through running and life skills programs.<\/p>\n<p>Sheppard said, \u201cTo be able to donate that money to another organization that I really believe in. It just all made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So far, Sheppard has raised around $8,000 for the organization. She hopes her work not only benefits the nonprofit but also inspires young women to follow their passions.<\/p>\n<p>Sheppard said, \u201cI am a woman doing woodworking, which is not a stereotypical common path\u2026. I like the idea that yeah, girls can get that confidence to do what they want to do. Doesn\u2019t matter if it is stereotypical or not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pelicanupcycle.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Click here <\/a>to see more of Sheppard&#8217;s art.<\/p>\n<p>Share Your Story with Keely<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/KeelyMcCormick.png\"\/><br \/>From finding savings to help navigate the price of paradise, to the safety of our roads, and even the latest medical breakthroughs; Keely McCormick is dedicated to helping you get the most out of your day. Share your ideas with Keely below.<br \/>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SUSAN.ELKHOURY.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I didn\u2019t ask for this,&#8217; landscapers cut woman&#8217;s trees without her permission causing thousands in damages<\/p>\n<p>Denise Harris said she was inside her home back in December when she heard noises outside and opened her front door to find a crew already at work.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I didn\u2019t ask for this,&#8217; landscapers cut woman&#8217;s trees without her permission<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 What was once a symbol of hurricane destruction is now inspiring creativity. Local artist,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[205,3087,8738,1846,5026,596,11277,91745,202,204,203,199,201,200,3670,208],"class_list":["post-197836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-abc-action-news","tag-art","tag-field","tag-hurricane","tag-milton","tag-pinellas-county","tag-roof","tag-sheppard","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-tampa-bay-local-news","tag-wfts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}