The sun will naturally bleach the new fabric, now made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). While the roof is similar to what Milton blew off in early October 2024, City Architect Raul Quintana noted that 36 years of technological advancements will exponentially increase environmental resiliency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not really the category of a hurricane \u2013 it\u2019s the wind speeds and the safety factors for an assembly building, which this is,\u201d Quintana explained. \u201cI\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s 155 or 160 mph winds right up top, but it\u2019s significantly more than what it was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Crews installed the Trop\u2019s original roof in 1989. Building regulations continue evolving alongside environmental threats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Quintana said the tension system holding the panels in place is \u201cvery strong.\u201d He is \u201ccompletely confident\u201d the new roof would have withstood Milton, a Category 3 hurricane when it made landfall near Siesta Key.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, St. Petersburg only received Category 2 gusts. Category 5 winds, which cause catastrophic damage, begin at 157 mph.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened in Milton was unique,\u201d Quintana added. \u201cBy that time, the panels were already 35 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Trop\u2019s old roof was built to withstand<\/a> sustained winds of 115 mph. Gov. Ron DeSantis selected the stadium to host a 10,000-person base camp for debris cleanup operations and first responders in the days before Milton made landfall.\u00a0<\/p>\n While it remains unclear if the city would consider using a rebuilt Trop, which sits on relatively high ground in St. Petersburg, as a storm shelter for residents, Mayor Ken Welch recently noted its \u201cbones\u201d are in \u201cvery good shape.\u201d He and others believe the stadium could continue hosting<\/a> Major League Baseball for several years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe roof that was replaced has to be designed to today\u2019s codes, so it\u2019s a much stronger material than it was 35 years ago,\u201d Quintana said. \u201cIt\u2019s a slightly thicker material. We were fortunate enough that the engineering team that designed the original roof was still around.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDavid Campbell has been instrumental in determining how that material will go back up \u2026 It\u2019s going to last. We don\u2019t have any issues with that, and we had to do it that way. We really had no choice.\u201d<\/p>\n The new, more environmentally resilient roof material will appear white by March.<\/p>\n Quintana said the work was \u201cdone correctly,\u201d with \u201ca lot of thought\u201d and effort. Tampa Bay Rays<\/a>, Major League Baseball and city officials are completing the once-daunting<\/a> project, now ahead of schedule, collaboratively.<\/p>\n The color difference \u201chas to do with the sequencing of when the panels were installed,\u201d Quintana said. Administrators \u201cdid a lot of testing on the colors,\u201d reflectiveness and \u201csound absorption issues.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Beth Herendeen, director of city development, agreed with Quintana\u2019s assessment. While \u201canything is possible,\u201d and she would \u201chate to jinx it,\u201d officials are confident the roof will \u201cwithstand what it needs to withstand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt would take an extraordinary event to have what happened, happen again,\u201d Herendeen added.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-tan-Trop-roof-panels-MP-1024x771.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Will-Vragovic-Rays-photo-Tropicana-Field.jpg\")
<\/p>\n