The city of St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2024 famously lowered its insurance coverage on Tropicana Field, the longtime home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.
The move saved the city some $275,000 in annual premium but slashed coverage limits from $100 million to $25 million, The Tampa Bay Times reported. Then, Hurricane Milton hit the area, ripping the Teflon-coated fabric roof to shreds, forcing the Rays to play at another stadium temporarily, and costing the municipality more than $57 million in repairs.
Last week, St. Petersburg officials voted to raise insurance coverage on the Trop to $50 million—just enough to cover the projected costs of another storm, news outlets reported. The annual premium will be $125,000.
The carrier for the stadium was not reported, but Brown & Brown brokerage was involved in securing coverage, the Times reported. Previously, the city said that St. Pete had two policies with Special Risk Underwriter, as well as coverage with The Princeton Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance Co.; Axis Surplus Insurance Co.; Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co.; United Specialty; Underwriters at Lloyd’s; Ironshore Specialty Insurance; and National Fire and Marine, a Berkshire company.
The new insurance coverage comes just in time: The Rays are set to open the 2026 season April 6. The team plans to play at the Trop until 2028, when they are expected to move to a new stadium in Tampa.
Photo: The roof of Tropicana Field after Hurricane Milton hit the region in 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Read More on the Trop: Florida Cabinet Approves Land Transfer for New Rays Stadium in Tampa
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Interested in Funding?
Get automatic alerts for this topic.
