How AECOM Hunt raced to replace Rays’ $60M ballpark roof | Construction Dive

An article from How AECOM Hunt raced to replace Rays’ $60M ballpark roof After a hurricane damaged Tropicana Field, the contractor coordinated across multiple continents to transport and assemble massive fiberglass panels in time for the 2026 home opener. Published April 6, 2026 Zachary Phillips Editor Share Copy link Email LinkedIn X/Twitter Facebook Print License Add us on Google A construction worker on the project to attach the replacement roof on Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Permission granted by AECOM Hunt Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Within 48 hours of Hurricane Milton tearing off the roof of Tropicana Field, Kenneth Johnson was on the phone with the city of St. Petersburg, Florida. Within 72 hours, Johnson said his team was on the site of the MLB ballpark. “It looked like an atomic bomb went off,” Johnson, executive vice president of sports for AECOM Hunt, said of the aftermath of the October 2024 hurricane. On Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays are set to host the Chicago Cubs under a new roof for the home opener of their 2026 season at Tropicana Field. That’s thanks to a roughly $60 million, global effort to mobilize, manufacture, ship, deliver and place a new fiberglass canopy atop the stadium in time for that first pitch. Replacing the roof required collaboration over three continents on a tight deadline at the stadium, which the city of St. Petersburg is required to provide for the team t...