ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — With the future of Tropicana Field uncertain after Hurricane Milton damaged the roof, St. Pete businesses and the local economy are expected to take a hit.

Beyond Rays games, Tropicana Field is home to many other events that are now on hold.

“There’s a lot of events that are very family-friendly. It’s kind of sad to see this,” said St. Pete resident Pete Krainik.

According to the Chamber of Commerce, the popular Enchant event was pulled from St. Pete before the hurricane hit.

The Trop has also hosted WWE, home shows, and graduations.

“When you go to Tropicana Field, you go all around that area downtown, Central Avenue area as well, so that’s definitely something that affects the whole town, and the whole city,” said Scott Ward, who works in the downtown area.

A new report shows it will cost more than $55 million dollars to repair the Trop after it was damaged by Hurricane Milton. The hope would be to reopen the ballpark by opening day, 2026, which is not the best news for local businesses.

“I’m the manager here at one of the restaurants so yeah, you can definitely tell how you know much busier it is and there’s an event going on,” said Ward.

“Of course, we’re going to lose a lot of business downtown. The whole city of Saint Pete and the Rays are going to lose a lot of money not having attendance, and moving around, so it’s not a great situation,” said Michael Ferguson, Owner of Ferg’s Sports Bar. Ferguson said a lot of business comes from Rays and other events at the Trop.

“Hopefully we don’t have to lay anybody off and we can pivot and do more concerts to some other events of fundraisers and get through this year and next year,” said Ferguson.

News Channel 8 reached out to the Rays to see how many events have been impacted but have not heard back.