St. Petersburg Gears Up for World Series at Tropicana Field: Security, Block Parties and a Mayor's Race

St. Petersburg is preparing for its first World Series games in 18 years, with more than 100 police officers, drones and K-9 teams assigned to Tropicana Field, two nights of block parties on Central Avenue and an expected crowd of more than 100,000 visitors over the course of the series. The Tampa Bay Rays host the Milwaukee Brewers in Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 26 and 27, with a Game 5 on Wednesday, Oct. 28, if necessary.

The games arrive at a politically charged moment. Mayor Ken Welch, who pushed to repair the hurricane-wrecked dome, faces former Gov. Charlie Crist in a Nov. 3 runoff, the Rays are planning a new ballpark across the bay in Tampa, and Welch spent part of Friday firing back at President Donald Trump, who said this week that nobody cares about this World Series.

The security and traffic plan

Welch and Police Chief Anthony Holloway laid out the city's plan at a news conference Friday morning, FOX 13 reported. More than 100 St. Petersburg officers will work each game, some of them undercover, while the department keeps enough staff to answer regular calls elsewhere in the city. State and federal agencies are partnering with the city, an emergency operations center will run out of police headquarters, drones will watch vehicle and pedestrian traffic around the stadium, and K-9 teams will sweep the building before games.

Police expect roughly 40,000 people at each sold-out game, plus another 15,000 to 20,000 gathering elsewhere in the city, according to FOX 13. Holloway said the Rays' earlier playoff games served as a test run, with no major incidents reported, though several people were ejected. His biggest concern is traffic, and in particular the moment after the final out when most of the crowd tries to leave at once. Pedestrians will get priority as the stadium empties, so drivers parked nearby should expect to wait.

Gates will open three hours before each 8 p.m. first pitch. Holloway said parking around the stadium has been averaging about $150 for World Series games, while downtown spaces can be found for as little as $25, with city shuttles running to the ballpark, FOX 13 reported. On-site parking is prepaid only, according to Florida Politics, and the city is adding SunRunner buses and starting its free baseball shuttle an hour earlier than usual. The city does not expect to close streets around the ballpark on Monday, though officials had not confirmed specific road closures as of Friday.

Police are also planning for celebrations if the Rays close in on, or win, their first championship. Holloway said the emergency operations center will let the city quickly deploy barricades and other resources, and he urged fans to celebrate responsibly, warning that lawbreakers will face enforcement.

Block parties, watch parties and a lit-up Pier

While the series opened in Milwaukee, the city closed Central Avenue between 13th and 15th Streets from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday for two Rays Up block parties, according to Florida Politics. The city printed a limited run of commemorative posters to hand out and asked businesses and residential buildings to light up in blue and yellow. The St. Pete Pier has been lit in Rays colors since Wednesday night and will stay that way through the end of the series.

Fans who cannot get into the home games have another option. The Rays are hosting official watch parties at Tropicana Field for the road games, Games 1 and 2 and potential Games 6 and 7, with the broadcast on the stadium video board and fans allowed in the seats or on the turf, FOX 13 reported. General admission watch-party tickets are listed at $10, with a $35 buffet ticket and a $60 all-inclusive ticket that adds beer, wine and soft drinks.

The city's festivities continue Sunday, an off day in the series, with Halloween on Central, the 22-block street festival between 9th and 31st Streets that runs from noon to 5 p.m. The Rays are providing free parking in the Trop lots for that event, according to Florida Politics. Welch's staff is planning a parade if the Rays win, possibly along the downtown waterfront route used by the St. Pete Pride parade, and Tampa officials have said they will hold a boat parade of their own.

Here is the schedule of games and city events for the week, according to the City of St. Petersburg, the Rays and Tampa city officials as reported by FOX 13, Florida Politics and the Tampa Bay Times.

Tickets and the business boost

Seats at the Trop are far cheaper than in Milwaukee, but they are not cheap. Tickets for Games 3, 4 and 5 started at around $1,100 on secondary markets, with premium seats as high as $4,800, compared with more than $2,700 just to get into American Family Field for Games 1 and 2, FOX 13 reported. The Tampa Bay Times reported that most remaining options for fans were on the resale market.

The turnout is a sharp change for a team that averaged 17,468 fans in the regular season, among the bottom three in the majors, according to the Times. The Trop drew a sellout crowd of 40,230 for Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. Michael Snipes, an associate economics professor at the University of South Florida, told the Times that businesses around the stadium will see the biggest gain and that the series will be an economic positive for all of St. Petersburg, since downtown and the beaches are close by.

Welch has framed the series as a recovery story. He said at Friday's news conference that 15,000 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed by the 2024 hurricanes and that many residents are still rebuilding, describing the moment as a story of resilience, according to FOX 13.

Welch answers Trump

The mayor was asked at the same news conference about remarks Trump made Tuesday in the Oval Office. A reporter had asked the president about a possible Major League Baseball lockout when the collective bargaining agreement expires in December, then followed up by noting that the Rays and Brewers reached the World Series with lower payrolls. Trump ended the exchange by saying "Nobody cares," FOX 13 reported.

"A lot of folks care," Welch responded. He said people in Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg care, pointed to the 18 years since the Rays' last home World Series and said he had not seen that level of excitement at the Trop in a long time, according to FOX 13.

A wager with Milwaukee's mayor

Welch and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced a charitable wager Friday, FOX 13 reported. If the Brewers win, Welch will ride a Harley motorcycle through St. Petersburg and Tampa wearing a Brewers jersey. If the Rays win, Johnson will wear a Rays jersey along the Riverwalk in downtown Milwaukee and light the city's downtown in Rays colors.

St. Petersburg is asking residents to support the St. Pete Free Clinic, which runs one of the largest food banks in Pinellas County, with donations accepted at drop boxes in 25 city facilities. Milwaukee is asking residents to help United Way support six local homeless shelters. The mayors are also trading local goods: Welch's package includes Beech Kombucha, Green Bench Brewing Company beer, Kahwa Coffee and artwork by Chad Mize and Clancy Riehm.

The politics of the Trop

The home games land days before Welch's reelection runoff against Crist, and the mayor has built his closing argument around them, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Hurricane Milton tore the roof off Tropicana Field in October 2024, and the Rays later walked away from the $1.3 billion Gas Plant stadium deal Welch had negotiated. The city, contractually obligated to repair the dome, had the City Council approve $59.7 million for the work, with partial reimbursement from insurance and federal disaster aid, and the stadium reopened April 6, according to the Times.

Welch argues the repair saved surrounding businesses that suffered while the Rays played the 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, and he has said the Trop has never sounded louder, the Times reported. The Times described him as the underdog in the runoff. This summer he picked Blake Investment Partners to redevelop the 86-acre Trop site and says he wants a second term to see that through.

Crist, whose political committee launched its first ad on the Rays' April 6 home opener, has said he will work to keep the team in St. Petersburg, a goal Welch calls unrealistic. Crist wore a Rays jersey to drop off his mail ballot Thursday and told the Times it was heartbreaking that the city appears to be losing the team. A Rays championship parade could collide with Election Day, a conflict Welch acknowledged.

What's next: Tampa's stadium deal

The Rays' lease at the Trop runs through 2028, and the team plans to move into a roughly $2.3 billion ballpark on Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry campus in Tampa, scheduled to open in 2029. Tampa and Hillsborough County approved a combined $876 million in public money for the project in August, $80 million from the city and nearly $796 million from the county, with the Rays covering the rest and any overruns, according to Florida Politics.

The Tampa City Council will hold a special meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at Old City Hall, the day after a potential Game 5 at the Trop, to consider a community benefits agreement with the team. The agreement is expected to set commitments on affordable housing, workforce development, youth sports and transportation. Hillsborough commissioners set a minimum $60 million benefits package in August, split 65% to the county and 35% to the city, though final allocations remain subject to negotiation, Florida Politics reported.