Janelle Irwin Taylor
After years of failing to do so, the city of Tampa will finally get to be home turf for the Tampa Bay Rays, if only for a season.
The Rays announced Thursday that the team would play the 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, home to the New York Yankees’ Spring Training.
“We deeply appreciate that the Yankees have graciously allowed us to play at Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season,” Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg posted to social media channels. “The hurricane damage to Tropicana Field has forced us to take some extraordinary steps, just as Hurricanes Helene and Milton have forced thousands of families and businesses in our community to adapt to new circumstances as we all recover and rebuild.”
The Rays home stadium, Tropicana Field in downtown St. Petersburg, sustained major damage during Hurricane Milton last month, ripping the roof from most of the iconic dome and causing weather damage to the stadium interior, which is not designed to withstand the elements.
A recent damage assessment found that repairing the stadium will come with a hefty price tag of at least $55 million. As the Rays’ landlord, the city of St. Petersburg is on the hook for those repairs. Its insurance policy has a $22 million deductible and only covers $25 million in damage, an amount that was down from $100 million in coverage as recently as March, after the city opted to reduce its coverage. The move saved the city $275,000 on premiums, but will now cost it at least $30 million to cover repairs.
But perhaps the real rub for the city is this: Once repaired, the Rays will only play two seasons at the Trop before a new stadium opens for the 2028 season.
A decision on how to move forward with repairs to Tropicana Field has not yet been reached.
For now, the Rays will play in Tampa, where their new home will seat 11,000 fans, the most of any Spring Training site in Florida. Sternberg told The Associated Press that Steinbrenner Field was the best option for an alternative location.
“It is singularly the best opportunity for our fans to experience 81 games of major league Rays baseball,” Sternberg said. “As difficult as it is to get any of these stadiums up to major league standards, it was the least difficult. You’re going to see Major League Baseball in a small environment.”
By comparison, the Rays’ new stadium is expected to seat 30,000 fans. The Rays averaged about 16,500 fans per game during its 2024 season, according to The AP.
For their hospitality, the Yankees will receive about $15 million for hosting the Rays, according to The AP, which said the money will come from other sources such as insurance, not the Rays.
