By Nicolas Mezzaucella
TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays will play at George M. Steinbrenner Field, home of the Yankees spring training and the Tampa Tarpons, during the 2025 MLB season. After Tropicana Field suffered significant damages from Hurricane Milton, the repairs will cost over $55 million and will not be ready until 2026.
The Rays had options of different minor league ballparks to play at, such as BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater and TD Ballpark in Dunedin, but opted for Steinbrenner Field due to its facilities and capacity to fit over 11,000 fans. Steinbrenner Field is currently undergoing renovations to upgrade the clubhouse, on-field lighting, and training and recovery areas.
“The amount of work that’s going to be required by a combination of the Yankees and Rays organizations to get the facility ready for March is incredible, and time is of the essence,” said the president of the Rays, Matt Silverman, when asked about what it’s like working with their bitter rivals. “The Yankees have been great partners.”
The Rays are still hoping to return to Tropicana Field in 2026, and while the stadium seems like it will be ready, the Rays’ future in the Tampa Bay area may be in jeopardy. The team recently signed a deal to open a new ballpark in St. Petersburg’s Historic Gas Plant District in 2028. Construction of the ballpark and surrounding entertainment district is supposed to start in January 2025, but plans may change as local governments have recently begun voting against the ballpark. Last month, the Pinellas County Commission postponed the vote that would provide bonds to finance the nearly $1.3 billion that the stadium is estimated to cost.
When asked about the actions of the county commission, Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said, “Last month, the County Commission upended our ballpark agreement by not approving their bonds, as they promised to do. … That action sent a clear message that we had lost the county as a partner. … The future of baseball in Tampa Bay became less certain after that vote.”
The situation has only worsened since the Rays entered an agreement to play at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Complaints on the original deal to redevelop the Gas Plant District were evident when it was passed in July but were recently brought back after the Rays didn’t enter an agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies to play at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater. With the proposed funding for the new ballpark coming from tourism revenue, not playing in Clearwater will damage that fund.
“If the Rays don’t want our bed tax money, they can play wherever they want,” said the mayor of Clearwater, Bruce Rector, in the Tampa Bay Times. He said, “They can build a new stadium in Tampa,” and called the Rays ownership to show how unhappy he was at the team’s decision.
With many government officials upset at the team coming to play in Tampa and the uncertainty of Tropicana Field being ready for the 2026 season, the Rays’ future in the bay area may be in serious jeopardy. If the Tropicana Field is not ready and plans for the new stadium get shut down, the Rays may be forced to find a Triple-A stadium with more seats to play at, which would force them to move out of the state of Florida entirely.
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Photo courtesy of MLB.com.