Rays finds stadium for home games in 2025 with help from division rival

The Tampa Bay Rays have found their home for the 2025 season.

The team Announced Thursday that it will play its home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the New York Yankees.

The rays have explored options after their normal stadium, Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg significantly damaged by Hurricane Milton on October 9.

It won’t be available when the team opens the regular season against the Rockies on March 27.

The greatest damage was to the stadium’s infamous Teflon-coated fiberglass roof, which was torn by high winds during the storm, exposing the field to the elements and causing major water damage to an indoor stadium with no drainage.

“We deeply appreciate that the Yankees have graciously allowed us to play at Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season,” Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement.

“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 conditions as we all recover and rebuild.”

The Yankees, Tampa’s AL East rivals, will continue to play spring training games at Steinbrenner Field in 2025. The Rays will continue to use Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida, for their spring training practices and games.

According to the team, Steinbrenner Field was selected because it is the best prepared facility in the Tampa area for MLB games. The facility, one of several spring training stadiums in Florida, was already undergoing renovations to improve the clubhouse and playing facilities.

Recent projects include improved field lighting, expanded in-house locker room space and improved training and rehabilitation options. Perhaps most notably, it is also the largest spring training stadium in the region, with a capacity of approximately 11,000.

Further improvements are expected to be made before the regular season, the team said.

“We are pleased to extend our hand to the Rays and their fans by providing them with a Major League-quality facility to utilize this season,” Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement.

“Both the Yankees organization and my family have deep roots in the Tampa Bay area, and we understand how meaningful it is to Rays players, employees and fans to have their 2025 home games within 30 minutes of Tropicana Field. In times like these, rivalry and competition take a back seat to doing what’s right for our community – which continues to help families and businesses recover from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.”

The Rays are expected to return to “The Trop” in time for the 2026 season. It has been the home of the Rays since the team’s inaugural season in 1998.

“Given the significant challenges posed by Hurricane Milton, I appreciate the hard work and cooperation between the two teams that allowed the Rays to make the best decision for next season,” said Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. in a statement.

“This outcome meets Major League Baseball’s goals that Rays fans will see their team play in their home market next season and that their players will be able to stay home without disruption to their families.”

Ticket information for the 2025 Rays home games at Steinbrenner Field and other details will be announced at a later date.