The Tampa Bay Rays will play the 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field

TAMPA, Fla.The Tampa Bay Rays have a new home for the 2025 season.

On Thursday, the team announced it would play at Steinbrenner Field Tampa.

The Rays said they selected Steinbrenner Field as their temporary home for the regular season because “it is the best prepared facility in the Tampa Bay area to host Major League Baseball regular season games.”

“We deeply appreciate that the Yankees have graciously allowed us to play at Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season,” said Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg. “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 the new conditions as we all recover and rebuild.”

The Rays then had to find a new place to play Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana Field earlier this year.

It will cost approximately $55 million to repair the facility, but it won’t be ready until 2026.



<div>Tropicana field without a roof after Hurricane Milton ripped it off during the storm.</div>
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Tropicana Field without a roof after Hurricane Milton tore it off during the storm.

The move to Tampa, however, is infuriating Pinellas County commissioners, and it comes just before they have to vote on approving bonds to pay for their new stadium. The Rays said Thursday that the move to Steinbrenner Field is an “extraordinary” move, with the Yankees saying it “makes sense” to help them play so close to their now-damaged home, but for some it’s not close enough.

“I had some time to process it, but it doesn’t look like they’re going to stay here,” Vince Nowicki said, citing the slogan the team unveiled when it announced it would build a new stadium in St. Petersburg .

Nowicki will be sworn in to the Pinellas County Commission on Monday, the day before they vote on approving $312 million in bonds to finance the Rays’ new stadium. There are questions about whether the votes are still there.

“I think that’s why I won,” he said, “because I spent the last year campaigning that I was against the stadium deal and my opponent was in favor of it.”

And one commissioner, who voted no on the original deal, said he might have said yes on the bonds Tuesday if the Rays had agreed to play in Pinellas County while the Trop is being repaired.

“I thought the Rays playing in Pinellas County for the next three years was even more important, just for the morale of our residents and our community,” Commissioner Chris Latvala said.

The city of St. Pete, whose mayor has committed his administration to moving forward with the new stadium and gas plant development, said Thursday: “We will continue to focus our efforts on ensuring that the redevelopment of the historic gas plant district remains on track .”

The Rays did not say why they chose Steinbrenner over one of the Pinellas County options, though they did point out that renovations are already underway there and that it has the largest capacity of any spring training stadium. Ironing out this perceived shortcoming could be crucial in securing financing for the new stadium.

“The fact that they haven’t really talked to us about their intentions for the next three years concerns me,” said Commissioner Brian Scott. “But I still believe the fundamental part of the deal that I voted on a few months ago.”

The original vote to approve the bonds is scheduled for next Tuesday, but they do have a late March deadline for final approval. One commissioner said if they have to debate until then, they will.

The Yankees will continue to play spring training games at Steinbrenner Field in 2025, and the Rays will continue to use Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida, for their spring training and games.

Steinbrenner Field 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.

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.

“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,” said Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner. “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. 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.”

Before Hurricane Milton, the last game at Tropicana Field was scheduled for 2027 opening day at a new St. Pete ballpark was scheduled for April 2028.

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