MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays to play at Yankees’ spring training field in 2025 after hurricane damage

MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays will be playing at the Tampa spring training field of their American League East rivals the New York Yankees for the entirety of the 2025 season.

The Rays usually play at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, but the dome on the stadium was shredded by Hurricane Helene. 

The Rays will instead play at Steinbrenner Field, which along with the Yankees is used by the single-A minor league Tampa Bay Tarpons. The Tarpons are expected to relocate to another field within the Yankees’ minor league farm system, Major League Baseball said.

“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,” Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement.

At just over 11,000 seats, Steinbrenner Field was the largest spring training site in the area, and the Rays’ ownership is looking to provide a major league experience even in a smaller set of digs.

“It is singularly the best opportunity for our fans to experience 81 games of major league Rays baseball. 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,” Mr. Sternberg told The Associated Press.

Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement that “we understand how meaningful it is for Rays players, employees and fans to have their 2025 home games take place 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.”

St. Petersburg officials have yet to approve the repair work on Tropicana Field, which would cost about $55.7 million if the field is to be reopened by 2026. Earlier this year, the city’s council voted in favor of a new $1.3 billion, 30,000-seat stadium in St. Petersburg’s Historic Gas Plant District.

While the Pinellas County Commission originally signed on, it has yet to issue the bonds needed to pay for the stadium, and some commissioners are now wavering on their votes. Steinbrenner Field is in Hillsborough County, while Tropicana Field and other minor league facilities are located in Pinellas County.

“I’m not going to say you play in Dunedin or you play in Clearwater and I’m a ‘yes,’ but if they play in Hillsborough, I’m a ‘no,” Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala told the Tampa Bay Times. “So, you know, they can do the math how they want to do the math,”

BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater is used for spring training by the Philadelphia Phillies, while TD Ballpark in Dunedin is used by another American League East rival, the Toronto Blue Jays.