Rays Will Move Into Yankees Spring Training Facility For 2025 Season

The Tampa Bay Rays will have a temporary home in 2025 after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof of Tropicana Stadium and lucky for the team and their fans, they won't have to go too far to catch a game.

According to the Associated Press, Rays owner Stuart Steinberger said that spending the 2025 season playing home games at Tampa's Steinbrenner Field would be the best option for the team given the circumstances.

"It is singularly the best opportunity for our fans to experience 81 games of major league Rays baseball," he 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."

Major League Baseball in a small environment sounds pretty cool. The Rays have struggled on the attendance front for years with the club averaging just over 16,500 fans per game, per Statista, and that has left the over 42,000-seat Tropicana Field looking like a ghost town even when there's a game happening. 

Steinbrenner Field has a very sellout-friendly capacity of 11,000.

George M. Steinbrenner Field will be the home of the Tampa Bay Rays next season. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Other options that appeared to be on the table included other spring training facilities like the one belonging to the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, or even moving inland an hour and a half to Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World Of Sports complex in Lake Buena Vista, just south of Orlando.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred appeared to like the deal between the Rays and Yankees which will allow Rays fans the opportunity to continue supporting their team,

"This outcome meets Major League Baseball’s goals that Rays fans will see their team play next season in their home market and that their players can remain home without disruption to their families," Manfred said in a statement.

The expectation is for the Rays to be back at the Trop in 2026, but getting the roof fixed up in time will cost the City of St. Petersburg — which owns the stadium — an estimated 55.7 million dollars.