Rays to play 2025 season at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field

The Rays found a place to play for the 2025 season without having to go too far — Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the rival New York Yankees.

The Rays had been looking for an interim home since Hurricane Milton caused extensive damage to Tropicana Field last month. Under a repair plan revealed Tuesday, the Trop won’t be playable until at least the start of the 2026 season.

In a news release, the Rays called Steinbrenner Field “the best-prepared facility in the Tampa Bay region to host regular-season Major League Baseball games.” They noted ongoing and planned renovations at the Tampa ballpark “to ensure fans continue to have a wonderful experience at Rays games.” Those will include the stadium being rebranded to look like the Rays’ home ballpark in terms of signage.

Clearwater’s BayCare Ballpark, the spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies, was the other most workable option but wasn’t given much consideration.

While the announcement solved one unknown, it added to another. The Pinellas County Commission, which still needs to vote on issuing bonds for their share of the Rays’ planned $1.3 billion stadium, isn’t thrilled that the team is leaving the county. That could leave the fate of Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay in limbo.

“I’m waiting to see how it looks for us financially,” said Commissioner Rene Flowers, who voted “yes” on the deal back in July but is no longer sure how she’ll vote.

Steinbrenner Field, which opened in 1996 as Legends Field, sits across Dale Mabry Highway from Raymond James Stadium. It provides the largest capacity (11,026) of Florida’s spring stadiums, along with 13 suites, several club areas, social spaces and cabana seating, plus other upgrades from a $40 million renovation before the 2017 season. There is ample parking, including the Raymond James lots.

Equally appealing, Steinbrenner Field has much of the required major-league-standard equipment, facilities and player amenities in place. They include the home clubhouse, which is being expanded this offseason, and improved lighting. As a result, the ballpark will require the fewest upgrades to meet MLB regular season and players association standards.

“You’re going to see Major League Baseball in a small environment,” Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg told the Associated Press.

A downside will be playing in the summer heat and rain. According to league data, the stadium’s regular tenant, the Tampa Tarpons, over the last 10 seasons has averaged 6.4 postponements annually, nearly all weather-related. The Tarpons are the Yankees’ affiliate in the Low A Florida State League.

“I’ll be excited to set a record for rain delays in a season,” Rays reliever and union player rep Pete Fairbanks said.

But playing in Tampa also would provide the Rays an entrée to a segment of their market they seemingly have had trouble connecting with, bringing the game closer to fans who have cited the travel time to downtown St. Petersburg as prohibitive.

The Rays, who averaged 16,515 fans last season at Tropicana Field, said ticket information and other details will be forthcoming, and invited fans to join an “interest list” at raysbaseball.com/2025Interest.

Community first

Though the teams are fierce rivals, Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said working out a deal was the right thing to do.

“Both the Yankees organization and my family have deep roots in the Tampa Bay region, and 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,” Steinbrenner said in a news release. “In times like these, rivalry and competition take a back seat to doing what’s right for our community — which is continuing to help families and businesses rebound from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.”

The Yankees will get $15 million as part of the deal, the Associated Press reported. The Rays are responsible for the payment, though they could eventually get some or all of it reimbursed from their insurance coverage.

“We deeply appreciate that the Yankees have graciously allowed us to play at Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season,” Sternberg said in the release.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement the league appreciated “the hard work and collaboration between the two teams that allowed the Rays to make the best decision” for 2025. There had been speculation about stadium sites across the state and country, as well as internationally.

“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.

Pinellas problems

The decision did not go over well with some Pinellas County commissioners, who wanted the team to remain in the county by playing in Clearwater or Dunedin (the spring home of the Toronto Blue Jays). They have the leverage of voting against the bonds needed to finance the stadium the Rays plan to open adjacent to the Trop site in 2028. If the bonds aren’t approved, it could kill the deal.

Said Commissioner Chris Latvala on Thursday at a county workshop, “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.’ So, you know, they can do the math how they want to do the math.”

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said he understands the Rays’ “rationale” for choosing Steinbrenner Field.

“We discussed Clearwater versus Tampa and why they might want to go in that direction, along with MLB,” Welch said. He remains “optimistic” that the city could work with the county and keep the stadium deal intact.

“We’re going to have that conversation about the long-term value of the deal with the Rays and see where it goes from there,” Welch said. “I think the right economic decision will win out, and we’ll talk it through. End of the day, we’ve got a lot of priorities in the city. The deal that we put together still makes sense. … I see many paths to make it work.”

If the stadium deal remains intact, there is the potential for the opening to be pushed back a year to 2029. The team’s lease at the Trop could be extended through 2028. The contract says that during the time the team is without a stadium the city will help find a substitute location for home games. The agreement does not dictate where the Rays could play, only that it is deemed “acceptable to MLB baseball.”

Welch said the city is doing its due diligence to get the Rays back to a repaired Trop in 2026. An assessment report determined that repairs to the Trop will cost at least $56 million and take until just before opening day in late March 2026 to complete.

As a result, he said, there isn’t much that can be done about 2025.

“If we had a perfect world, they’d be in the Trop, but we don’t have that. So they have to work that out,” Welch said. “My goal is to have the Trop repaired and have them back in ‘26 where they need to be in St. Pete.”

Following the Rays’ announcement, Welch said the city is thankful the team is staying close to home.

“Additionally, we will continue to focus our efforts on ensuring that the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment stays on track,” he said.

City Council member Gina Driscoll, once considered to be a swing vote on the deal but who voted “yes” said she was happy the Rays found a temporary home in Tampa Bay.

She talked about the rough road ahead: a costly estimate for renovating a stadium that will be demolished in a few years, extensive damage from two hurricanes and the stark reality of infrastructure needs laid bare by those storms. And if the county pulls out, she said she doesn’t see a way forward.

The city is scheduled to vote on their own bonds for the stadium and infrastructure Thursday, after the county vote.

“It’s a new reality that we’re facing now. I want to see the full picture before I start working through my own decision-making process,” Driscoll said. “The city and the Rays have been good partners, and I want to see that partnership continue through these challenges.”

The county’s vote is scheduled to take place Tuesday, though it is likely to be delayed. Two newly elected commissioners who are not thrilled with the overall terms of the deal, Vince Nowicki and Chris Scherer, will get to weigh in.

While Welch and City Council members got advance notice that Steinbrenner was the Rays’ likely choice for an interim home, county commissioners received calls from the Rays just before Thursday’s announcement.

Flowers has questions about how much projected revenue the tourist tax fund could lose with the Rays going across the bay.

“I’m saddened about that. But I do feel a little bit better about knowing that they will at least be here,” Flowers said. “I am at least disappointed we didn’t even get the benefit of a conversation prior to the announcement. We’re supposed to be a partner in this thing.”

Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector said he, too, was disappointed. He touted how Clearwater generates 35% to 40% of the county’s tourist tax.

“We really had hoped that the Rays would give us a closer look and try to help out our community and our county in recognition of the amount of bed tax that they’re going to use for the new stadium,” he said.

Commissioner Brian Scott said the reasons team president Brian Auld gave for choosing Steinbrenner over Pinellas County venues made sense: Steinbrenner field can fit considerably more fans. Plus, the Yankees, one of the wealthiest teams in baseball, have better equipment and technology there.

The Phillies are seeking city and county funds to help pay for a planned $320 million upgrade to their entire training complex.

“From a business standpoint, I can clearly understand that aspect of it,” Scott said. “Overall, it’s not perfect, but we’re not in a perfect situation. Everyone’s dealing with a lot of challenges because of these storms.”

Lots to do

The Rays will continue to hold spring training at their Port Charlotte site and the Yankees at theirs in Tampa.

The Yankees’ final spring training home game is March 23 — coincidentally, against the Rays. With the Rays’ regular season opener four days later against the Rockies, that will create a tight window to transform Steinbrenner Field.

The Rays’ arrival also will cause disruptions for the Tarpons, who averaged 993 fans per game last season. Under the current schedules, there are 42 dates when the teams would both play at home.

Instead, the Tarpons will play most and potentially all of their games on a field that is adjacent to the main stadium and has some bleacher seating.

Rays catcher Ben Rortvedt, a former Yankee, said last month that if the Rays ended up playing at Steinbrenner Field it would be workable.

“The facility is nice,” Rortvedt said. “The locker room is nice; they’ve been renovating it. There’s plenty of batting cages and (covered) mounds. It’s one of the nicer facilities I’ve been in.”

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