The Tampa Bay Rays have a new home for 2025. They will move across the bay to Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the Yankees' spring training home. This announcement comes after Tropicana Field was damaged during Hurricane Milton in October. Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported the Rays to Steinbrenner Field move on Thursday.

“BREAKING: #Rays are planning to play 2025 season at Tampa's Steinbrenner Field,” Topkin posted.

Steinbrenner Field was one of many options for the Rays, but the one closest to home. There was some conversation about moving them out of the state to open minor league ballparks, but they decided to remain in the area. A main criticism of Tropicana Field is that it is in St Petersburg, not Tampa, which creates the low attendance numbers. Steinbrenner is in Tampa, right next to the Buccaneers' stadium.

The Tampa Tarpons are the A affiliate of the Yankees and call Steinbrenner Field home for the regular season. New York has not made any announcement about their future.

Future of the Rays after Tropicana Field destruction

The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team, was torn off by Hurricane Milton's powerful winds. Satellite imagery from Maxar shows the destruction on Oct. 10, 2024. Prior to landfall, the stadium was converted into a base camp for emergency responders.
Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The entire roof of Tropicana Field was ripped off in the deadly hurricane that hit the area in October. While they have found a temporary replacement in Steinbrenner, they need to fix their regular stadium. It hits at an awkward time, as the franchise is building a new dome in downtown St. Pete.

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The new stadium is not expected to be ready until Opening Day 2028. So while they are going to leave Tropicana Field within three years, they need to fix it or play at a spring training facility for three seasons. FOX News reports that the stadium should be ready for opening day in 2026 after a $60 million roof replacement.

While the future of the Rays remains in the Tampa area, the hurricane has thrown a massive wrench into their plans. A temporary fix is here, however, as Steinbrenner Field will host the team for 2025.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner released a statement, as posted by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “We are happy to extend our hand to the Rays and their fans by providing a Major League-quality facility for them to utilize this season. 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.”