It has been a week since Hurricane Milton tore through Tampa, Florida. One of the most stunning visuals was the roof of Tropicana Field, which was torn off in the storm. The home of the Tampa Bay Rays was supposed to be a shelter but was significantly damaged. Now, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times is reporting that the stadium will not be ready for the Rays to open the 2025 season.

“About the only thing that seems certain is that the team won’t be able to open the 2025 Major League Baseball season at home as planned on March 27,” Topkin reported. “Where the Rays play, how long they are displaced, and what repairs beyond a new custom roof are needed to return to Tropicana Field — until the planned 2028 opening of their new stadium on an adjacent site — are among myriad things they don’t know, but hope to address in the coming weeks.”

This would not be the first time that a professional team had to temporarily move because of a hurricane. The NFL's New Orleans Saints played games at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas after Hurricane Katrina. A Minnesota Vikings-New York Giants game was moved from Minneapolis to Detroit after snow collapsed the Metrodome roof.

Where will the Rays play in 2025?

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Tropicana Field before and after Hurricane Milton
Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The first game back in Tampa will be a great scene. That first game back in New Orleans after Katrina featured a blocked punt that will live in NFL lore forever. The Rays hope to bring a similar moment to their hometown in 2025.  Tropicana Field is already at the end of its run while a new building is under construction next door. Reconstruction plans are not announced yet, but a new roof is needed to give the stadium a great final run.

Finding a site in-state where the Rays could open their season would be difficult. It would have to be a dome, as the rainy Florida summers are not conducive to MLB play. Sharing a stadium with the Marlins would be a logistical nightmare and the Rays' spring training facility has no roof.

Topkin points out that Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska is the largest non-MLB facility in the country. The home of the College World Series has open dates and could be a great spot for the Rays. They would take an extended road trip when the CWS is there, similar to the ones the Rangers and Knicks take during the Big East Tournament.