Tampa Bay Rays Make Desires Known For Where They Want to Play in 2026 Season

According to the team, they want to play at Tropicana Field in 2026.

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 Tampa Bay Rays will spend the 2025 season playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa as a result of damage sustained by Tropicana Field during Hurricane Milton in October of 2024. The storm, which knocked off most of the roof of the structure, has rendered the field unplayable, leading to questions about the Rays long-term future in the region.

The Rays are scheduled to build a new ballpark, which was supposed to open in 2028. However, delays in construction have made that an impossibility, according to the team, and they say can't afford to absorb the extra costs associated with a delay. Because of this, some local politicans have opined that the Rays want out of their stadium deal and may want to leave the region entirely.

Well, the Rays made their position known on Monday, at least in the short-term. They say they want to be back at Tropicana Field in 2026 and are pushing the parties involved to get moving on the repairs.

Per an article in MLB.com:

“The City of St. Petersburg is planning to complete the Tropicana Field repairs in time for the 2026 season, and the Rays organization stands ready to support that effort,” club co-president Brian Auld said on Monday.

They say that if the repairs extend into the 2026 season and the Rays are only given a partial home slate that year, the loss of revenue would be extreme. They are trying to mitigate that.

The Rays finished 80-82 and fourth in the American League East last season.

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