Tampa Bay Rays Relocate to Temporary Office Space in Wake of Hurricane Milton

After a few weeks of working remotely, the Tampa Bay Rays' front office staff has found a new home while the damage at Tropicana Field is evaluated.

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 have found a new home.

At least, their front office has.

The entire franchise was uprooted when Hurricane Milton made landfall on Oct. 9, causing plenty of damage to Tropicana Field and the surrounding area. As a result, front office staff had to start working remotely.

On Wednesday, though, the team announced that they have secured temporary office space in St. Petersburg. The move is expected to be completed by mid-November.

“We are eager to bring our organization back together under one roof,’’ Rays president Matt Silverman said in a statement. “We have work to do and new challenges to meet as we prepare for Opening Day 2025 next March.”

The building where the Rays will be setting up shop belongs to Third Lake Partners. It was previously the headquarters of United Insurance Holdings Corp., until it was sold in 2022.

The temporary home base is close to Tropicana Field, as well as the Historic Gas Plant District Development. That is where the Rays' new stadium – set to open in 2028 – will be built, alongside office, retail and residential spaces.

“We always want to be a good neighbor and are delighted to help the Rays while Tropicana Field is assessed,” Third Lake Partners managing partner Luke Thomas said in a statement. “We purchased the property to be part of the exciting redevelopment project and are supportive of the Rays, City and County efforts.”

As part of the statement on their office space solution, the Rays also issued an update on the status of Tropicana Field itself. The team and the City of St. Petersburg are still assessing the damage caused by Hurricane Milton, a process that will supposedly take several more weeks.

There are serious questions about whether or not the Rays will be able to play their home games at Tropicana Field at the start of the 2025 regular season. Several alternatives – such as ballparks in Durham and Montreal – have been dismissed, and there are only five months remaining until Opening Day.

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