Tampa Bay Rays to Play 2025 Season at New York Yankees' Spring Training Stadium

A month after Hurricane Milton tore the roof off of Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Rays have settled on Steinbrenner Field as the site of their home games for 2025.

Mar 25, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; a general view of the stadium before a game between the New York Mets and New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays will be playing their home games at the New York Yankees' Spring Training facility in 2025, the team announced Thursday.

The Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin and Colleen Wright were first to report the news.

The decision comes roughly one month after Hurricane Milton laid waste to Tropicana Field, tearing off its roof and causing significant water damage. While the city of St. Petersburg agreed to pay $6.5 million to clean up the wreckage and implement temporary drainage systems, those quick fixes alone were not going to be enough to return the stadium back to game shape.

Earlier this week, the city was informed that it would take $55.7 million just to get Tropicana Field ready for the start of 2026, effectively ruling out a normal 2025 season.

"We deeply appreciate that the Yankees have graciously allowed us to play at Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season," Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement. "The hurricane damage to Tropicana Field has forced us to take some extraordinary steps, just as Hurricanes Helene and Milton have forced thousands of families and businesses in our community to adapt to new circumstances as we all recover and rebuild."

According to Spotrac, the Yankees will earn an additional $15 million in revenue in 2025 as part of their agreement with the Rays.

We are thrilled to play in Tampa Bay. 🩵

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) November 14, 2024

The Rays spent weeks searching for a temporary home, scoping out local minor league parks and Spring Training facilities with the help of MLB. The final decision came down to the Yankees' Steinbrenner Field and the Philadelphia Phillies' BayCare Ballpark up in Clearwater, per Topkin and Wright.

Steinbrenner Field is located roughly 21 miles northeast of Tropicana Field, situated on the opposite side of the bay in Tampa. The Yankees' Single-A affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons, typically play there during the summer, and it remains to be seen how they plan to work around the Rays' intrusion.

George M. Steinbrenner Field – an outdoor stadium – has a maximum capacity of 11,026, which makes it the largest of any Grapefruit League facility. While Tropicana Field seats 25,025, the Rays ranked No. 27 in MLB with an average attendance of 16,515 in 2024.

The Rays are scheduled to open a brand-new stadium back in St. Petersburg in 2028 after years of drama and relocation rumors. The team's plans for 2026 and 2027 remain up in the air as insurance disputes at Tropicana Field get sorted out, but they at least have an interim home locked down for 2025.

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