Toronto Blue Jays Spring Training Facility Still Seems in Play to Host Tampa Bay Rays in 2025

It doesn't look like Tropicana Field will be playable at all in 2025, which means that other local stadiums could host the team next season. That includes the Jays spring training home in Dunedin.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (30) catches a foul ball hit by Detroit Tigers second baseman Eddys Leonard during the fourth inning at TD Ballpark in 2024. / Dave Nelson-Imagn Images

Based on a report yesterday, it doesn't appear that the Tampa Bay Rays will be able to play at Tropicana Field at all in 2025.

After Hurricane Milton damaged the roof and other parts of the ballpark, assessors said that the ballpark could be made ready for 2026, but there are lots of questions about that. The price tag is one of the big questions, as the cost would be more than $55 million to fix. Furthermore, there's the timing of it all. The Rays are scheduled to move into a new ballpark in 2028, so does anyone want to pay to fix a building that will be obsolete in short order anyways?

As a result of all this uncertainty, tons of potential alternate sites for the Rays have been mentioned, from spring training facilities to minor league parks to converted soccer stadiums.

The only thing we really know right now is that the higher-ups would like to see the Rays stay in the area, effectively ruling out places like Nashville or Durham, where the Rays Triple-A affiliate plays.

MLBTradeRumors offered this little nugget on Tuesday:

There’s little clarity on where that will be, though Topkin notes that both MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and Pinellas County politicians have encouraged the Rays to stay in the area. That could perhaps be somewhere like BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, home of the Threshers, the Single-A affiliate of the Phillies.

That could be an option, as could the Tampa Tarpons (Yankees) facility. Furthermore, the Blue Jays player development complex in Dunedin also still appears to be an option. Dunedin is part of Pinellas County as well.

The Blue Jays facility in Dunedin was updated heading into 2021 and the following comes from an article on the Jays website:

After two years and nearly $100 million, Toronto unveiled its brand-new player development complex on Thursday, a transition from a subpar facility to what president and CEO Mark Shapiro called “the best complex in all of Major League Baseball” in October. During the Blue Jays’ virtual unveiling, Shapiro lauded it as a facility “that can help directly contribute to bringing World Series championships back to Canada.”

The Blue Jays utilize the Dunedin facility for spring training and for their Single-A club. The major league team played there for a portion of 2021 because of the COVID pandemic. If the Rays were to play there, they'd need to work with the Jays to coordinate schedules or a relocation for the Dunedin affiliate.

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