Tampa Bay Rays To Play 2025 Season At Yankees Spring Training Facility

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — After destructive winds from Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, its home base, last month, the Tampa Bay Rays will play the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the team said Thursday afternoon on social media.

Steinbrenner Field is the spring training home of the New York Yankees.

“We deeply appreciate that the Yankees have graciously allowed us to play at Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season,” Stuart Sternberg, principal owner of the Rays, 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.”

With a capacity of 11,026, as well as 13 suites, Steinbrenner Field, which opened in 1996 as Legends Field, is the largest spring training ballpark in Florida.

Related Stories:

• Tropicana Field Roof Ripped Off In Hurricane Milton [PHOTOS]
• New Renderings Of Proposed St. Pete Stadium Revealed By Tampa Bay Rays
• Tampa Bay Rays Stadium Deal Approved By St. Pete City Council: Reports
• New Rays Stadium Gets Final Approval From Pinellas Commission: Reports

Tropicana Field has a crowd capacity of more than 45,000.

It would cost $55.7 million to repair Tropicana Field and have it ready by the 2026 season, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The St. Petersburg City Council already agreed to spend about $6 million to remove the remnants of the stadium’s damaged roof and turf, Sports Illustrated reported.

This summer, the Pinellas County Commission and St. Petersburg City Council approved the final pieces needed to move forward with the construction of a new stadium for the Rays.

The team plans for the new stadium, which is part of the redevelopment of 86 acres in St. Petersburg’s Historic Gas Plant District, to be completed by opening day of the 2028 season.

County commissioners voted 5-2 on July 30 to dedicate about $312.5 million in bed tax revenue for construction of the new ballpark.

Their decision came on the heels of the city council’s July 18 5-3 vote approving a development deal with the Rays for the district.

The development deal calls for a $287.5 million commitment by the city for construction of a new stadium and $142 million for infrastructure improvements.

The Rays, working with Texas-based developers Hines, were chosen last year to redevelop 86 acres in the district, including Tropicana Field.

The full redevelopment of the neighborhood, a $1.3 billion project, will span more than 8 million square feet, including more than 5,000 residential units, 600 affordable/workforce housing units on site and another 650 units elsewhere in the city, 1.4 million square feet of office/medical space, and 750 hotel rooms.

The stadium itself will have a capacity of about 30,000 and boast a three-deck design with various seating types, including premium clubs and suits, flexible viewing areas, decks, and social gathering spaces.