Rays have one question answered in search for 2025 home

With a damage assessment report on Tropicana Field being sent to St. Petersburg City Council members on Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays now know that they will not again play in their current home ballpark until at least 2026.

According to a report by Marc Topkin and Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times, Tropicana Field is “structurally sound” despite suffering heavy damage when Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida in early October. It can be fixed in time for the Rays’ 2026 season for an initial estimate of $55.7 million. 

It was not initially known if the stadium was salvageable after withstanding the full force of Milton. The fiberglass-blend roof of the stadium, which claimed to be “hurricane-proof” when the facility opened in 1990, was torn apart by the storm. Without the roof, the stadium’s interior — not built to withstand water — was subjected to heavy water damage.

It is not yet known whether St. Petersburg (where Tropicana Field is located and owned by the city) will decide that repairs are worth it to host two seasons of Rays baseball before the team makes its planned move into a new ballpark in 2028.

However, the assessment report confirming that the stadium will not be ready for 2025 puts the focus on where the Rays will play next season.

According to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred wants an answer to where Tampa Bay will play next season set by Christmas. 

While initial rumors prognosticated at whether the Rays could set up shop in a former MLB stadium, such as ones in Oakland, California, or Montreal, Quebec, Manfred made it clear his preference is to use a minor-league stadium in the vicinity of the Tampa Bay area. 

“We can make it work in a minor league park,” Manfred said. “I think there’s probably some flexibility in terms of what we do with the big league schedule.”

There are several options within a short drive of the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg area for the Rays to prospectively play. Many MLB teams have updated Spring Training ballparks that also serve as homes for minor-league baseball teams. 

The Rays themselves have such an option in Port Charlotte, approximately 90 minutes from Tropicana Field.

In addition, the Detroit Tigers (Lakeland), Philadelphia Phillies (Clearwater), Toronto Blue Jays (Dunedin), New York Yankees (Tampa), and Pittsburgh Pirates (Bradenton) all operate such stadiums and are reportedly on the shortlist to host the Rays in the short term. 

More MLB: Rays stadium reportedly can be fixed — with a catch