Have the Tampa Bay Rays played their last game in Tropicana Field? By now, you know that the roof of the Trop was shredded due to the winds of Hurricane Milton. Most likely the roof will be fixed after the start of the 2025 season in March. Just recently, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said on a podcast, "We're hopeful that we can figure out something in [the Tampa Bay area] for them and that the repairs can be done in a way that allows them to resume playing. The easiest thing is always to stay in the market where the clubs are anchored, if we can manage it."
Tropicana Field is run by the city of St. Pete, not the Rays. So the city has hired a firm to analyze the damage to Tropicana Field and they still need to remove pieces of the roof. Additionally, they have filed a claim with the insurance carrier And we won’t know for a few weeks what the analysis says, and the timing of getting the roof repaired. It is going to cost millions upon millions of dollars to replace the roof. They also have a $1.3 billion ballpark that will be open for the 2028 season. So will the city even pay for the repair if this brand-new ballpark is coming in just a few years?
The Tampa Bay Rays Will Play Where?
So now the question is where do the Tampa Bay Rays play? If the Trop isn’t available and being in Florida we know there are many spring training ballparks around the Tampa Bay area. In Clearwater, you have the Philadelphia Phillies spring training complex. In Dunedin the Toronto Blue Jays have a stadium and in Tampa, the Yankees play at Steinbrenner Field. The only problem with those stadiums is that minor league teams use those stadiums after spring training ends. So the Rays would have to figure out their schedule along with the schedule of the minor league team. The only team in the area that does not have a minor league affiliate is the Baltimore Orioles and their spring training site is in Sarasota.
Another option is to play in the Rays spring training stadium, which is in Port Charlotte. There are a bunch of people on Reddit talking about it and one commenter named ExistingProgrammer46 said, "I think Disney will be the most likely option." That is an option, but the MLB commissioner said that he would like to keep the Rays in the Tampa Bay area. So is Orlando too far away for that?
Which Location Is The Best?
I think Steinbrenner Field in Tampa is best choice and it is centrally located. The Phillies spring training ballpark in Clearwater would be my second choice. If the people in charge decide to not pay the money to repair the roof then it will be more than one season away from the Trop before the new stadium gets built. That's got to be tough on the players, coaches, staff and all of their families.
