The Tampa Bay Rays don’t have a home for the 2025 season. Tropicana Field was destroyed by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, damage that saw the roof completely shredded to the point that it will cost more than $55 million to repair. Even the city of St. Petersburg does decide to do that, the stadium won’t be reopened until 2026, according to the city council report. That means the Rays are without a ballpark next year and possibly 2026 and 2027, with a planned new stadium not scheduled to be opened until 2028.
So here’s the question: where do the Rays play now?
Let’s keep in mind that most spring training facilities are used by the minors during the year and, obviously, use of those parks would require re-working the schedules of the affected MiLB teams. It’s a chore, but ultimately, the MLB product is at the top of the food chain here and gets first dibs.
Here are some reasonable options.
BayCare Ballpark (Phillies spring training/Class A)
The favorite is here, assuming a deal can be worked out with the Phillies and, generally speaking, commissioner Rob Manfred would step in and force a deal if it’s in the best interest of baseball.
This ballpark is in Clearwater, which is in the Tampa Bay area, making it a geographic fit. The capacity is only 8,500 and the facilities won’t be up to par for MLB players, but we’re not going to have full MLB-size stadiums ready to be thrown in the mix here. It’s a