A question has been answered in one of the more intriguing subplots of the offseason as the Tampa Bay Rays have found their home field for the 2025 campaign. The team announced Thursday that it will play its home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
The field is home for New York Yankees Spring Training, as well as the Single-A Tampa Tarpons. Tropicana Field, the Rays' home since its Major League Baseball expansion season in 1998, suffered catastrophic damage when Hurricane Milton blew through Florida in October. "We deeply appreciate that the Yankees have graciously allowed us to play at Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season," Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg 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.’" Tropicana Field, an already obsolete MLB ballpark slated to be replaced by 2028, faced Milton's full wrath. It wasn't initially known whether the stadium could once again be made fit to host anything, much less baseball.
The fiberglass-blend roof of the stadium, which claimed to be "hurricane-proof" when the facility opened in 1990, was torn apart. Without the roof, the stadium's interior — not built to withstand water — was subjected to heavy water damage. While it was reported by Marc Topkin and Colleen Wright of the Tampa B.