MLB wants Rays to stay near Tampa amid fears over hurricane-damaged Tropicana

Major League Baseball hopes to find the Tampa Bay Rays a temporary home near their fan base at least before the start of the 2025 season if the damage to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton cannot be repaired in time.

The fiberglass dome on the St. Petersburg baseball field was destroyed by Milton, leaving its immediate future in doubt. A number of spring training sites in the Tampa Bay area have been proposed as temporary homes, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league wants a site in the region if possible.

“We are hopeful that we can get something out of it [the Tampa Bay area] for them and that the repairs can be made in a way that allows them to resume playing,” Manfred said on a recent episode of The Varsity podcast. “The easiest thing is always to stay in the market where the clubs are anchored, if that works.”

The Rays have played at Tropicana Field since their inaugural season in 1998, although the building was built in 1990. The hurricane damage comes a few months after the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County approved a new $1.3 billion baseball field to open at an adjacent site. in the 2028 season, part of a much larger downtown revitalization project.

The city has hired the company Hennessy/AECOM to conduct a full analysis of the damage to the Tropicana field and has contracted with another company to remove the remaining roof material, St. Nicholas spokeswoman Alizza Punzalan-Randle said. -Petersburg. The city has also filed a claim with its insurance company, she said.

“We will have more information on next steps once analyzes are completed and the remaining roof is removed,” Punzalan-Randle said.

Suggestions for a temporary home for the Rays include area spring training sites used by the Phillies, Blue Jays, Yankees, Pirates and Tigers. Down the road is the Rays’ own spring training complex in Port Charlotte, about 80 miles south of St. Petersburg. Another option could be the ballpark at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando.

Most of these options will host minor league teams after spring training ends, which could lead to significant adjustments to schedules. One way around that would be to play at the Orioles’ spring training site in Sarasota, which does not have a minor league team.

There has also been talk of the Rays sharing the stadium with the Miami Marlins, but that would be a major planning challenge and the stadium is about a four-hour drive from St. Petersburg. An earlier proposal to have the Rays play some home games in Montreal resurfaced, but the stadium there is being renovated and would not be ready for next season.

The Rays declined comment Tuesday, saying only that it could take weeks “to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field.” Playing without a roof is another idea, but the Trop does not have the drainage systems needed in such a rain-prone location.

Another factor to consider is how much money to spend on repairing a facility that will be demolished in a few years for the new ballpark.

The Rays’ home opener against the Colorado Rockies is scheduled for March 27, 2025, and Manfred said MLB, the team and other entities will come up with a solution.

“The only thing I can tell you for sure is that they will play next year. We’re going to find them somewhere to do it,” Manfred said in the podcast.