Hurricane-stricken Tampa Bay Rays to play 2025 season at Yankees’ spring coaching discipline

MLB

“You are going to see Main League Baseball in a small surroundings.”

By CURT ANDERSON, Related Press

November 15, 2024

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays will play their 2025 residence video games on the New York Yankees’ close by spring coaching ballpark amid uncertainty about the way forward for hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field, Rays executives advised The Related Press.

Stuart Sternberg, the Rays’ principal proprietor, mentioned in an interview that Steinbrenner Subject in Tampa is one of the best match for the workforce and its fanbase. At about 11,000 seats, it’s additionally the biggest of the spring coaching websites in Florida.

“It’s singularly one of the best alternative for our followers to expertise 81 video games of main league Rays baseball,” Sternberg mentioned. “As troublesome as it’s to get any of those stadiums as much as main league requirements, it was the least troublesome. You’re going to see Main League Baseball in a small surroundings.”

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned the Rays-Yankees deal is sweet for the game and the Tampa Bay area.

“This end result meets Main League Baseball’s targets that Rays followers will see their workforce play subsequent season of their residence market and that their gamers can stay residence with out disruption to their households,” Manfred mentioned in a information launch.

The Rays’ residence since 1998, the domed Tropicana Subject in St. Petersburg was hit onerous by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, with most of its material roof shredded and water injury inside. Town of St. Petersburg, which owns the Trop, launched an evaluation of the injury and restore wants that estimated the associated fee at $55.7 million whether it is to be prepared for the beginning of the 2026 season.

The work must be accredited by town council, which earlier this 12 months voted for a brand new $1.3 billion, 30,000-seat stadium to switch Tropicana Subject starting in 2028. The brand new stadium is a part of a a lot bigger city revitalization undertaking generally known as the Historic Fuel Plant District — named for the Black neighborhood that when occupied the 86 acres (34 hectares) that features retail, workplace and lodge area; a Black historical past museum; and eating places and bars.

Amid all of the uncertainty, the Rays know one factor: they may play 2025 in a smallish, out of doors ballpark operated by one among their predominant American League East division rivals. A ballpark with a facade mimicking that of Yankee Stadium within the Bronx and festooned with plaques of Yankee gamers whose numbers have been retired.

Brian Auld, the Rays co-president, mentioned in an interview that Tampa Bay needs to be prepared for a regular-season MLB recreation March 27 towards the Colorado Rockies, simply three days after the Yankees break coaching camp.

“There can be a ton of labor towards placing in our model,” Auld mentioned. “The time period we like to make use of for that’s ”Rayful’ into Steinbrenner Subject.”

It’ll additionally include some climate challenges within the scorching, wet Florida summer time local weather the Rays didn’t fear about of their domed ballpark. The Rays averaged about 16,500 followers per recreation throughout the 2024 season.

The Yankees will obtain about $15 million in income for internet hosting the Rays, an individual accustomed to the association advised The Related Press, talking on situation of anonymity as a result of that element was not introduced. The cash gained’t come from Tampa Bay however from different sources, similar to insurance coverage.

As soon as generally known as Legends Subject, Steinbrenner Subject opened in 1996 on Tampa’s north facet. It’s named for longtime Yankees proprietor George Steinbrenner, who ran a shipbuilding firm in Tampa and died at his residence there in 2010. One in all his sons, Yankees govt Hal Steinbrenner, was instrumental in getting the deal performed with the Rays, Sternberg mentioned.

“It is a heavy raise for the Yankees. It is a enormous ask by us and baseball of the Yankees,” Sternberg mentioned. “(Hal Steinbrenner) didn’t waver for one second. I couldn’t have been extra grateful.”

Hal Steinbrenner mentioned in a information launch that the Yankees are “glad to increase our hand to the Rays” and famous that the workforce and his household have “deep roots” within the Tampa Bay space.

“In occasions like these, rivalry and competitors take a again seat to doing what’s proper for our neighborhood, which is constant to assist households and companies rebound from the devastation attributable to Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” he mentioned.

Professional groups in New Orleans made related season-long strikes after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The NFL’s Saints performed residence video games at a number of areas for one season whereas the Superdome was repaired, and the NBA’s then-New Orleans Hornets performed two seasons in Oklahoma Metropolis.

The Tampa Tarpons, one of many Yankees minor league groups, play their residence video games at Steinbrenner Subject throughout the summer time. They may use baseball diamonds elsewhere within the coaching complicated this season.

It’s not the primary time a giant league workforce will host common season video games in a spring coaching stadium. The Toronto Blue Jays performed a part of the 2021 season at their facility in Dunedin due to Canadian authorities restrictions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.