TAMPA, Fla. -- The Rays have found a home for the 2025 regular season: George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

With Tropicana Field significantly damaged by Hurricane Milton last month and not expected to be repaired until 2026, the Rays had to search for an interim home for next season. That led them to Steinbrenner Field, home of the Yankees in Spring Training and the Single-A Tampa Tarpons in the Florida State League.

¡°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.¡¯¡¯

The Rays will remain at their Charlotte Sports Park facility in Port Charlotte, Fla., for their Spring Training workouts and home games. The Yankees will continue to play their Spring Training games at Steinbrenner Field in 2025 before their American League East rivals move in for the regular season, and the Tarpons are expected to play elsewhere within the Yankees¡¯ Minor League complex.

The Rays are set to begin the season at home against the Rockies on March 27. By that point, they will have moved into the home clubhouse at Steinbrenner Field and done what they can to make the Yankees¡¯ facility look as much like a Tampa Bay home ballpark as possible.

¡°We are happy to extend our hand to the Rays and their fans by providing a Major League-quality facility for them to utilize this season,¡¯¡¯ Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. ¡°Both the Yankees organization and my family have deep roots in the Tampa Bay region, and we understand how meaningful it is for Rays players, employees and fans to have their 2025 home games take place within 30 minutes of Tropicana Field. In times like these, rivalry and competition take a back seat to doing what¡¯s right for our community ¡ª which is continuing to help families and businesses rebound from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.¡±

Commissioner Rob Manfred said recently that MLB hoped to keep the Rays close to their fans in the Tampa Bay area, which this move will accomplish. In a press release announcing the decision, the Rays said they selected Steinbrenner Field ¡°because it is the best-prepared facility in the Tampa Bay region to host regular-season Major League Baseball games.¡±

¡°Given the significant challenges caused by Hurricane Milton, I appreciate the hard work and collaboration between the two teams that allowed the Rays to make the best decision for next season," Manfred said in a statement. "This outcome meets Major League Baseball¡¯s goals that Rays¡¯ fans will see their team play next season in their home market and that their players can remain home without disruption to their families.¡±

Indeed, Rays president Matt Silverman said the club wanted to stay in the area to provide their fans, employees, players and coaches with ¡°as much normalcy as possible, given the disruption that¡¯s taken place at Tropicana Field.¡± Spending the season in Tampa will allow that.

The Rays considered other nearby Spring Training ballparks, including BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater and TD Ballpark in Dunedin, but Steinbrenner Field ultimately offered the best available facilities. That was of the utmost importance considering the limited time between the Trop being damaged and the start of Spring Training.

Steinbrenner Field also has the largest capacity of any Spring Training stadium in the Tampa Bay area, at 11,026, plus 13 luxury suites. The Rays said they expect additional improvements to be made before the season begins ¡°to ensure fans continue to have a wonderful experience at Rays games.¡±

According to the Rays, Steinbrenner Field was in the process of being renovated to improve its clubhouse and playing facilities. Other recent upgrades to the ballpark include upgraded field lighting, expanded home clubhouse space and improved training and rehabilitation capabilities.

Silverman said the Rays are working with MLB and the MLB Players Association to understand what further upgrades must be made to get the ballpark ready for a big league season. While the home clubhouse has been renovated, the visiting side will likely require additions, expansion and MLB-caliber amenities.

¡°The amount of work that's going to be required by a combination of the Yankees and Rays organizations to get the facility ready for March is incredible, and time is of the essence. The Yankees have been great partners,¡± Silverman said. ¡°They've been incredibly responsive. They've been so gracious with their time, with their facility, and I know that together, we're going to be able to pull off what is a very challenging feat in just a couple of months.¡±

Steinbrenner Field opened in 1996, when it was known as Legends Field. The ballpark is centrally located in Tampa, sitting just across Dale Mabry Highway from Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The playing field¡¯s dimensions are somewhat similar to Tropicana Field (and identical to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx), going 318 feet out to left field (315 at Tropicana Field), 408 to center (404 at the Trop) and 314 to right (322 at the Trop). One challenge will be the hot, rainy and humid Florida weather in the summer, which often leads to rain delays in the Florida State League and forces teams to shift their pregame work inside.

The Rays hope to be back inside Tropicana Field in 2026, assuming St. Petersburg moves forward with the necessary repairs to the city-owned stadium. Earlier this year, the St. Petersburg City Council and Pinellas County Commission approved their plans to build a new, $1.3 billion ballpark that would open in 2028 as part of the Historic Gas Plant District in St. Pete.

The Rays announced that ticket information for 2025 home games and other details will be forthcoming and advised fans to join the interest list by visiting raysbaseball.com/2025Interest.