Images: Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are preparing to debut at their temporary home, George M. Steinbrenner Field, after what chief business officer Bill Walsh has dubbed “an incredible logistical feat” in adapting the stadium to their requirements.
The Rays welcome the Colorado Rockies to Tampa later today (Friday) for their 2025 MLB season opener in what has been a period of upheaval for the franchise. In November, the Rays confirmed they would play the 2025 season at the New York Yankees’ spring training home due to the extent of hurricane damage at Tropicana Field.
The Rays’ stadium in St. Petersburg was significantly damaged by Hurricane Milton on October 9, making it unavailable for MLB action. The Rays described Steinbrenner Field as the best-prepared and largest facility in the Tampa Bay region, noting a series of renovations had recently been undertaken.
The Yankees continued to play spring training games at Steinbrenner Field this year, and with the team’s Grapefruit League action only concluding on Sunday, the Rays were faced with a challenging task to conduct the necessary work to adapt the stadium.
The Rays have transformed Steinbrenner Field into their home for the regular season with more than 50 installers from five companies and more than 80 staff members working around the clock since the Yankees’ spring training concluded. More than 3,000 individual pieces of marketing assets have been installed, which if laid out end-to-end, equals more than a mile.
“We’d like to thank our staff, corporate partners, fans, Major League Baseball, the Tampa Sports Authority and the Yankees organisation,” said Walsh. “We are incredibly grateful to be here… in Tampa Bay.”
To showcase the team’s first outdoor home game schedule, Tropicana Field being a domed venue, light and sound shows will be used at Steinbrenner Field for all games starting at 4:10pm or later. Fireworks displays will be used during the national anthem, after every home run and in celebration of each victory.
The Rays will also have to adapt to a stadium with a smaller capacity, even when compared to Tropicana Field, where a sellout with the upper deck closed would be 25,025. The Rays announced on Tuesday that today’s season opener was sold out, with capacity at Steinbrenner Field being 10,046.
A limited number of standing-room-only tickets, expected to be around 100, will be made available for $20 (£15/€18) for all Rays home games this season, including Opening Day. The Rays Rush Tickets are being released prior to each home series throughout the season.
The Rays are not the only MLB team playing at a minor league facility this season, with the Athletics due to debut at Sutter Health Park on Monday with the first of three games against the Chicago Cubs.
A series of upgrades were unveiled at Sutter Health Park this week, with the A’s spending three seasons at the Sacramento facility while the team builds a new 33,000-capacity ballpark in Las Vegas. The team left Oakland last year after a 57-year stay at the Coliseum.
The Rays’ move to Tampa comes amid uncertainty over the long-term future for the franchise. Earlier this month, the team dropped plans to develop a new ballpark in the city of St. Petersburg.
Stuart Sternberg, principal owner of the Rays, made the announcement ahead of a March 31 deadline for the team to meet certain requirements that would have moved the project forwards. The team’s decision means the ballpark plan has been terminated.
Share this