The Tampa Bay Rays may have to find a temporary home to start the 2025 season.
Hurricane Milton left the Tropicana Field roof in tatters and the stadium won’t be totally repaired by Opening Day, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
“About the only thing that seems certain is that the team won’t be able to open the 2025 Major League Baseball season at home as planned on March 27,” the newspaper reported.
The roof at the stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla., broke apart on Oct. 9 amid the wind and rain from the Category 3 hurricane.
The stadium, initially called the Florida Suncoast Dome when it opened in 1990, has been the Rays’ home since the franchise played its first game in 1998.
The Rays are planning to move to a $1.3 billion ballpark on the same site, but it won’t be built before 2028.
Alternative options for the Rays if they are displaced for the early part of the 2025 season could include several spring training venues, including St. Petersburg’s Al Lang Stadium, Clearwater’s BayCare Ballpark, Dunedin’s TD Ballpark and Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field.
–Field Level Media
