Rays confirm return to Tropicana Field next season

The Tampa Bay Rays have confirmed their return to Tropicana Field next season in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Rays played their home games at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa in 2025 due to the damages caused by Hurricane Milton in October 2024.

"We are excited to return home to Tropicana Field in April and to once again join our fans and neighboring businesses in downtown St. Petersburg in celebrating the return of Rays baseball," team CEO Ken Babby said in a statement on Thursday.

The team made several upgrades to the 25,000-seat stadium that opened in 1990, including an expanded main videoboard, new video displays behind home plate and along both foul poles, a new sound system and refreshed suite interiors.

The Rays were 41-40 at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home for the New York Yankees. They sold out 61 games and drew a total of 786,750 fans. Tampa Bay finished 77-85 overall.

Playing in an open-air stadium instead of the domed Tropicana Field led to some weather issues. The Rays experienced 17 rain delays over 16 games totaling nearly 18 hours.

Hurricane Milton left the Tropicana Field roof in tatters. The city of St. Petersburg spent $22.5 million to install a new Teflon-coated fiberglass roof. Initial estimates for the total cost of repairs and renovations were north of $50 million.

--Field Level Media