It has been over two weeks since Hurricane Milton made landfall in the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area of Florida’s Gulf Coast. In the wake of the storm’s path, Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, suffered lots of damage to its roof and playing surface. This has forced the Rays’ organization to find a new ballpark ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball season.
So far, the search has not led to a new, temporary home. However, occasional headlines have popped up about the Rays’ problem heading into 2025.
On Monday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he would like the Tampa Bay Rays to decide on their 2025 home ballpark by Christmas this year. He also said he would move around the major league and minor league seasons to create the reality of Tampa Bay playing somewhere different.
Major League Baseball wants to find a 2025 home for the @RaysBaseball by Christmas.
Both the major and minor league schedules could be altered to create room for the Rays, whose Tropicana Field was damaged by #HurricaneMilton on Oct. 9.https://t.co/uhQolxXLWI
— WUSF (@wusf) October 28, 2024
Before Monday’s news from Manfred, it had also been made clear that he would like the team to remain as close as possible to their current market of Tampa Bay-St. Pete. Areas outside the state of Florida, like Durham, N.C., and Montreal, have been crossed off the list as possibilities.
A Tampa Bay player also commented on the situation. Pete Fairbanks, the Rays’ closer who has been with the team since the middle of the 2019 season, feels the team should try to remain as local as possible to St. Pete.
He and a team service representative said “it would be a disservice” to those who worked on the new stadium plan. This refers to the new ballpark the Rays are scheduled to have completed for opening day 2028, which will also be in St. Petersburg.
From weekend @TB_Times coverage:
Veteran/player rep Pete Fairbanks thinks staying local should be 1st choice for #Rays interim home for several reasons. Plus notes on prospects joining Team USA, Carlos Pena to be honored, front office loss, more https://t.co/6aebe3djBI
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) October 28, 2024
So, there is no definitive answer yet. However, people within the Tampa Bay organization and the MLB commissioner want the team right by their market. It seems that will be the most likely outcome for the Rays.
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WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
CLICK HERE for possible ballparks the Rays could play in next season.
