The Rays released a statement on X today in the wake of Hurricane Milton passing through the Tampa and St. Petersburg area. “During the past couple weeks, our beloved city, region and state have been impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” the statement says. “We are devastated by the damage incurred by so many. Our priority is supporting our community and our staff. We are fortunate and grateful that no one was hurt by the damage to our ballpark last night. Over the coming days and weeks, we expect to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field. In the meantime, we are working with law enforcement to secure the building. We ask for your patience at this time, and we encourage those who can to donate to organizations in our community that are assisting those directly impacted by these storms.”
Obviously, a sports stadium is not the top priority with a tragedy of this magnitude, but it is nonetheless a story with relevance to Major League Baseball that could impact the upcoming season. Drone footage shared on X by Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Florida clearly shows significant damage to the roof, with almost all of it ripped off, shredded into pieces that have fallen to the field below.
Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, club employees have begun the process of assessing the damage. Topkin notes that, due to the presence of the roof, the stadium was built with no drainage system. That means that water damage is a concern for as long as the roof is damaged and the field exposed to the elements.
The Rays are planning to open a new stadium adjacent to the Tropicana site but not until the 2028 season. As such, they will need to assess the playability of the Trop for the 2025 through 2027 seasons. They are scheduled to open the upcoming campaign at home on March 27, hosting the Rockies and then the Pirates for three game each.
As noted by Topkin, the Rays could potentially move to another location temporarily, if necessary. He cites the example of the Blue Jays, who weren’t able to travel to Toronto at the heights of the pandemic due to travel restrictions in 2020 and 2021. During that time, the Jays played at their minor league facilities in Dunedin and later in Buffalo.
Whether the Rays will have to follow a similar path or can return to the Trop by Opening Day 2025 will naturally depend on the severity of the damage and when it can be repaired. The club will undoubtedly be providing further updates in the coming days and weeks.
Ranger Danger19
They could move to Oakland until the new park is ready
ckc12537
We all know that the Rangers would not be accommodating without seeking gate revenue.
steven st croix
This is fact
Ranger Danger19
I’m not sure what the Rangers have to do with any of this but I bet they could figure something out if it came down to it. My guess is the Rays fix their roof before opening day or find somewhere on the east coast to play.
rennick
I think that comment about the Rangers is a reference to when the Astros needed some assistance after the city flooded. If memory serves, that attempted to play at the Rangers stadium but were denied. To be honest, I don’t quite remember all the details so it’s entirely possible I’m way off. I’m just guessing that’s what the previous comment was about.
rennick
**they. Ignore the word “that”
Clofreesz
As much as I hate Houston, I think we should’ve let them come to Texas for a classic Lone-Star rivalry instead of playing in terrible Tropicana.
Reynaldo's
Why would Rangers care?
CCCTL
“Oh hell no, we’re moving in with the A’s and Rivercats. We’re used to playing on astroturf.”
James Midway
It’s not the worst idea
bigjonliljon
Similar attendance between the two teams.
jorge78
RD that’s actually a great idea! I bet they’d draw a lot more fans!
I’m sure there’s hundreds of reasons to block it however.
ckc12537
I can already imagine how whiny Yankees fans and management would be… “we have to fly to Oakland X times!”
MacGromit
@ckc12537
More reason to do it.
MacGromit
@RangerDanger19
that’s hysterical. how funny would it be for the City of Oakland to give the Rays a sweetheart lease deal to thumb their nose at Fisher?
Mynameisnoname
Worth a chuckle and makes a bit of pragmatic sense.
Ultimately, you have to figure that would be a killer for the Rays travel wise. I’m sure a cheapo organization would rather save the jet fuel and stay away from the extra lethargy constant cross country travel may induce during a long season.
johnsilver
Go from the worst stadium to the next worse? Why not (if have to) use an AAA, or college field within the state and not like isn’t a multitude of quality ST facilities in Florida. Why go thousands of miles, to the wrong coast and play in some 60yo hybrid stadium about to be flattened??
FWIW.. State was hammered, we took a hit ourselves, luckily not 1 of the 4m in the state who didn’t lose power, even tho the eye of the storm went directly overhead.
whitecheddar
There are a bunch of minor league stadiums that would love to host them. Plus, they would probably have increased attendance, except for early bird special games
kje76
It’s Florida – half the teams in the MLB have MLB-worthy stadiums. We know that Dunedin can be made TV-ready, and I’m pretty sure Clearwater, Port Charlotte, and especially Tampa could work if needed.
That said, the Rays’ stadium is a distant backseat to making sure everyone is safe and secure in the Tampa Bay area.
A'sfaninLondonUK
Obviously there are jokes here about attendance levels, but I’d make the bold assumption that the largely intelligent readership here will just pray for that area of the country right now.
Many blessings for those in the path.
Bauer? But I Hardly Know Her!
Not me. I’m a jackass.
Reynaldo's
Seek employment.
Travis’ Wood
“Largely intelligent readership”???
case
The deep state used their hurricane machines to target the Rays because Florida is a bastion of real Americans.
New New Buccoprojectory
Typical reply from an idiot, during the 2 hurricanes that has killed hundreds and devasted families…what a loser
King Floch
Shhh, the normies aren’t ready to take the HAARPpill 😉
Old York
Maybe they can revive that idea of TB playing half their games in Montreal and the other half in TB and then they have enough time to make the repairs.
GONEcarlo
“Rob Manfred controls the weather to push his radical stadium-building agenda!”
King Floch
This, but unironically.
IHLgulls
Play in Montreal!
KingZeke8
While it’s not the same 1 to 1 situation, my brother-in-law was one of the workers who helped clean up the Metrodome when its roof collapsed. He said he’d be shocked if they were playing baseball in there before the All Star break.
RegularEd 2
Montreal
draker
We may have seen the last of MLB games at the Trop. It’s not going to be cost-effective to replace the roof for three seasons of play.
Citizen1
Tarp roof. Just like what Montreal did. These problems seem to follow mlb to Florida. Or build a drainage system for outdoor venues
tiger9
Montreal
James Midway
The cost/reward for the stadium may be too high. The pictures were very shocking.
muskie73
Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, seats 18,264 for baseball (or slightly more than the Rays’ average 2024 home attendance of 16,515).
skinsfandfw
If the Trop is not ready by Mar 27, the Blue Jays stadium in Dunedin makes most sense. It’s in the Tampa metro area and it’s already MLB play ready since Toronto used it already as mentioned in the article.
farscott
Sort of. While it is true TD Ballpark hosted major league games with very few fans in 2021, it needed some upgrades that would need to be redone. Primarily, the permanent lighting package is not MLB-caliber for night games.
The Phillies facility in Clearwater may be a better choice. Both seat much less than the usual Rays draw with TD Ballpark’s capacity around 7500 and Baycare Ballpark holding 8500. Parking is an issue for TD Ballpark with the nearest city lot holding ~200 vehicles almost half a mile away. There are lot of residents who charge for parking as is seen during spring training, so there is a way forward
Both parks are very hot even during night games with temps near 90-95 at first pitch at 6:30 PM for the Low-A games.
kje76
Tampa might be a better short term option – 11K seats, parking at Raymond James Stadium, and the Yankees probably have it reasonably TV friendly. They host the Yankees in April anyway.
Ezpkns34
I hope the insurance companies got pics of the stadium before the hurricane hit for comparison. Not sure how much more damage the storm could do to that one
yanks_aaronx3
They can now play their games outside
YaGottaBelieveAgain
As FL being 1 of the 2 spring training states I am sure a location could be found there. It might require some slight alterations. MLB quality lighting etc.
Roof could be fixed but at what cost? Are there plans for use of stadium after 2028? Was it going to be demolished or put to some other use?
The TOR Covid adventure would be a starting point.
The TB area, Montreal Canada hybrid is a possibility but probably not ideal as fairness to the team extra travel and costs. Just day 1, too soon to put a definitive plan together.
Baseball aside I just want to express my deep sympathy for FL and all the other states having to try to deal with Helene and Milton.
I hope everyone gets help from whatever source quickly, those with and without insurance. Immediate needs so great, for some peace of mind.
muddust
the most common response to the press release was ‘the devil rays are still a thing?’
Tom E. Snyder
The devil’s in the details.
StudWinfield
Some duct tape and blue tarps and they’ll be good to go in ’25.
CardsFan57
I didn’t think it was a big deal until I got to the part about no drainage system. How much is anyone willing to spend to repair it? Would it be better to find a way to speed up the new park?
ClevelandSteelEngines
If there was drainage system, they could play top off. However, this takes them out of this stadium for at least most of ’25 season. Now, the Rays’ pitching will experience the horrors without the Trop hiding their ERAs.
AHH-Rox
Maybe they can configure the Buccaneers stadium for baseball. Although outdoor games in the summer could be awfully hot.
chemfinancing
Oh no the tarp is blown off maybe the best thing to ever happen to the rays u can’t see a thing in that stadium
chemfinancing
Jacksonville or New Orleans might be good options
chemfinancing
I bet they have a decent park in Orlando
kje76
Buena Vista (ESPN Wide World of Sports) could host games – they hosted Rays games in the past. It’s a heavy time of year for them, with a ton of cheerleader competitions and such, plus colleges doing spring games.
Tinker Field in Orlando was mostly torn down a few years ago in the Citrus Bowl expansion.
cubsdave
Configure Raymond James stadium to accommodate baseball.
Karensjer
Cheap ass $ternberg isn’t going to pony up the repair $$. Rays are going to end up playing 2 seasons in either Dunedin at the Jays spring training home, Charlotte, where their team trains in the spring, or Wide World of Sports complex at Disney. If it is the latter, expect a ton of more fans in the seats.
bag o ballz
maybe they could go to san jose so the giants can collect all the wayward teams in their minor league parks