Where will MLB's Tampa Bay Rays play their home games in 2025?

Extensive damage from when Hurricane Milton ravaged Florida in October will prevent the Tampa Bay Rays from playing their home games at Tropicana Field in 2025.

"The Trop" has been the Rays' home park since they began play as an MLB expansion team in 1998. However, the stadium's fabric roof was torn to shreds by winds gusting to over 100 mph during the height of the hurricane.

The heavy rain that accompanied the storm also caused extensive damage inside the stadium, where the team's offices are located.

As a result, repairs could not be completed in time for the upcoming MLB season, so the Rays were forced to find a temporary home.

Where will the Rays play in 2025?

On Nov. 14, the Rays announced they will relocate their home games from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg to Steinbrenner Field in Tampa – the spring training home of their AL East division rival New York Yankees.

The Rays will share the park – which has a capacity of around 11,000 – with the Tampa Tarpons , the Yankees' Class-A minor league affiliate during the 2025 season.

"We deeply appreciate that the Yankees have graciously allowed us to play at Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season,’’ Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg said in a prepared statement. "The hurricane damage to Tropicana Field has forced us to take some extraordinary steps, just as Hurricanes Helene and Milton have forced thousands of families and businesses in our community to adapt to new circumstances as we all recover and rebuild.’’

When is the Tampa Bay Rays' 2025 home opener?

The Rays will get an early preview of their temporary home when they play the Yankees in their spring training opener on Feb. 21 at Steinbrenner Field. The two teams will meet again in Tampa on March 23.

The Rays' 2025 home opener will be on Friday, March 28, as they kick off a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies.

Where will the Rays play after this season?

Repairs to Tropicana Field have been estimated to cost around $55 million in order to get it ready for the 2026 MLB season. The team hopes to get a large portion of that funded by insurance.

However, St. Petersburg city officials last year reduced what had been a $100 million insurance policy to one that provided only $25 million in coverage in order to save money on the yearly premium. Instead, the city will have to pay a $22 million deductible before the $25 million in insurance money can be used to repair Tropicana Field.

To complicate matters, the Rays are scheduled to open a new stadium in St. Petersburg in 2028 – which could put a lower priority on making any significant repairs to Tropicana Field.

In a Dec. 30 email to city officials, Rays co-president Matt Silverman expressed support for the stadium's restoration in time for the 2026 opener.

"While we had been open to considering a scenario in which the city bought out of its obligation to rebuild the ballpark, the Rays support and expect the city to rebuild Tropicana Field in accordance with the terms of the current use agreement," Silverman wrote.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tampa Bay Rays to play 2025 home MLB games at Steinbrenner Field