The Tampa Bay Rays will unfortunately not be able to play at Tropicana Field in 2025
Photo credit: Fox 59
The state of Florida was recently hit by Hurricane Milton as it causes immense damages throughout the entire state including destroying the Tampa Bay Rays Tropicana Field.
Post all over social media showed just how bad the damages were at Tropicana Field as the entire roof was ripped to shreds and damages included in and outside the stadium.
According to a recent report, the cost to repair all the damages that Hurricane Milton caused to Tropicana Field will be more than $100 million which is much more than people first assumed.
Hurricane Milton damage to the roof at Tropicana Field is a bigger deal than most understand. It would cost 9 figures to replace and moving into new park in a few years doesn't make sense. #Rays can't play there with no draining system for rain. Where will they play in 2025?
The Tampa Bay Rays will now need to find a new place to play next season
The Rays are not searching for a stadium to play next season as they will not be able to play in Tampa. There has yet to be an update of if the Rays will bother fixing Tropicana Field since they planned on building a new stadium in that will be ready in about 3 years and spending all that money to fix a stadium that they will soon abandon does not make much sense.
The Rays have to get a sense on whether they are looking for a temporary home for a few months, for a full season or for all three years. Plus, Major League Baseball will have a say, and the players union is sure to be involved.
There will be a lengthy list of options, maybe 50 locations long, with some more suitable based on length of stay. And all come with concerns such as weather, location, facilities and/or scheduling conflicts based on the primary tenant. -Topkin
There will be a lengthy list of options, maybe 50 locations long, with some more suitable based on length of stay. And all come with concerns such as weather, location, facilities and/or scheduling conflicts based on the primary tenant. -Topkin
There seems to be a ton of options in the Florida area as the Rays might look at playing out of one of their competitors training complex for the next little while including the Blue Jays facilities in Dunedin.
Several facilities are at least worth exploring, including St. Petersburg's Al Lang Stadium, Clearwater's BayCare Ballpark (used by the Phillies), Dunedin's TD Ballpark (Blue Jays) and Tampa's Steinbrenner Field (Yankees). -Topkin
Others online have mentioned playing out of Montreal or Oakland but at this point that seems like an unlikely possibility.
Source: Tampa Bay Times
Where Rays will play in 2025 one of many questions after Trop damage
Where Rays will play in 2025 one of many questions after Trop damage
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