One of the biggest questions surrounding the MLB offseason is where will the Tampa Bay Rays play in 2025.
The roof at Tropicana Field was severely damaged from Hurricane Milton. As the team awaits the full assessment of the damage, the Rays have commenced a search for a temporary home.
One of the options that makes sense for the Rays is BayCare Ballpark, the home of Phillies spring training and the Single-A Clearwater Threshers. Due to its proximity to the Trop, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times named the ballpark, along with the Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, as “the most-likely options.” A source told Jesse Rogers of ESPN that “Tampa, Dunedin and Clearwater are among the possible nearby cities” being considered.
The league prefers to have the Rays stay in the area to avoid having to relocate players and staff.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters at the World Series that the league is targeting Christmas as an unofficial deadline for the Rays to decide where they will play to begin the 2025 season.
BayCare Ballpark, which opened in 2004 as Bright House Networks Field, has a maximum seating capacity of 8,800, with 7,300 fixed seats and 1,500 on the berm in the outfield, according to Phillies.com. Nearby Steinbrenner Field in Tampa has a higher seating capacity at just over 11,000.
Whether BayCare Ballpark is selected as the Rays’ temporary home should not impact Phillies spring training. Tampa Bay holds their spring training games at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida.
It would impact the Threshers, who would have to make some alterations to their schedule or find a new temporary home for 2025. Manfred noted in his meeting with reporters that both major league and minor league schedules can be augmented to accommodate the Rays.
The Threshers released their 2025 schedule last week. There is a ton of overlap, particularly in the summer months, with the Rays and Threshers scheduled to both play at home from April 11-13, April 29 to May 1, June 3-8, June 17-22, July 1-3, July 18-23, Aug. 5-7, Aug. 22-24, and Sept. 2-7.
Interestingly enough, BayCare Ballpark is free when the Phillies are scheduled to visit the Rays from May 6-8. It’s possible the Phillies could play regular season road games in their own spring training stadium. It’s also very possible that the Phillies play two road series in minor league ballparks in the month of May. They are scheduled to travel to Sacramento to play the Athletics from May 23-25 at Sutter Health Park, the home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
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