The Tampa Bay Rays don't have a home for the 2025 season. Tropicana Field was destroyed by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, damage that saw the roof completely shredded to the point that it will cost more than $55 million to repair. Even the city of St. Petersburg does decide to do that, the stadium won't be reopened until 2026, according to the city council report. That means the Rays are without a ballpark next year and possibly 2026 and 2027, with a planned new stadium not scheduled to be opened until 2028.
So here's the question: where do the Rays play now?
Let's keep in mind that most spring training facilities are used by the minors during the year and, obviously, use of those parks would require re-working the schedules of the affected MiLB teams. It's a chore, but ultimately, the MLB product is at the top of the food chain here and gets first dibs.
Here are some reasonable options.
BayCare Ballpark (Phillies spring training/Class A)
The favorite is here, assuming a deal can be worked out with the Phillies and, generally speaking, commissioner Rob Manfred would step in and force a deal if it's in the best interest of baseball.
This ballpark is in Clearwater, which is in the Tampa Bay area, making it a geographic fit. The capacity is only 8,500 and the facilities won't be up to par for MLB players, but we're not going to have full MLB-size stadiums ready to be thrown in the mix here. It's a "take what you can get" scenario.
A Tampa Bay Times report notes that Pinellas County politicians would prefer the Rays stay in the county, making Clearwater the top option.
Steinbrenner Field (Yankees spring training/Class A)
This one actually seats over 11,000 people and it's on the Tampa side of the bay, which we've heard for years would help attendance. If you've ever flown over Raymond James Stadium -- home of the NFL's Buccaneers -- you've seen this ballpark just across the street.
This in not in Pinellas County, so perhaps the people footing the bill for the Rays' ballpark repairs and new construction won't care for the location, but otherwise it would be a great fit.
TD Ballpark (Blue Jays spring training/Class A)
We've already seen Major League Baseball here when the Blue Jays couldn't play in Canada during COVID, before they temporarily moved to Buffalo. The ballpark holds 8,500 people and is very close to the Trop (only a touch over 20 miles away). Dunedin is just a bit north of Clearwater and checks off the wish for an in-county move.
LECOM Park (Pirates spring training/Class A)
The Pirates' spring home is in Bradenton, which is on the south end of Tampa Bay and about a half hour drive from the Trop, mostly over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Perhaps a negative here is this ballpark is incredibly old. It was built in 1923, though it's been renovated multiple times, most recently in 2013. It seats 8,500 (apparently a very popular number).
Charlotte Sports Park (Rays spring training/Class A)
A step down in attendance here, as this one only seats 7,670. A big plus on this ballpark would obviously be that it's the Rays' spring training home, so once they transition to the regular season, no moving is involved. It is a lot further south, though, down in the Port Charlotte area, which is almost Fort Myers. It's roughly 80 miles from Tropicana Field.
Still, given that the Rays own the facility, you can't count this one out. It might actually be more likely than LECOM, despite how much closer the latter is to Tampa Bay.
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (Orlando)
The big plus here is this is unaffiliated, so there is no game of minor-league musical chairs needed. The park is set up for spring training and minor-league action, too, so it wouldn't be a huge adjustment to house the Rays for the regular season on a temporary basis. The Braves held spring training here from 1997-2019 and the Rays were just there for spring training in 2023 after Charlotte Sports Park suffered hurricane damage. The ballpark is called The Stadium at ESPN Wide World of Sports and seats 9,500.
This is the furthest place we've mentioned from Tropicana Field, checking it at around 90 miles inland.
Montreal
Nope.
There's a large contingent of remaining Expos fans who desperately want a team back in Montreal and the Rays' front office appeared to flirt with the city -- including an insane idea to split the franchise between two cities so far apart -- only to get a new ballpark deal in St. Pete.
So I'm sure some would float the idea. It just doesn't make logistical sense.