Hurricane-stricken Rays to play next season at Yankees' spring training field in Tampa
Dodgers great Valenzuela died of septic shock last month, death certificate says
The Tampa Bay Rays will play their 2025 home games at the New York Yankees' nearby spring training ballpark amid uncertainty about the future of hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field, Rays executives told The Associated Press.
Stuart Sternberg, the Rays' principal owner, said in an interview that Steinbrenner Field in Tampa is the best fit for the team and its fanbase. At about 11,000 seats, it's also the largest of the spring training sites in Florida.
"It is singularly the best opportunity for our fans to experience 81 games of major league Rays baseball," Sternberg said. "As difficult as it is to get any of these stadiums up to major league standards, it was the least difficult. You're going to see Major League Baseball in a small environment."
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said the Rays-Yankees deal is good for the sport and Tampa Bay region.
"This outcome meets Major League Baseball's goals that Rays fans will see their team play next season in their home market and that their players can remain home without disruption to their families," Manfred said in a news release.
The Rays' home since 1998, the domed Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was hit hard by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, with most of its fabric roof shredded and water damage inside. The city of St. Petersburg, which owns the Trop, released an assessment of the damage and repair needs that estimated the cost at $55.7 million US to be ready for the start of the 2026 season.
The work would have to be approved by the city council, which earlier this year voted for a new $1.3 billion, 30,000-seat stadium to replace Tropicana Field beginning in 2028. The new stadium is part of a much larger urban revitalization project known as the Historic Gas Plant District, named for the Black community that once occupied the 86 acres (34 hectares) that includes retail, office and hotel space; a Black history museum; and restaurants and bars.
Amid all the uncertainty, the Rays know one thing: they will play 2025 in a smallish, outdoor ballpark operated by one of their main American League East division rivals. A ballpark with a façade mimicking that of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and festooned with plaques of Yankee players whose numbers have been retired.
Weather challenges
Brian Auld, the Rays co-president, said in an interview Tampa Bay must be ready for a regular-season MLB game March 27 against the Colorado Rockies, just three days after the Yankees break training camp.
"There will be a ton of work toward putting in our brand," Auld said. "The term we like to use for that is "Rayful' into Steinbrenner Field."
Now that the sun is up, here’s a 360-degree view of the damage Hurricane Milton caused to Tropicana Field’s roof and the inside of the ballpark. Absolutely heartbreaking 💔 <a href="https://t.co/ZCtPHv6rE9">pic.twitter.com/ZCtPHv6rE9</a>
—@Ry_BassIt will also come with some weather challenges in the hot, rainy Florida summer climate the Rays didn't worry about in their domed ballpark. The Rays averaged about 16,500 fans per game during the 2024 season.
The Yankees will receive about $15 million in revenue for hosting the Rays, a person familiar with the arrangement told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail was not announced. The money won't come from Tampa Bay but from other sources, such as insurance.
Once known as Legends Field, Steinbrenner Field opened in 1996 on
Hal Steinbrenner said in a news release that the Yankees are "happy to extend our hand to the Rays" and noted that the team and his family have "deep roots" in the Tampa Bay area.
Pro teams in New Orleans made similar season-long moves after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The NFL's Saints played home games at multiple locations for one season while the Superdome was repaired, and the NBA's then-New Orleans Hornets played two seasons in Oklahoma City.
It's not the first time a big-league team will host regular-season games in a spring training stadium. The Toronto Blue Jays played part of the 2021 season at their facility in Dunedin because of Canadian government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Valenzuela died at age 63
Fernando Valenzuela, the Los Angeles Dodgerspitching ace who helped the team win the 1981 World Series, died of septic shock last month, according to his death certificate.
TMZ Sports obtained the document on Tuesday. Valenzuela died on Oct. 22 at age 63, a few weeks after stepping away from his job on the Dodgers' Spanish-language television broadcast and days before the Dodgers began their run to the team's eighth World Series championship. No cause of death was provided at the time.
The Los Angeles County death certificate listed septic shock as the immediate cause of death. It is a life-threatening condition that occurs when organs malfunction, leading to dangerously low blood pressure. Each year, at least 350,000 people in the U.S. die of the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The certificate listed decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis as underlying causes. Also listed as a significant condition contributing to Valenzuela's death was "probable" Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rapidly progressive brain disorder.
The document also shows Valenzuela was cremated. A public Mass was held last week at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
