ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays, without Tropicana Field available next season because of Hurricane Milton damage, will play their 2025 home games at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

Steinbrenner Field, built in 1996, is the spring training home of the New York Yankees and the minor league home of the Tampa Tarpons, a Yankees affiliate. It seats about 11,000 fans.

Hurricane Milton ripped away parts of the Tropicana Field roof when it moved through the Bay area on Oct. 9.

A damage report released this week indicates repairs would run past $55 million and not be completed before the 2026 season.

"After the damage to the Tampa Bay Rays’ home at The Trop, we are thankful that baseball fans will be able to enjoy the Rays close to home at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field for the 2025 season," St. Petersurg Mayor Ken Welch said in a prepared statement.

"The City is taking the necessary steps and doing our due diligence to make repairs at Tropicana Field so that the Rays can return to St. Petersburg for the 2026 season. Additionally, we will continue to focus our efforts on ensuring that the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment stays on track."

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said the Rays-Yankees deal is good for the sport and the 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 are planning on moving into a new stadium in time for the 2028 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.

Brian Auld, the Rays co-president, said in an interview that Tampa Bay has to 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.”

It 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.

“This is a heavy lift for the Yankees. This is a huge ask by us and baseball of the Yankees,” said Rays Principal owner Stu Sternberg. “(Hal Steinbrenner) did not waver for one second. I couldn’t have been more grateful.”

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.

“In times like these, rivalry and competition take a back seat to doing what’s right for our community, which is continuing to help families and businesses rebound from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” he said.

On X, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers welcomed the Rays to town:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.