Finding the Tampa Bay Rays a Better Home

 Hurricane Milton caused severe destruction across the South, particularly in North Carolina. The damage is evident in satellite images. In the aftermath, a pressing question emerged: Where will the Tampa Bay Rays play next season? Tropicana Field, which served as a shelter for first responders, was destroyed and is beyond repair. With the new stadium in St. Petersburg or Tampa not expected until 2028, the Rays are left without a viable home field. The team and MLB considered several options, including playing all games on the road or hosting "home games" in cities like Salt Lake City, Nashville, Montreal, or Charlotte. Durham, North Carolina, home to the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate, was also discussed. Ultimately, the Rays and MLB agreed on a temporary solution.

Currently, the Rays are playing in their home market at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, an 11,000-seat stadium owned by the New York Yankees. While the stadium is being utilized more efficiently than Tropicana Field was—88% capacity compared to 37%—attendance has dropped significantly. Last season, the Rays averaged 16,515 fans per game, about 5,000 more than Steinbrenner Field can accommodate. Now, average attendance is just under 10,000 per game, a 60% decrease and the lowest in franchise history outside of COVID-affected seasons. This raises the question: where will the Rays play next year if Tropicana Field remains unusable? Hold up this is not what you think it is. I'm not trying to move the Rays out of Tampa Bay, or Florida.

To keep the Rays in the Tampa Bay area, several options are available, given Florida's abundance of baseball stadiums. BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, an 8,500-seat stadium and the Spring Training home of the Philadelphia Phillies, is a strong candidate. Its location between St. Petersburg and Tampa makes it ideal for the Rays, even as a temporary solution. The main challenge is that the Clearwater Threshers, the Phillies’ Single-A affiliate, also use the stadium. However, the Threshers could relocate to Jack Russell Memorial Stadium, which, while too small for the Rays, is suitable for Single-A games. Given these factors, BayCare Ballpark has a likelihood score of 7.5 out of 10.

Additional options in the Tampa Bay metro area include Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, LECOM Park in Bradenton, TD Ballpark in Dunedin, and CoolToday Park in North Port. Each stadium seats between 8,000 and 8,500 fans. These are considered last-resort options due to rival team ownership (similar to the Yankees) or scheduling conflicts. Likelihood score: 2.5 out of 10.

So, what if none of the previous stadiums work out, and the Rays have to look elsewhere? Well, once again, thankfully, Florida has plenty of baseball stadiums to choose from, so let's get the obvious not going to happen out of the way. The Rays head south to play in Miami with the Marlins in either LoanDepot Park or Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. Neither of these is likely to happen as the Rays' fanbase is further north than the 305. West Palm Beach does have the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, which seats 7,700, and Fort Myers has the 11,000-seat JetBlue Park; however, once again, the fanbase is not that far south. Likelihood score 1 out of 10.

So fine, no stadiums in the southern part of the state. What about the east and north of Tampa? Such as the other two big cities in Florida, Jacksonville and Orlando? Well, Jacksonville does have the 121 Financial Ballpark home to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp which seats 11,000 However the Jumbo Shrimp are a triple-A team meaning they have week-long home stands which may affect the Rays and their schedule for the upcoming season for prime weeks for home games as the Jumbo Shrimp would take precedent over the Rays as they are the ones who own 121 Financial Ballpark. With no other ballparks of any size in Jacksonville, the only option is 121 Financial for the Rays. So, Jacksonville and 121 Financial get a likelihood score of 5 out of 10.

Orlando is a very different story altogether as two stadiums are primed for usage. First and less appealing is Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, an 8,500-seat stadium that is home to the Detroit Tigers' Spring Training and Single-A affiliates. The Single-A team has played in another stadium close by, but Henley Field is not suitable for the Rays to use. Marchant is an option, but not the best option in the Orlando metro. Lake Buena Vista holds a much more appealing stadium. The Stadium at the ESPN Wide World of Sports is now known as Champion Stadium. The place where the Tampa Bay Rays held their 2023 Spring Training. A 9,500-seat stadium with room to expand. With no current tenant to call it home and it being the site for the Rays Spring Training just a year ago, it would seem as if this were a match made in heaven or a Disney movie. Likelihood score of 8.5 out of 10.

So, what if, for whatever reason, that doesn’t work out either? Where else could they play? Well, the USSSA Space Coast Complex has an 8,100-seat stadium in Viera, which is southeast of Orlando. Downside is it’s an hour drive from Orlando and a two-hour drive from Tampa. Not exactly an ideal place for fans, but an option. Clover Park is in Port St Lucie near Viera, and it is a 7,160-seat stadium. The nearby Vero Beach holds the 6,500-seat Holman Stadium, which has no main tenant. Once again, it’s nowhere near any population centers other than itself, as the metro is less than that of Tampa proper. So now we look farther north, Gainesville holds the 7,000-seat Florida Stadium, home of the Florida Gators’ Baseball team. Once again, an issue arises of being too far away from Tampa; it's a two-and-a-half-hour drive. So, we come looking more. Tallahassee has Dick Howser Stadium, which holds 6,700, but again, it is far away from the fan base and still not a big metro area. Pensacola is the final stop on this trip, with Admiral Fetterman Field, a 5,000-seat stadium that is home to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Marlins' Single-A team. In all honesty, none of these stadiums are or probably ever will be in the conversation for the Rays. Likelihood score of 1 out of 10

Finally, there is one last stadium I have saved for last, as the Rays currently call this place home. Tropicana Field, while the dome may be destroyed beyond repair, the field is not. The Trop still stands as a testament to baseball in Tampa; however, it is not worth the repairs, as the Rays will be moving into their new stadium, wherever it may be, in 2028 or beyond. There is another stadium the Rays call home. Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida, is host to the Rays Spring Training and has been since 2009. While over an hour away from Tampa, the rest of the metro area is nearby. 45 minutes from Sarasota and Bradenton, the newly renovated stadium seats 7,670 of the Rays' devoted fans. The Charlotte Sports Park has room for more seating to be placed in preparation for being an MLB stadium, similar to what was done in Buffalo when the Blue Jays played there. As the outfield could be renovated to seat more, as it is currently a grass berm. With the only tenants being the Rays themselves, there wouldn’t be any issue with figuring out the schedule for play. When all other plans are done and dusted after failing to pan out and even before, Port Charlotte, even if it’s for one year, will be there to rally around their team, their metro, their family, their Rays. This is, in my opinion, the best choice for the Rays and the most likely to happen out of every stadium that has been mentioned, and is a better fit for the Rays than Steinbrenner Stadium. Likelihood score 9.5 out of 10. This has been Brock Gorton, a life Royals fan who has always had a soft spot for the Tampa Bay Rays.