Rays share information on Steinbrenner Field agreement

Not the “sister city” plan the Rays had imagined

Evicted from Tropicana Field by Hurricane Milton, on November 14, the Tampa Bay Rays announced that the team would play the 2025 Major League Baseball season at George M. Steinbrenner (GMS) Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the New York Yankees and regular season home of their Lo-A minor league team. We are starting to get some information about what the 2025 season in Tampa will look like.

Spring training will proceed as usual, with the Rays in Port Charlotte and the Yankees in Tampa. After the last Yankees home spring game, Rays staff will move in and give the place a Rays-themed glow-up.

Here are a few highlights, as per a Rays memo:

• The Rays will be responsible for selling regular season tickets, and will retain all ticket revenue (but they will also cover the expenses of running the stadium). The Rays will also pay to improve the current practice field that will likely be where the Yankees Lo-A team, the Tarpons, will play.
• There may be some improvements made to dugouts, clubhouses and a few other areas to meet MLB standards.
• This agreement is for the regular season — if (when?) the Rays make the playoffs there will be further negotiations over terms.
• They are still discussing ways to bring Rays branding to the stadium, but apparently none of the changes can alter the statue of George Steinbrenner outside the stadium. (sigh)
• Field dimensions will remain unchanged.
• Gameday operations will be run by the Rays and their gameday staff in conjunction with a limited number of Steinbrenner Field staff.
• The Yankees concession folks - Legends - will provide all concessions. [Ed note: yuck, unless they can raise their game from what we’ve seen at spring training games.]
• Fan parking will be available in a similar fashion to Yankees spring training games, with the majority of parking spaces located at Raymond James Stadium across the street. There is also limited parking at the GMS Field parking lot adjacent to the stadium. Regular-season parking rates will be determined by the Rays.

Rays players for the most part will simply use the home facilities from the Yankees Spring Training with a few exceptions (there is some discussion of proprietary pitching equipment which sounds intriguing). Rays front office staff will largely be located in rented office space in St. Petersburg (800 2nd Avenue South for anyone interested — which has got to be a huge inconvenience) with just a few exceptions.

As for tickets: with the smaller stadium, the Rays are not offering some of the flexible season ticket options available at Tropicana Field. Those interested in season ticket plans can choose between full, half, and quarter season options. Individual game tickets will go on sale sometime in early 2025.