Tampa Bay Rays back at Tropicana Field

Image: Tropicana Field, Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0

Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Tampa Bay Rays have confirmed their return to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida for the start of the 2026 season.

Sactown Sports said the Rays played their home games at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa in 2025 due to the damage caused by Hurricane Milton in October 2024 but that they will now be returning to their spiritual home.

The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in Tampa, Florida (US). The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League East Division.

The George M. Steinbrenner Field, formerly known as the Legends Field, is a baseball stadium located in Tampa, Florida (US). The ballpark was built in 1996 and seats 11,026 people with an addition in right field built in 2007. It serves as the temporary abode of the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 25,025-capacity Tropicana Field (also known as ‘The Trop’) is a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States.

Under their current lease agreement the Rays are required to play at Tropicana Field for three more seasons.

Team CEO Ken Babby said, “We are excited to return home to Tropicana Field in April and to once again join our fans and neighboring businesses in downtown St. Petersburg in celebrating the return of Rays baseball.”

During the new ownership group’s introductory press conference in October, Babby said he believed Tropicana Field would “look better than it has ever looked” in time for the Rays’ home opener against the Cubs on April 6.

The team are making a number of upgrades to the 25,000-seat stadium that opened in 1990, including an expanded main videoboard, new video displays behind home plate and along both foul poles, a new sound system and refreshed suite interiors.

Hurricane Milton left the Tropicana Field roof in tatters. The city of St. Petersburg spent $22.5 million to install a new Teflon-coated fiberglass roof. Initial estimates for the total cost of repairs and renovations were more than $50 million.

In another boost for returning fans, ticket prices have been reduced by an average of 15 percent for more than two-thirds of seats at Tropicana Field compared to 2024, according to the club. The Rays will once again make $10 tickets available for all home games next season.

The Rays also announced new premium seating options with upgraded seats and locations, along with new all-inclusive ticket packages.

Fans can’t yet enter Tropicana Field to preview their seats, but the club will offer a “Premium Preview Center,” featuring a full-scale replica of the new seat and an interactive virtual tour with the exact view from their chosen seat, at the new Rays Pop-Up Team Store located at 1101 1^st Ave. S., across the street from the Trop.

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