The Tampa Bay Rays’ home opener against the Colorado Rockies was pushed back 24 hours to March 28 to give the Florida club an extra day to familiarize themselves with Steinbrenner Field.
The Rays will play their home games at the stadium that serves as the New York Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa, Florida, due to damage caused to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg by Hurricane Milton on the 9th. october.
The Yankees’ final preseason game at Steinbrenner Field will be against the New York Mets on March 24.
The Rays will control the scoreboard and use elements reminiscent of those seen at Tropicana Field. The statue of the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner will remain on its pedestal in front of the stadium, but the fate of the imposing letters Y-ANKEES which adorn each entrance to the stadium as well as the decorative elements located behind the scoreboard is still unknown.
The Rays are scheduled to play 19 of their first 22 games at home, and 37 of their first 54 through May 28, before trading 64 of their final 108 away, hoping to avoid the frequent rains that sweep this area of Florida in summer.
The Yankees added that the home of the Rays for possible playoff home games would be determined jointly by the Florida and New York clubs, as well as Major League Baseball.
The Rays will have access to the Yankees locker room located on the first base side, which was renovated during the 2023-24 off-season. The New York club will use the visitors’ locker room for regular season matches which will take place at Steinbrenner Field.
2024-12-09 18:41:00