The Rays could use the Phillies’ spring training park as their regular-season home due to hurricane damage
Three spring-training complexes are located within 30 miles of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, including the Phillies' Clearwater facility. The Phillies are scheduled to visit the Rays on May 6-8.
When the Phillies go on the road to play the Tampa Bay Rays next season, they might feel right at home.
As the Rays and local officials assess the extent of the damage to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton, contingency plans are being discussed. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters at the World Series last week that the league would prefer the Rays to use alternate ballparks in Florida rather than relocating to another city.
Three spring-training complexes are located within 30 miles of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. If the Trop isn’t viable for the start of next season, the Rays could choose to play home games in Tampa (Yankees), Dunedin (Blue Jays), Clearwater (Phillies), or some combination thereof.
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“We can make it work in a minor-league park,” said Manfred, who noted that the damage to Tropicana Field isn’t limited to the fiberglass roof, much of which was destroyed. “I think there’s probably some flexibility in terms of what we do with the big-league schedule.”
The Phillies are scheduled to visit the Rays on May 6-8. Coincidentally, their low-A Clearwater team isn’t home during those dates, presumably leaving 8,800-seat BayCare Ballpark available.
TD Ballpark in Dunedin has hosted major-league regular-season games before. In 2021, the Blue Jays played 21 games at their 8,500-seat spring training ballpark due to international travel restrictions related to the pandemic.
It’s also possible the Rays could play at the 7,500-seat park in Orlando that was the Braves’ spring-training home through 2019. The Rays trained in Orlando in 2023 after Hurricane Ian damaged their facility in Port Charlotte.
Manfred told reporters that MLB would like to have a plan in place for the Rays by Christmas.
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