With Trop damaged, where will Rays play in 2025?

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ST. PETERSBURG -- It’s been two weeks since Hurricane Milton tore through Florida and severely damaged the roof of Tropicana Field, and the Rays, not surprisingly, are still trying to figure out where they will play in 2025.

How extensive was the damage to the Trop? How much was affected beyond the visible shredding of the roof? How long would it take to design and install a new custom roof? If it can be done, when would the Rays be able to return to their home ballpark?

The Rays knew this process would take time. The club released a statement the day after the storm blew through Florida’s Gulf Coast, asking for patience as they spent days and weeks working “to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field.” The club has not commented since.

According to multiple reports, the City of St. Petersburg hired Global Rope Access to remove the remaining parts of the Trop’s Teflon-coated fiberglass roof. The city also reportedly filed an insurance claim and hired Hennessy/AECOM Hunt to perform a full analysis of the building, from the structure itself to its mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.

But Opening Day is 157 days away, and it seems unlikely that the Rays will be able to host the Rockies as planned on March 27 at Tropicana Field. That leads to another big question: If they have to at least start next season somewhere else, where will they play?

“We don’t know, is the short answer,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said during an appearance on Puck’s “The Varsity” podcast with host John Ourand. “They’re in the midst of doing an assessment of exactly what the damage was. The only thing I can say about that: It was substantial.”

There will be questions regarding whether it’s worth the cost to restore a stadium that was set to be demolished after the 2027 season anyway. The Rays are planning to move into a new ballpark on the Tropicana Field site in ’28.

“Really costly repairs on a short-life facility, I don’t need to connect the dots there for you,” Manfred told Ourand. “That’s another complication.”

The Tampa Bay Times’ John Romano expertly explained the insurance issues at play for the city in a recent column. As Romano wrote, it all comes down to these questions: “How much will it cost to repair, how much is insurance kicking in and how much can the city of St. Petersburg afford, considering all the other expenses incurred following back-to-back hurricanes?”

Manfred noted that having the roof damaged to this extent was “particularly problematic” because, as an indoor facility, Tropicana Field was built without a drainage system. And, of course, it tends to rain a lot here. So even if the rest of the building is deemed structurally sound, the solution isn’t as simple as making the Trop an outdoor ballpark for the next three seasons.

There are ballparks to consider outside the Tampa Bay area, but we can already cross off two of those potential options.

For one, Montreal’s Olympic Stadium -- former home of the Expos -- is undergoing its own roof reconstruction and won’t be available until 2028. (A stadium communications officer told the Tampa Bay Times it’s not open to the public in the meantime.) And the Durham Bulls, the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate, released a statement last Thursday ruling out Durham Bulls Athletic Park as a full-season option.

“As the proud Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, we are always ready to support our parent club,” the club announced. “Currently, there have been no discussions about hosting them in Durham, and we do not anticipate hosting them for a full season due to schedules overlapping and other logistical challenges.”

Manfred said on “The Varsity” podcast that the “easiest thing is always to stay in the market where the clubs are anchored, if we can manage it.” In other words, it would be preferable for the Rays to stay in the Tampa Bay area rather than move out of the region, state or country.

“We’re hopeful that we can figure out something in [Tampa Bay] for them, that the repairs can be done in a way that allows them to resume playing,” Manfred said.

There are plenty of alternatives, such as the numerous Spring Training and Minor League parks within or not far from the Tampa Bay area, including the Rays’ facility in Port Charlotte. But they all come with their own issues and concerns, especially if the club winds up needing more than just a short-term solution for 2025.

The Rays will gain some clarity regarding Tropicana Field in the coming days and weeks. As for what comes next? There’s no easy answer.

“The one thing I can tell you, for sure: They’re playing next year,” Manfred told Ourand. “We’re going to find them someplace to do it.”