TAMPA — Ron Guidry has been coming to George M. Steinbrenner Field since the ballpark opened in 1996, but the Yankees’ annual spring training guest instructor had a hard time finding his way around when he reported to camp earlier this week.
“He said he basically needs a map,” Yankees director of baseball operations Matt Ferry joked.
That’s because GMS, the Yankees’ spring training home and the Rays’ impending, temporary regular season home, has undergone massive renovations. Ferry and other Yankees officials gave media members a behind-the-scenes tour of the remodeled facility on Thursday, granting access to areas typically off-limits to reporters and the public.
Ferry was heavily involved in the renovations, and players like Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells also offered input.
“Everything’s new. The space is great. There’s a ton of natural light, high ceilings, good privacy. I think the flow is great,” Cole said. “It feels good to have a really nice facility.”
Added Ferry: “We asked anyone, whether you have a year of service or 10 years in the big leagues, because they’ve all experienced something. Things that they’ve liked, whether it was off-site, whether it was with another team. We tried to get ideas from everywhere, ultimately, and that also led into building relationships with other sports [and teams] in the NBA, the NFL and college programs, just to get an idea what other teams do.”
Ferry specifically said that the the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Clemson University all have facilities that provided inspiration.
Thursday’s tour began in the home clubhouse, which comes complete with a barbershop. That area was unveiled last spring during Phase 1 of the renovations.
Reporters and TV crews are getting a tour of the renovated facilities at GMS. Here’s a look at the locker room, as well as the barbershop. #Yankees #Rays pic.twitter.com/8LQkR4eABi
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 13, 2025
From there, Ferry showed off the team meeting room and baseball ops department. The latter is where you can find baseball ops, pro scouting and analytics staffers. Department directors and assistant GMs have offices along this wall. Brian Cashman is also stationed in there.
The #Yankees‘ team meeting room at GMS: pic.twitter.com/1OBnBnBdLA
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 13, 2025
A partial look at the new baseball ops space at GMS. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/TRQm5wAx4r
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 13, 2025
A look at the batting cages followed, though only two of the cages are exclusively for hitters. Another is for catching drills, while a fourth one is multi-purpose. TV monitors provide real-time feedback on pitch metrics, launch angles, exit velocities and more.
The cages and player dining space at GMS. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/AN3W61Arog
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 13, 2025
There’s also a two-story weight room, which overlooks one of the GMS side fields and parts of Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And when players need to recover, they can go to a training room that features massage tables, whirlpools, cold tubs and more.
The GMS weight room comes with a nice view of Field 2. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/OALzqLpk4Y
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 13, 2025
Come on in. The water’s warm.
A look at the GMS whirlpools and training room. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/f2IceSCtDT
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 13, 2025
There’s also a players lounge with a ping-pong table and arcade games.
“Aaron Boone talks a lot about culture with our players,” Ferry said. “How do you get to know those players and those teammates on a professional level, on a personal level, on a baseball level? These spaces allow for that. We hope that they come. We hope that they stay. We hope that they utilize everything as best as they can under this roof as long as possible.”
The GMS players lounge includes a ping pong table and your favorite arcade games. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/2NauyDArhP
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 13, 2025
Last but not least came the Yankees’ dining hall, where players can eat indoors or outside while enjoying fresh, made-to-order meals, salads, snacks, coffee, protein powder and various drinks. On Thursday, tequila lime flank steak, esquite salmon and chicken fajitas were among the options reporters could taste.
It’s meal time!
A look at the GMS food hall. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/yHN1lf3jfL
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 13, 2025
A small sampling of the food available to the #Yankees at GMS. pic.twitter.com/CJ7hopVRqp
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 13, 2025
While spring training is only a few days old, Ferry said GMS’ revitalization has drawn rave reviews. He’s particularly happy with how everything turned out, as the facility needed an overhaul as the Yankees and the sport changed over the years.
“We love this home,” Ferry said. “We love the city of Tampa. But just over time, the game’s grown and evolved and spaces need to get bigger. We’ve added staff over time as well, and we modernized as we grew.”
Of course, the Yankees won’t have the new-look GMS to themselves for much longer.
The Rays are moving in for the regular season after Hurricane Milton ravaged Tropicana Field, and they’ll take over all the areas reporters saw on Thursday, including the home clubhouse. The Yankees will not have access, even when they visit GMS for regular season games.
“The Rays will enjoy this,” Cole said. “I can tell you that.”
However, Cole pushed back against the idea of Tampa Bay benefiting from homefield advantage when the Yanks return to GMS in April and August.
“It’s still George’s Field,” he noted.