The new year will place the Rays in a new ballpark, as the team will play its home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field in 2025.
Located in Tampa, Florida, the GMS complex has been the Yankees’ spring training home since 1996, and its main field seats 11,026 people. Earlier this offseason, the two teams announced an agreement that will allow the Rays to play there this coming season after Hurricane Milton ravaged Tropicana Field, located in St. Petersburg, in October.
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, who lives in Tampa, called the agreement “the right thing to do for [the Rays’] fanbase, many of whom are my neighbors and friends.” That said, The AP reported that the Yankees will get about $15 million in revenue for hosting the Rays.
“It made sense,” Steinbrenner added. “I’m happy to be doing it.”
While this arrangement will let the Rays stay close to home, playing at GMS, an outdoor stadium, will come with some hurdles.
Tropicana’s dome has always shielded the Rays from Florida’s high heat and relentless rain, the latter of which could wreak havoc on an MLB schedule that’s already undergone changes to accommodate the team’s relocation. However, Rays skipper Kevin Cash said that he personally thought the heat would be a bigger problem after years of managing in a climate-controlled ballpark.
“It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s going to be a fun, exciting, good challenge,” Cash, speaking about the move in general terms, said at the Winter Meetings. “First of all, appreciative of the Yankees and MLB for being so accommodating, allowing us to go over there.”
In addition to potential scheduling nightmares, the Rays’ residency at GMS will come with countless logistical considerations. Those were detailed in full in a press release last month.
The #Yankees sent out this info on the #Rays‘ relocation to Steinbrenner Field: pic.twitter.com/OV0TWaYUUw
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) December 8, 2024
The GMS complex will remain the Yankees’ spring training home in 2025, but they’ll be treated like any other visitor once camp ends. That means the Yankees will use the visitors’ facilities, such as the batting cages and training areas, when they return to GMS for series against the Rays in April and August.
Injured Yankees often rehab at GMS, but anyone heading to Tampa for recovery will be restricted to the club’s player development complex across the street in 2025.
The Rays will benefit from GMS’ home training facilities and clubhouse, which was remodeled last year, during the regular season. A new baseball operations building, set to open before spring training, will also be at the Rays’ disposal. That building will include an expanded weight room, training room, locker room, players’ and family lounges, dining space and offices for baseball ops. However, the Rays won’t have access to the Yankees’ proprietary equipment and spaces, such as the team’s indoor pitching facility.
The Rays will handle ticketing for regular season games, and they’ll keep the revenue for those contests. They’ll also sell Rays merch at GMS and determine parking rates once spring training is over.
Expenses related to regular season gameday operations will be covered by the Rays. The Rays will also be responsible for costs related to needed improvements for “Field 2” at the GMS complex, which is where the Tampa Tarpons will play in 2025.
The Tarpons, the Yankees’ Single-A affiliate, typically call GMS’ main field home during the minor league season. “Field 2,” a limited-capacity diamond adjacent to the main field, needs new lights, padding for the outfield walls, and upgrades for both dugouts. A few select Tarpons games may be played in the main stadium, including potential postseason games.
GMS’ main field also needs upgrades to the visiting clubhouse, both dugouts, camera wells, and press box in order to be major league compliant.
The Rays are expected to make modifications that will give GMS, covered in Yankees branding and signage, a homier vibe. However, the statue of late Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner, located at the main entrance, will remain in place.
Legends Hospitality will be the sole food, beverage and merch provider for all GMS events, including Rays games. Legends Hospitality and Levy Restaurants, the Rays’ vendor, will explore employment opportunities for Levy employees who were impacted by Tropicana Field’s closure.
The Rays’ scoreboard and game presentation staffers will fulfill their normal duties, and the team will run the GMS box office. However, Yankees groundskeepers will handle GMS’ maintenance.
Several members of the Yankees and Tarpons front offices, including Hal Steinbrenner, have offices at GMS. They will not be displaced.
The Rays, however, could find themselves on the move once again if they make the playoffs in 2025. It’s no guarantee that they would play postseason games at GMS; the Yankees, Rays and MLB would jointly decide on that.
While the Rays are not necessarily favored to make the playoffs next season after an 80-82, fourth-place finish in 2024, Cash is counting on his club to make the best of an unfortunate situation.
“I’m going to bet on our group,” he said. “I’m going to bet our guys are going to embrace it. We’ll come together and do everything we can to make the most of it.”