The Tampa Bay Rays’ home opener against the Colorado Rockies won’t be like any home game they’ve played before. For one thing, they won’t be playing at Tropicana Field, which was ravaged by Hurricane Milton. And, they’ll be pitching the first ball surrounded by New York Yankee paraphernalia.
The Tampa Bay Rays’ home opener against the Colorado Rockies won’t be like any home game they’ve played before. For one thing, they won’t be playing at Tropicana Field, which was ravaged by Hurricane Milton. And, they’ll be pitching the first ball surrounded by New York Yankee paraphernalia.
The Rays’ temporary home is Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees spring training facility. Yankees spring training concludes on March 23, and by March 28, the Rays’ staff will transform Steinbrenner from a beach-side reflection of New York City to the team’s new home turf. The project will take five companies, 50 installers and 80 Rays’ staff members. Â
According to KGET, the highest priority for the team is covering or removing more than 3,000 Yankees posters, signs, and advertising boards. “The 10-by-9 foot “Y-A-N-K-E-E-S” letters above the first- and third-base stands will have been covered with Rays’ markings, along with the interlocking “NY” hanging from the ceiling in the center of the clubhouse. The team store will have been emptied of pinstriped gear and restocked with Rays apparel.”
The Rays have also done some minor construction of their own to the behind-the-scenes spaces at Steinbrenner Field. “The visitors trainers room was opened to the main part of the locker room and in the equivalent of musical chairs, the training tables moved to the baseball storage area. The umpires room became the manager’s office, which was remade into the clubhouse manager’s space, and umpires were moved to a trailer outside the ballpark.” It’s a lot to do in only 120 hours.
There are a few things that the Rays aren’t allowed to transform throughout this stadium metamorphosis. The statue of former Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner, will remain outside the facility, as well as, Steinbrenner’s name above the scoreboard. The retired jerseys of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and other famous Yankees will also remain.
Perhaps the biggest change on the horizon for the Rays is that Steinbrenner Field does not have a roof. “We’re going to be playing outdoor baseball in Tampa Bay for the first time ever during the regular season and people have been talking about this for decades,” Bill Walsh, Rays’ chief business officer told KGET. “It’s kind of in our DNA to be a bit of an agitator and try to find opportunity sort of through challenges and through doing things differently. And this is certainly doing things differently.”
