ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) \u2014 The Tampa Bay Rays are heading home.<\/p>\n
The team announced Wednesday it will return to an updated Tropicana Field for the 2026 season after playing its entire 2025 home schedule at\u00a0Steinbrenner Field in Tampa<\/a>\u00a0while damage to the Trop\u00a0caused by Hurricane Milton<\/a>\u00a0in October 2024 was repaired.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are excited to return home to Tropicana Field in April and to once again join our fans and neighboring businesses in downtown St. Petersburg in celebrating the return of Rays baseball,\u201d team CEO Ken Babby said in a statement.<\/p>\n Repairs to the stadium\u2019s roof and other internal areas are ongoing, and the Rays are planning to play their home opener against the Chicago Cubs on April 6 after starting the season on the road.<\/p>\n The team announced several new ticket options that go on sale Thursday, as well as ballpark upgrades including an expanded main videoboard, new video displays behind home plate and along both foul poles, a new sound system and updated suite interiors.<\/p>\n The club is planning events to celebrate former Rays third baseman Evan Longoria to commemorate his time with the franchise, including induction into the team hall of fame.<\/p>\n The Rays finished with a 41-40 record at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees, and sold out 61 of 81 games while drawing 786,750 fans. Playing home games in an open-air ballpark for the first time, the Rays experienced 17 rains delays over 16 games for a total of 17 hours, 47 minutes.<\/p>\n Tropicana Field’s roof was torn to shreds by Hurricane Milton. The stadium that opened in 1990 featured what the team called the world\u2019s largest cable-supported domed roof, with the panels made of \u201ctranslucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass\u201d supported by 180 miles of cables connected by struts.<\/p>\n The team has\u00a0new owners<\/a>, who are starting a search for a\u00a0new ballpark<\/a>\u00a0that could open in 2029.<\/p>\n