The Rays’ opener was pushed back a day, giving more time to prepare Steinbrenner Field

The Tampa Bay Rays’ season opener against the Colorado Rockies was pushed back a day to March 28, Monday, to give the team an extra day to adapt Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

Tampa Bay is play a home games at the Yankees’ spring training facility in 2025 due to damage to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg by Hurricane Milton on October 9.

The Yankees’ final home practice game will be against the New York Mets on March 24.

The Yankees said Sunday that the Rays “will have limited permission to sell regular season advertising inventory in all seating areas, including stadium concourse walls, scoreboard (both signage and video boards) and the outfield walls.

The Rays staff will operate the scoreboard and employ elements from Tampa Bay. The statue of late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner will remain in place outside the stadium, but no decisions have been made regarding the large YANKEES signs on each side of the stadium and the Yankees mural on the back of the scoreboard. display facing North Dale Mabry Highway.

Tampa Bay is programmed to play 19 of its first 22 games at home and 37 of 54 through May 28, then will play 64 of its final 108 games on the road to try to avoid summer storms at the outdoor ballpark.

The site of any Rays playoff game would be decided jointly by the Rays, Yankees and Major League Baseball, the Yankees said.

Tampa Bay will use the Yankees’ clubhouse on the first base side, which was renovated during the 2023-24 offseason. New York will use the visitors’ clubhouse for its regular season games at Steinbrenner Field.

A building containing a visitors’ batting cage and weight room was previously constructed on the third base side and additional team dining rooms and a new weight room are under construction on the first base side.

Yankees staff will not have access during the regular season to their pitching facility near the No. 3 backfield and rehabbing players will be limited to the nearby minor league facility on Himes Avenue at Columbus Avenue. The Rays will not have access to the Yankees’ pitching facilities.