Sports
Fans push Rays-in-Oakland talk after Tropicana Field hurricane damage
Fans push Rays-in-Oakland talk after Tropicana Field hurricane damage originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Tropicana Field, longtime home of the Tampa Bay Rays, had its roof destroyed by Hurricane Milton last week, so could the MLB franchise play in Oakland, which no longer has a team, next season?
Former MLB general manager Jim Bowden highlighted the damages to the Rays’ stadium Tuesday on X, and asked his followers where they could see the team playing home games next season.
Hurricane Milton damage to the roof at Tropicana Field is a bigger deal than most understand. It would cost 9 figures to replace and moving into new park in a few years doesn’t make sense. #Rays can’t play there with no draining system for rain. Where will they play in 2025?
— Jim Bowden⚾️ (@JimBowdenGM) October 15, 2024
A good chunk of fans among the nearly 2,000 who initially responded — including noted scribe Woody Paige — called for more baseball at the Coliseum.
How about playing in Oakland, my friend?
— Woody Paige (@woodypaige) October 15, 2024
There’s an empty stadium in Oakland!
— Carson (@carsoncantcode) October 15, 2024
Give us the Oakland Rays!
— shaquille oatmeal (@shaquil91357742) October 15, 2024
I hear there’s a ballpark available in Oakland.
— Jon Solomon (@JonSolomon35) October 16, 2024
Last month, the A’s played their final game in Oakland, their home since 1968, and will move to West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park — currently home to the River Cats, the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate — for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 MLB seasons. Their proposed Las Vegas ballpark is scheduled to be built in time for the 2028 campaign.
The Town now is without representation in MLB, the NBA or the AFL/NFL for the first time since 1959.
But with Tropicana Field potentially out of commission for the 2025 season, perhaps MLB baseball could return to the Coliseum. Evidently, fans aren’t against the idea.