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Yankees unveil renovated Steinbrenner Field, temporary home for Rays' 2025 season

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Published  February 13, 2025 10:50pm EST
Tampa
FOX 13 News

Preparations at Steinbrenner Field

Steinbrenner Field is about to be open for business after a two-year renovation project, and when the Yankees wrap up Spring Training, they'll loan it to the Tampa Bay Rays for the season. Genevieve Curtis reports.

The Brief

    • The Yankees finished massive upgrades to Steinbrenner Field before they hand the keys to the Rays for the 2025 regular season.
    • The renovations include player locker rooms, the stadium's kitchens, and amenities for players, such as barbershops.
    • The Rays are using Steinbrenner Field as their temporary home stadium after Hurricane Milton tore the roof off Tropicana Field last year.

TAMPA, Fla. - It's not too often that you spend two years on an expensive renovation and then, after two months, hand the keys over to your divisional rival.

But that’s exactly what the New York Yankees will do this year after completing a transformation of Steinbrenner Field, which they will loan to the Tampa Bay Rays for the regular season after Hurricane Milton caused serious damage to Tropicana Field in St. Pete.

Player locker room in Steinbrenner Field.

The players' locker room at Steinbrenner Field.

"It definitely feels like New York meets Tampa as best as we could," said Matthew Ferry, the director of baseball operations for the Yankees.

The backstory:

New York meets Florida, a theme in the design of the renovations to Steinbrenner Field, from the subway tiles and corner barbershop in the locker room, melding into open-air garage door weight rooms and palm tree-lined lounge spaces.

Barber shop inside Steinbrenner Field.

The barber shop inside Steinbrenner Field.

The Bronx will meet Tampa in another way this year when the division rival Rays take the keys to the home locker room for the season.

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"It will be weird for us to kind of be on the visiting side in our own facility, but ultimately, like, it was the right thing to do. That's what our owner Hal Steinbrenner said at the end of the day because the Rays needed a place to play," said Ferry.

If there’s ever a good time to need a ‘pinch’ stadium, it would be now, after the Yankees finished a two-year renovation project.

The upgrades feature 27,000 square feet of player amenities, a brand-new weight room, red light therapy rooms, and a dedicated kitchen where players can meet their nutrition goals.

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Cafeteria inside Steinbrenner Field. 

All the changes were intentionally designed with feedback from vets like Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, giving the Rays something in the ballpark of a major league stadium.

Dig deeper:

"I think the spaces are major league quality, especially on the home and visiting sides. MLB has certain standards in terms of square footage, and I think we checked most, if not all, of those boxes," said Ferry.

The ‘visiting clubhouse’ was also renovated and expanded to accommodate the Rays.

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Once spring training wraps, staff will be there for four days to cover up or switch out the hundreds of Yankee logos and branding scattered throughout.

Gym inside Steinbrenner Field.

Gym inside Steinbrenner Field.

For now, the Boys from the Bronx get to enjoy their renovated home away from home.

"I saw Ron Guidry when he reported yesterday, and he's seen this place from day one onward. He said he basically needs a map because it's brand new, but everyone's feedback's been incredible," said Ferry.

The first spring training game for the Yankees is on Feb. 21 against the Rays, which is only fitting for this season.

The Source: FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis collected the information in this story.

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