Rays To Split Spring Training Season Between Tropicana Field, Disney

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — After the team’s Port Charlotte facility was damaged during Hurricane Ian, the Tampa Bay Rays had to make alternate plans for the upcoming spring training season.

The Major League Baseball team will kick off the season at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, where it will host its spring training camp and a Feb. 28 home game, according to MLB.com.

After this, in early March, the team will head back to St. Petersburg, where the Rays will host the remainder of its spring training home games at Tropicana Field. The stadium is its home for regular season game play.

“We are thankful for Disney’s willingness and ability to accommodate our unexpected Spring Training needs,” Rays president Matt Silverman said in a statement. “ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex will provide our players and coaches with first-class facilities for their annual ramp-up to the season.”

Tickets for the Rays’ spring training games will be released in January, the team said.

The Rays and Charlotte County announced earlier this month that Charlotte Sports Park, Tampa Bay’s spring training home, can’t be used during the 2023 spring training season because of damage sustained during Hurricane Ian at the end of September.

The team has used the facility for spring training since 2009.