For the first time in many years, the Tampa Bay Rays will be playing their spring training games right here in St. Pete, and tickets to catch spring training games at Tropicana Field are on sale now. The ball club officially kicks things off with a tilt against the New York Yankees today at Disney World, then they return to Tropicana Field for the remainder of spring training, beginning this Thursday afternoon. Single-game tickets are available through the MLB Ballpark App and at raysbaseball.com.

Technically, the Rays team schedule for spring training is split between The Trop and Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex. However, all but one game will be played at Tropicana Field. The club will use the Disney complex for spring workouts, and will play one Grapefruit League there on February 28 against the New York Yankees.

The Rays are having to move as a result of damage from Hurricane Ian to their Port Charlotte facilities, and this is expected to only be a one-year switch. While the move is only temporary, it is sure to be welcomed by businesses in the City of St. Pete, as baseball fans who previously went elsewhere will now be spending that leisure time in the Burg.

Of course, this isn’t the first time the Rays have played their spring training games in St. Pete – Al Lang Stadium was their preseason home for more than a decade after coming to town. The Rays will play more than two dozen spring training games in February and March ahead of their season opener at home against the Detroit Tigers on March 30.

However, this isn’t the only big news to come the Rays. Less than a month ago, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch announced he had selected the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines bid to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District and construct a new baseball stadium. While this doesn’t *technically* guarantee the Rays will stay in the Burg, it certainly makes that prospect incredibly likely.