The Tampa Bay Rays came home Monday — and a sellout crowd of 25,114 made sure it sounded like it — as they beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 in their first game at Tropicana Field in 561 days.
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“What a moment for the community,” Rays CEO Ken Babby said.
The franchise returned to its St. Petersburg dome after a year of displacement because Hurricane Milton left it broken, moldy and unplayable in October 2024.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor each threw out ceremonial first pitches, a symbolic nod to a season spent split between cities — and a return that felt bigger than baseball.
Babby, part of the ownership group led by Patrick Zalupski that purchased the team last fall, framed the moment as both responsibility and opportunity.
“You know, we don't have a sophisticated business. We are community stewards, and we're trying to do what's right … and continue that work forward,” Babby said during the Rays.TV broadcast. “There’s great history and great rooted tradition, and now we’re trying to take this franchise … to the next level, both on the field, and, of course, off.”
The new ownership group has committed additional private money on top of the roughly $57 million the city of St. Petersburg spent to restore the stadium, with at least three more seasons expected at the Trop. He pointed out the new sound system, lights, video board, turf and "a lot of new seats."
"We replaced almost all the seats in between the dugouts, you know, which are really special, and a lot of happy fans here today," he said. "We're out here working as hard as we can, because our fans deserve it, and it is our honor to do so."
Fans gave the renovated facility good marks - as home runs by Cedric Mullins, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero the helped the Rays win their third straight game this season to even their mark at 5-5.
