"Oakland has a chance to do the funniest thing" - MLB fans suggest new home for Rays as Tropicana Field faces extensive repairs after hurricane

The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly searching for a temporary home stadium after Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, was left considerably damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

As per Marc Tompkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the stadium will need numerous repairs and will not be ready in time for the Opening Day of the 2025 season on March 27.

As per Tompkin, Tropicana Field sustained "extensive" damage during the Category 3 hurricane which has not yet been fully assessed. Therefore, it is not clear as to how long it will take to get the arena back in order. Tompkin also repored that the roof of the stadium is the most impacted part of the structure, while several of the team offices have also been damaged.

As a result, the Rays are currently on the lookout for a venue to host their home games. The fans responded to the news on X, formerly Twitter, by suggesting the Coliseum, which has been recently vacated by the Oakland Athletics.

"Oakland has a chance to do the funniest thing," posted MLB Deadline News.

"Coliseum can hold their 8,500 fans easy," one fan reacted to the comment.

"Oakland Rays had a nice ring to it," said another fan.

The comments continued to pour in on social media.

"There’s a stadium in Oakland that is newly available," said one fan.

"You couldnt repair the Coliseum in time for the Rays either," wrote another fan.

"Still think they would play in Tampa with that situation then the Coliseum," another fan said.

The Coliseum was opened in 1966 as the home stadium for the NFL team the Oakland Raiders until 1981, when it moved to Los Angeles, and again from 1995 to 2019, when it moved to Las Vegas. It has served as the home of the Oakland Athletics since 1968 up until 2024. However, the A's are shifting to Sacramento next season with plans of moving to Las Vegas for the long term.

Future uncertain for Rays franchise

As one of the newest expansion teams along with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Tampa Bay Rays played their inaugural MLB season in 1998. They have played the home games at Tropicana Field since their inception and have claimed four division titles and two American League championships over the course of their short history.

However, the Rays regularly rank near the bottom of the MLB with regards to fan attendance. They recorded just over 1.3 million spectators in total during their home games in this regular season, which is the third lowest behind the Oakland Athletics and the Miami Marlins.

The team will probably have to play their home games next season at a nearby minor league facility with much smaller capacity. Therefore, being unable to play at Tropicana Field for a year could result in huge financial repercussions for the franchise.