Rays returning to Port Charlotte for spring training next year after hurricane forced move

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla, (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays will return to Port Charlotte for spring training in 2024 after relocating this year due to extensive damage to team training facilities caused by Hurricane Ian. The Rays had trained since 2009 at Charlotte Sports Park, which is about 80 miles south of their regular-season home of Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay used the former Atlanta Braves’ complex at the ESPN Wide World of Sports facility in Kissimmee in 2023 for early workouts and one game against the New York Yankees before playing the rest of its home spring training games at its domed stadium in St. Petersburg.