Tampa tourism agency makes most of Rays’ stay in Orlando

The Tampa Bay Rays’ traditional spring training home, Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, is still out of commission because of damage from Hurricane Ian, so the team has been forced to get creative with how and where it prepares for the 2023 Major League Baseball season, which officially gets underway on March 30.

That creativity included a rare appearance in Orlando on Feb. 28, when the Rays played a “home” game against the New York Yankees at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. St. Petersburg’s boys of summer drubbed the Bronx Bombers 12-0 in front of a crowd of nearly 7,000, but the occasion was also a win for Visit Tampa Bay, the destination marketing agency for Tampa and Hillsborough County.