Kalamazoo Growlers Invite Tampa Bay Rays to Play at Homer Stryker Field in 2025

The Kalamazoo Growlers are nothing, if not generous to their fans, and welcoming to any other team that comes into the friendly confines of Homer Stryker Field. So it wasn't surprising this past week, when the Growlers organization saw another team in need, and extended an offer to them to play in Kalamazoo during next year's baseball season.

The thing is, that team is the Tampa Bay Rays - a Major League Ball Club, who at the moment is without a home after recent hurricane destruction in Florida. So, what do you say Rays... you wanna come play in the friendly confines of Homer Stryker? We do have quite the Championship History here.

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About a month ago, we all witnessed the destruction of Hurricane Milton as it made landfall in Sarasota, Florida, just outside of Tampa Bay. The damage was widespread, and one of the unfortunate victims to the hurricane, structurally, was the roof to Tropicana Field.

It's odd to think that a stadium with a soft roof like this couldn't just become an open-air stadium for one season while they work on a new plan moving forward, but unfortunately, that's now how the stadium was constructed, and from a structural, and health point of view, the roof either has to return, or they need to build a new stadium.

Sadly, this means that the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team is currently without a home field, and likely won't have one for all of the 2025 season.

GROWLERS TO THE RESCUE

Thankfully, there are plenty of baseball fields around the country that are willing to put up the Rays for the season, and this week, the Growlers extended an official invite to host them for the 2025 season.

"Official: We're inviting the Tampa Bay Rays to play all of their home games in Kalamazoo, MI at Homer Stryker Field next season. As fellow baseball diehards, we know the importance of having a strong home field advantage. Our Stadium, known for its intimate atmosphere and passionate fans, offers a unique and welcoming environment for teams of all levels... What do you think, Tampa Bay Rays?"

They also boast that the outfield fences are only 291 feet at left field, and 330 feet at the right field flag pole, so Homer Stryker Field would offer a LOT of opportunities for home runs, bat flips, and viral celebrations from the players.

I kinda like the idea of the Rays embracing a small, minor league field for the entire year, and this isn't the first time the Growlers have extended an invite to a Major League Team.

When it was announced last year that the A's would be leaving Oakland, but without a home stadium in Las Vegas as of yet, THEY would need a temporary home as well, and the Growlers offered up Homer Stryker, then too.

I know we're all mostly Tigers, Cubs, and White Sox fans in the Kalamazoo area, but what do you think? If the Rays DID accept our invite and played their home games at Homer Stryker Field, would you get involved, go to the games, and support the team?

Also, what would the Growlers do? They'd have to get creative with their scheduling for sure, but... worth it, right?