Stinky sewage seeps throughout Yankees' Steinbrenner Field: 'It's spring training for the toilets, too'

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Feb 21, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees’ spring home opener was a real you know what show, and not just because the visiting Tigers surrendered 20 runs in the exhibition.

As putrid as some of the play on the field was, it hardly compared to the literal stench that came from the lower level of George M. Steinbrenner Field, where sewage water leaked into the Yankees’ clubhouse and flooded parts of the concourse outside the stadium.

“It’s spring training for the toilets, too,” said a Yankees spokesperson, making light of a stinky situation.

They added that a drainage issue in the surrounding area was responsible for the noxious odor and pools of water that popped up.

Numerous maintenance employees attempted to clean up the spills as fans headed for the exits and even tore up the ground in front of one entrance in order to work on some pipes. Some security guards, meanwhile, tried to steer folks away from the waste and blocked off some puddles with barriers.

Not everyone heeded the guards’ advice.

“Don’t worry, it’s just sewage,” one fan told his wife as she stepped through the dirty water on their way to the parking lot.

While the lavatories accessible to fans didn’t seem to have any issues during the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that the filth was “seeping” from the Yankees’ clubhouse bathrooms to the carpeted space that houses the players’ lockers.

Because of that, the manager, Aaron Judge, Spencer Jones and Carlos Lagrange conducted postgame interviews in the hallway outside of the clubhouse, which never opened to reporters. The foul smell permeated the area, too.

Because the main entrance to the clubhouse was also flooded, other players had to leave through a side door.

“Life gets you sometimes. It’s OK. We’ll get through it,” Boone said. “It’s not great, and it’s all over the place. So hopefully we get it cleaned up here overnight and [we’re] back in business tomorrow.”

Saturday was not the first time Steinbrenner Field had a sewage problem.

Back in 2023, prior to the stadium’s renovations and toward the end of spring training, a similar scent ran rancid throughout the clubhouse. It was so bad that one player sat by his locker with his shirt covering his nose for over half an hour.

“It smells like S--- City in here,” another yelled as he quickly exited the room.