The Yankees will rename their spring training home Steinbrenner Field in honor of the man who has owned the team since 1973. The ballpark has been called Legends Field since it opened in 1996.

"I am humbled and flattered," Steinbrenner said in a statement Tuesday.

The name change was endorsed this month by the Tampa City Council and the Hillsborough County Commissioners.

"We feel this is a terrific way to honor our father's longstanding philanthropic commitment to Tampa," the owners' sons, Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, said in a statement. "Our father has always made clear how much he values Tampa's role in playing host to the New York Yankees' spring-training and the Tampa Yankees."

Hank Steinbrenner, the team's senior vice president, took over running baseball operations from his 77-year-old father last fall and Hal Steinbrenner, chairman of Yankee Global Enterprises, heads the business end. .