Tropicana Field
Encyclopedia
Tropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida
, which has been the home of Major League Baseball
's Tampa Bay Rays
since the team's inaugural season in 1998, when they were the Devil Rays. It has also served as the host stadium for the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
, an NCAA-sanctioned college football
bowl game
since December 2008. It is the only stadium in history to host full seasons of professional baseball, football
, hockey
and arena football
, as well as college basketball and college football contests. It is currently the only domed stadium in Major League Baseball which is not retractable.
and Tampa Bay Rowdies in the 1970s, St. Petersburg decided it wanted a share of the professional sports scene in Tampa Bay
. It was decided early on that the city would attempt to attract Major League Baseball
. Possible designs for a baseball park
or multi-purpose stadium
were proposed as early as 1983. One such design, in the same location where Tropicana Field would ultimately be built, called for an open-air stadium with a circus tent-like covering. It took several design cues from Kauffman Stadium
, including fountain
s beyond the outfield wall.
Ultimately, it was decided that a stadium with a fixed permanent dome was necessary for a prospective major league team to be viable in the area, due to its hot, humid summers and frequent thunderstorms. The ballpark began construction in 1986 in the hope that it would lure a Major League Baseball team to the facility.
The stadium, built originally as the Florida Suncoast Dome, was first used in an attempt to entice the Chicago White Sox
to relocate if a new ballpark were not built to replace the aging Comiskey Park
. The governments of Chicago and Illinois
eventually agreed to build a New Comiskey Park (now known as U.S. Cellular Field
) in 1989.
and Denver
. There were rumors of the Seattle Mariners
moving in the early part of the 1990s, and the San Francisco Giants
came close to moving to the area, with Tampa Bay investors even announcing they were in a press conference in 1992. However, the sale was blocked by National League owners who voted against the sale and move in November 1992 under pressure from San Francisco
officials and the then-owner of the Florida Marlins
, Blockbuster Video
Chairman H. Wayne Huizenga
. A local boycott of Blockbuster Video stores occurred for several years thereafter. From 1990 to 1993, several Grapefruit League spring training
games were held in the stadium, generally involving teams that had their spring training facilities in the area.
The Suncoast Dome finally got a regular tenant in 1991, when the Arena Football League's Tampa Bay Storm
made their debut. Two years later, the National Hockey League's
Tampa Bay Lightning
made the stadium its home for three seasons. In the process, the Suncoast Dome was renamed the Thunderdome. Because of the large capacity of what was basically a park built for baseball, several NHL and AFL attendance records were set during their times there.
Finally, in 1995, the dome received a baseball team when MLB expanded to the Tampa Bay area. Changes were made to the stadium and the name, which was changed due to the sale of naming rights
to Tropicana Products
, thus renaming it Tropicana Field in 1996. The completion of the Ice Palace
in downtown Tampa permitted "The Trop" to be vacated for preparation for its intended purpose, as the Lightning and Storm moved into the facility that was built for them. A US$70 million renovation then took place—to upgrade a stadium that had cost $130 million to complete only 8 years earlier. Ebbets Field
was the model for the renovations, which included a replica of the famous rotunda that greeted Dodger
fans for many years. The first regular season baseball game took place at the park on March 31, 1998, when the Devil Rays
faced the Detroit Tigers
, losing 11–6.
An SCCA
Trans-Am Series
race
was held from 1996-1997 on a temporary course
encompassing the parking lot and surrounding streets.
Although Tropicana was purchased by PepsiCo
in 1998, PepsiCo did not elect to make any changes to Tropicana's naming rights.
Tropicana Field played host to the 1999 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four which saw the Connecticut Huskies beat the Duke Blue Devils 77–74 for the championship. Since then, there has been no NCAA basketball game played at Tropicana Field.
surface, but it was replaced in 2000
by softer FieldTurf
, becoming the first major professional facility to use it. A new version of FieldTurf, FieldTurf Duo, was installed prior to the 2007
season. Unlike other artificial turf fields used in baseball, the field at Tropicana has full dirt basepaths and pitching mound as opposed to having only dirt "sliding pits" around the bases. Since Tropicana Field does not need to convert between baseball and football, sliding pits, designed to save re-configuration time, were unnecessary. On August 6, 2007, the astro turf warning track was replaced by brown-colored stone filled FieldTurf Duo.
Tropicana Field underwent a further $25-million facelift prior to the 2006
season. Another $10 million in improvements was added during the season. In 2006, the Devil Rays added a live Cownose ray
tank to Tropicana Field. The tank is located just behind the center field wall, in clear view of the play on the field. People can go up to the tank to touch the creatures. Further improvements prior to the 2007
offseason, in addition to the new FieldTurf, include additional family features in the right field area, the creation of a new premium club, and several new video boards including a new 35 ft (10.7 m) x 64 ft (19.5 m) Daktronics
LED main video board that is four times larger than the original video board. The 2007 renovation also added built-in high-definition television
capabilities to the ballpark, with Fox Sports Florida and WXPX
airing at least a quarter of the schedule in HD in 2007 and accommodating the new video board's 16x9 aspect ratio.
On September 3, 2008, in a game between the Rays
and the New York Yankees
, Tropicana Field saw the first official use of instant replay
in the history of Major League Baseball
. The disputed play involved a home run hit above the left field foul pole by Yankee Alex Rodriguez
. The ball was called a home run on the field, but was close enough that the umpires opted to view the replay to verify the call. Later, the Trop saw the first case of a call being overturned by instant replay, when a fly ball by Carlos Peña
originally ruled a ground-rule double due to fan interference, was overturned and made a home run on September 19. The umpires determined that the fan in question, originally believed to have reached over the right field wall, did not reach over the wall.
In October 2008, Tropicana Field hosted its first ever baseball postseason games as the Rays met the Chicago White Sox
in the American League Division Series
, the Boston Red Sox
in the American League Championship Series
, and the Philadelphia Phillies
in the World Series
. It hosted the on-field trophy presentations for the Rays when they became the American League Champions on October 19, following Game 7 of the ALCS. Chase Utley hit the first ever World Series home run at Tropicana Field during the first inning of Game 1 of the 2008 World Series. The Rays ended up losing the game 3–2 and eventually the World Series to the Phillies 4 games to 1.
On December 20, 2008, Tropicana Field was converted into a football stadium for the day to host the St. Petersburg Bowl (now known as the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
), a college football
bowl game
sanctioned by the NCAA.
This makes Tropicana Field one of the few venues to host the "big four" major North American sports: baseball, basketball, football and hockey (and arena football, as well). The Trop returned to a football configuration on October 30, 2009, to host one of the three home games of the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League, which the Rays had invested in.
moved out of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
into open-air Target Field
.
The first no-hitter
pitched at Tropicana Field took place on June 25, 2010, thrown by Edwin Jackson
of the Arizona Diamondbacks
. Jackson was a member of the Rays from 2006–2008. The first no-hitter at the Trop tossed by a Rays pitcher came just one month later on July 26, 2010, by Matt Garza
in front of an announced crowd of 17,009. This was also the first no-hitter in Rays history. Garza faced the minimum 27 batters as the only batter to reach base was erased by a double play hit by the next batter.
The most recognizable exterior feature of Tropicana Field is the slanted roof. It was designed at an angle to reduce the interior volume in order to reduce cooling costs, and to better protect the stadium from hurricanes. The dome is supported by a tensegrity
structure and is lit up with orange lights after the Rays win a home game. With the Minnesota Twins
vacating the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
following the 2009 season and moving into Target Field
in 2010, Tropicana Field is the only active Major League Baseball stadium with a fixed (i.e., not retractable) roof.
The main rotunda, on the east end of the stadium, resembles the Ebbets Field
rotunda on the interior. The walkway to the main entrance of the park features a 900 ft (274.3 m) long ceramic
tile
mosaic, made of 1,849,091 one-inch-square tiles. It is the largest outdoor tile mosaic in Florida, and the fifth-largest in the United States. It was sponsored by Florida Power Corporation
, which is now a part of Progress Energy
.
The primary 100-level concourse is at street level, with elevators, escalators and stairs separating the outfield and infield sections, since the ground is at different grades on either side. The 200-level loge box concourse is further separated, and is carpeted, as it includes the entrances to most of the luxury suites. The 300-level concourse is the highest of the concourses.
There are a total of 70 luxury suites. 48 are accessible from the 200-level, while the other 15 are located on the 100-level.
There are a total of 2,776 club seats at Tropicana Field. The Home Plate Club, sponsored by Kane's Furniture until 2007, features its own entrance, recliner seats and a premium buffet with in-seat service. The second club section, the Whitney Bank Club, is along the first-base side in the 100 section, at the Loge Box level. It features its own premium buffet and premium seating.
Field-level party sections were installed in the corners in 2006. The left field party section is the "Corona
Beach Bar", while the right field party section is the "Checkers
Bullpen Cafe." Before 2008, tickets to the Checkers Bullpen Cafe included a free meal at the Checkers kiosk immediately adjacent to the section. As of 2008, both the Corona and Checkers party sections feature all-you-can-eat buffet
s.
In 2008, the Rays also set aside a section of the Press Boxes on the right field side as an all-you-can-eat buffet section with typical ballpark fare. It is usually available for group parties, but it is available for individual ticketing on select dates.
Currently, the top 1/3 of the upper deck seating is tarped over, artificially reducing the stadium's capacity to 36,048 for the 2008 regular season. It was further reduced to 35,041 for the 2008 postseason since the tbt* Party Deck has been reserved by Major League Baseball as an auxiliary press area. On October 14, 2008, the Rays announced that the upper deck tarps would be removed for the remainder of the postseason, starting with a Game 6 of the 2008 American League Championship Series
. This increased the capacity of the stadium to nearly 41,000, depending on standing-room-only tickets sold.
The tank helps to create an awareness of the Florida Aquarium, and educates people about rays and other aquatic life.
The tank also helps raise money for various charities in the Tampa Bay area. Proceeds from the sale of "ray food" goes to the Florida Aquarium and the team's charitable foundation. Additionally, for every ball hit into the tank during a game by a Rays player, the Rays will donate $5,000 to charity with $2,500 going to the Florida Aquarium and $2,500 going to that player's charity of choice. To date, Luis Gonzalez is the only player to have launched a home run into the touch tank, doing so as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers
on June 24, 2007.
) and the Batter's Eye Restaurant (accessible via escalator/elevator from the main rotunda). The Center Field Brewhouse has typical restaurant fare, while the Batter's Eye has a premium buffet. The Batter's Eye is also available for group parties.
The Cuesta-Rey
Cigar Bar is located across from the Batter's Eye, and offers a large selection of cigar
s, many produced by a company founded in Tampa. It is the only indoor location at Tropicana Field where smoking is permitted.
In addition to various generic vendors and Checkers, there are also concession stands for Outback Steakhouse
(including their famous "Bloomin' Onion
" appetizer) and Papa John's Pizza
. Both Checkers and Outback are Tampa Bay-based establishments. To compete with established stadiums' hot dog traditions, the Trop introduced the "Sting 'Em" Dog
in 2007. This consists of a regular hot dog topped with chili and cheese. It was renamed "The Heater" in 2008.
The Ted Williams
Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame opened in February 1994, in Hernando, Florida
, in Citrus County—just a few blocks from the place where Williams lived in his later years.
In 2006, the museum and hall of fame
were moved to Tropicana Field after its original facility in Hernando went bankrupt. A new 7000 square feet (650.3 m²) upstairs wing was opened in 2007, which now houses the exhibits on Ted Williams' careers with the Boston Red Sox
and with the United States Marine Corps
during World War II
and the Korean War
, as well as the monuments to the members of the Hitters Hall of Fame complete with memorabilia, with donated authentic memorabilia wherever possible and many of Williams' own personal mementos from his career and post-playing life. Williams did not induct himself into his own Hitters Hall of Fame, and was inducted in 2003 only after he died.
The museum also includes a "Pitching Wall of Great Achievement", the Negro Leagues wing—including an exhibit about John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil (a "son" of Sarasota, Florida
)—the "500 Homerun Club"
exhibit, and exhibits about other topics, including the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
and the Tampa Bay Rays.
The museum is open during game days, opening at the same time as the park and closing after the seventh inning with the concession stands. Admission is free, and the museum is open to all ticketholders.
s that hang from the ceiling. The catwalks are part of the dome's support structure. It was built with cable-stayed technology similar to that of the Georgia Dome
. It also supports the lighting and speaker systems. Because the dome is tilted toward the outfield, the catwalks are lower in the outfield.
The catwalks are lettered, with the highest inner ring being the A Ring, out to the furthest and lowest, the D Ring. The A Ring is entirely in play, while the B, C and D Rings have yellow posts bolted to them to delineate the relative position of the foul lines. Any ball touching the A Ring, or the in-play portion of the B Ring, can drop for a hit or be caught for an out. The C and D Rings are out of play; if they are struck between the foul poles, then the ball is ruled a home run
.
On August 5, 2010, Jason Kubel
of the Minnesota Twins
hit a sky-high infield pop-up that would have ended the inning in a 6–6 game if caught, but the ball struck the A ring and fell safely on the infield allowing the Twins to score the go-ahead run and extend the inning in a controversial 8–6 win. As a result, on October 4, 2010, Major League Baseball approved a change in the ground rules for the A and B rings, making it so that a batted ball striking either of the two rings was automatically ruled a dead ball, regardless of whether it strikes in fair or foul territory. The rules pertaining to the C and D rings remained the same. This change lasted for just the 2010 postseason.
On the other hand, several potential hits have been lost as a result of the catwalks. For example, Devil Ray
Jonny Gomes
was called out during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays
on May 12, 2006, when a ball he hit landed in the B Ring and rolled off to be caught by Toronto shortstop John McDonald. By the time it was caught, Gomes was already headed for home plate. Although Rays manager
Joe Maddon
tried to argue that it should have been at least a ground rule double
since it stayed in the B Ring for a while before coming loose, umpires eventually ruled against the Rays and called Gomes out.
On May 26, 2008, Carlos Peña
hit a pop-fly to center field that likely would have been caught by Texas Rangers
center fielder Josh Hamilton. The ball instead hit the B ring catwalk and did not come down. Peña was mistakenly given a home run, but after deliberation the umpires awarded him a ground rule double
. This was the second time this had happened, as José Canseco
hit a ball that stuck in the same catwalk on May 2, 1999.
Many players have hit the C and D rings for home runs. The first player to ever hit the rings for a home run was Edgar Martinez
of the Seattle Mariners
on May 29, 1998. Martinez's home run went off the D ring. Three players before him hit balls that went into the C ring, however at the time, balls hitting the C ring were not ruled a home run. Two days prior to Martinez's home run, the ground rules were changed so that a if ball hit the C ring, it would be called a home run. The first player to hit the rings for a home run in postseason play was Rays
third baseman
Evan Longoria
, who hit the C ring off Javier Vázquez
of the Chicago White Sox
on October 2, 2008, in the third inning of Game 1 of the 2008 American League Division Series
.
On July 17, 2011, during a nationally televised game against the Red Sox, Rays batter Sean Rodriguez
hit a high foul popup that shattered a lightbulb on a catwalk. Pieces of the broken bulb fell to the turf near the 3rd base coach's box. After a quick cleaning delay in which the Tropicana Field PA system played the theme to "The Natural"
, the game resumed.
. However, since it was designed specifically with baseball in mind, it is somewhat smaller and the atmosphere is somewhat more intimate than in other domed stadiums, which often are built to also accommodate football games.
The current Rays' Stuart Sternberg
-led ownership group has invested several million dollars in recent years to add various amenities and decorations including a larger scoreboard, video wall, catwalk sleeves, an outfield touch-tank featuring cownose ray
s, the Mountain Dew
Extreme Zone featuring a massive sound system and numerous baseball video games, and other miscellaneous improvements to make the facility more attractive and "fan friendly".
gasification
plant and in 1987, hazardous chemicals were found in the soil around the construction site. The city spent millions of dollars to remove the chemicals from the area.
It is also widely criticized as being located away from the center of the Tampa Bay area's
population base in Tampa
.
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
, which has been the home of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
since the team's inaugural season in 1998, when they were the Devil Rays. It has also served as the host stadium for the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
The Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg is a NCAA Division I FBS college football bowl game played annually at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was first played following the 2008 college football season, when it was known as the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl after corporate...
, an NCAA-sanctioned college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
since December 2008. It is the only stadium in history to host full seasons of professional baseball, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
and arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
, as well as college basketball and college football contests. It is currently the only domed stadium in Major League Baseball which is not retractable.
1980s
After Tampa was awarded the Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
and Tampa Bay Rowdies in the 1970s, St. Petersburg decided it wanted a share of the professional sports scene in Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Area
The Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
. It was decided early on that the city would attempt to attract Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. Possible designs for a baseball park
Baseball park
A baseball park, also known as a baseball stadium, ball park, or ballpark is a venue where baseball is played. It consists of the playing field and the surrounding spectator seating...
or multi-purpose stadium
Multi-purpose stadium
Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...
were proposed as early as 1983. One such design, in the same location where Tropicana Field would ultimately be built, called for an open-air stadium with a circus tent-like covering. It took several design cues from Kauffman Stadium
Kauffman Stadium
Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium is a Major League Baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri, and home to the Kansas City Royals of the American League. Together with Arrowhead Stadium, home of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, it is a part of the Truman Sports Complex...
, including fountain
Fountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
s beyond the outfield wall.
Ultimately, it was decided that a stadium with a fixed permanent dome was necessary for a prospective major league team to be viable in the area, due to its hot, humid summers and frequent thunderstorms. The ballpark began construction in 1986 in the hope that it would lure a Major League Baseball team to the facility.
The stadium, built originally as the Florida Suncoast Dome, was first used in an attempt to entice the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
to relocate if a new ballpark were not built to replace the aging Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
. The governments of Chicago and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
eventually agreed to build a New Comiskey Park (now known as U.S. Cellular Field
U.S. Cellular Field
U.S. Cellular Field is a baseball ballpark in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, it is the home of the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball's American League. The park opened for the 1991 season, after the White Sox had spent 81 years at old Comiskey Park...
) in 1989.
1990s
The stadium was finished in 1990, but still had no tenants. The venue made St. Petersburg a finalist in the MLB expansion for 1993, but they lost out to MiamiFlorida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
and Denver
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
. There were rumors of the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
moving in the early part of the 1990s, and the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
came close to moving to the area, with Tampa Bay investors even announcing they were in a press conference in 1992. However, the sale was blocked by National League owners who voted against the sale and move in November 1992 under pressure from San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
officials and the then-owner of the Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
, Blockbuster Video
Blockbuster (movie rental store)
Blockbuster LLC is an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services, originally through video rental shops , later adding DVD-by-mail, streaming video on demand, and kiosks. At its peak in 2009, Blockbuster had up to 60,000 employees. There are around 1700 Blockbuster...
Chairman H. Wayne Huizenga
Wayne Huizenga
Harry Wayne Huizenga is an American businessman who grew Blockbuster Video, Waste Management, Inc., and AutoNation into successful companies. He is the former owner of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins, the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers and the Major League Baseball's Miami...
. A local boycott of Blockbuster Video stores occurred for several years thereafter. From 1990 to 1993, several Grapefruit League spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
games were held in the stadium, generally involving teams that had their spring training facilities in the area.
The Suncoast Dome finally got a regular tenant in 1991, when the Arena Football League's Tampa Bay Storm
Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm are an Arena Football League team based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. They play their home games in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa....
made their debut. Two years later, the National Hockey League's
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
made the stadium its home for three seasons. In the process, the Suncoast Dome was renamed the Thunderdome. Because of the large capacity of what was basically a park built for baseball, several NHL and AFL attendance records were set during their times there.
Finally, in 1995, the dome received a baseball team when MLB expanded to the Tampa Bay area. Changes were made to the stadium and the name, which was changed due to the sale of naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
to Tropicana Products
Tropicana Products
Tropicana Products is an American based company, and was founded in 1947 by Anthony T. Rossi in Bradenton, Florida, U.S.A. Since 1998, it has been owned by PepsiCo, Inc. Tropicana's headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois.-Anthony T. Rossi:...
, thus renaming it Tropicana Field in 1996. The completion of the Ice Palace
St. Pete Times Forum
The St. Pete Times Forum is an arena in Tampa, Florida, that has been used for ice hockey, basketball, and arena football games, as well as concerts....
in downtown Tampa permitted "The Trop" to be vacated for preparation for its intended purpose, as the Lightning and Storm moved into the facility that was built for them. A US$70 million renovation then took place—to upgrade a stadium that had cost $130 million to complete only 8 years earlier. Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
was the model for the renovations, which included a replica of the famous rotunda that greeted Dodger
History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
-Early Brooklyn baseball:Brooklyn was home to numerous baseball clubs in the mid-1850s. Eight of 16 participants in the first convention were from Brooklyn, including the Atlantic, Eckford, and Excelsior clubs that combined to dominate play for most of the 1860s...
fans for many years. The first regular season baseball game took place at the park on March 31, 1998, when the Devil Rays
1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season
The 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was their first season in franchise history. This season, they finished last in the AL East division and finished the season with a record of 63-99. Their manager was Larry Rothschild....
faced the Detroit Tigers
1998 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers finished in fifth place in their first season in the American League Central Division with a record of 65-97 , 24 games behind the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers were outscored by their opponents 863 to 722...
, losing 11–6.
An SCCA
Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.-History:...
Trans-Am Series
Trans-Am Series
The Trans-Am Series is an automobile racing series which was created in 1966 by Sports Car Club of America President John Bishop. Originally known as the Trans-American Sedan Championship it has evolved over time from its original format as a manufacturers championship for modified racing sedans...
race
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida.-History:Racing in the St. Petersburg area dates back to 1985. The SCCA Trans-Am Series held a race on a downtown waterfront circuit from 1985-1990. Local residents and businesses complained about...
was held from 1996-1997 on a temporary course
Street circuit
A street circuit is a racing circuit composed by temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Facilities such as the paddock, pit boxes, fences and grandstands are usually placed temporarily and removed soon after the race is over but in modern times the...
encompassing the parking lot and surrounding streets.
Although Tropicana was purchased by PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
in 1998, PepsiCo did not elect to make any changes to Tropicana's naming rights.
Tropicana Field played host to the 1999 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four which saw the Connecticut Huskies beat the Duke Blue Devils 77–74 for the championship. Since then, there has been no NCAA basketball game played at Tropicana Field.
2000s
The park was initially built with an AstroTurfAstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
surface, but it was replaced in 2000
2000 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season
The 2000 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was their 3rd since the franchise was created. This season, they finished last in the AL East division, and managed to finish the season with a record of 69-92. Their manager were Larry Rothschild, who entered his 3rd year with the club...
by softer FieldTurf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
, becoming the first major professional facility to use it. A new version of FieldTurf, FieldTurf Duo, was installed prior to the 2007
2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays' 2007 season, the 10th season in franchise history, involved the Devil Rays trying to improve on their 2006 season, where they finished last in the American League East Division, and managed to finish the season with a league-worst record of 61-101. During the offseason...
season. Unlike other artificial turf fields used in baseball, the field at Tropicana has full dirt basepaths and pitching mound as opposed to having only dirt "sliding pits" around the bases. Since Tropicana Field does not need to convert between baseball and football, sliding pits, designed to save re-configuration time, were unnecessary. On August 6, 2007, the astro turf warning track was replaced by brown-colored stone filled FieldTurf Duo.
Tropicana Field underwent a further $25-million facelift prior to the 2006
2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season
The 2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was their ninth since the franchise was created. This season, they finished last in the AL East division, and managed to finish the season with a league-worst record of 61-101...
season. Another $10 million in improvements was added during the season. In 2006, the Devil Rays added a live Cownose ray
Cownose ray
The cownose ray is a species of eagle ray found throughout a large part of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, from New England, USA to southern Brazil. Cownose rays grow rapidly, and male rays often reach about in width and weigh . Females typically reach in width and weigh .-Gestation:The...
tank to Tropicana Field. The tank is located just behind the center field wall, in clear view of the play on the field. People can go up to the tank to touch the creatures. Further improvements prior to the 2007
2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays' 2007 season, the 10th season in franchise history, involved the Devil Rays trying to improve on their 2006 season, where they finished last in the American League East Division, and managed to finish the season with a league-worst record of 61-101. During the offseason...
offseason, in addition to the new FieldTurf, include additional family features in the right field area, the creation of a new premium club, and several new video boards including a new 35 ft (10.7 m) x 64 ft (19.5 m) Daktronics
Daktronics
Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
LED main video board that is four times larger than the original video board. The 2007 renovation also added built-in high-definition television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
capabilities to the ballpark, with Fox Sports Florida and WXPX
WXPX
WXPX-TV is a television station licensed to Bradenton, Florida. Operating on channel 66 , it is an Ion Television affiliate, owned and operated by ION Media Networks , which has owned the station since its founding in 1994.Current programming on WXPX is virtually the same as other ION affiliates --...
airing at least a quarter of the schedule in HD in 2007 and accommodating the new video board's 16x9 aspect ratio.
2008 Tampa Bay Rays season
The Tampa Bay Rays' 2008 season, the 11th season in franchise history, marked the change of the team's name from the "Tampa Bay Devil Rays" to the "Tampa Bay Rays", as revealed on November 8, 2007. The change in name also came with a change in logo and uniforms, with new team colors of Columbia...
and the New York Yankees
2008 New York Yankees season
The 2008 New York Yankees season was the 106th season for the New York Yankees franchise. The Yankees hosted the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday July 15, 2008. It was the 83rd and last season at Yankee Stadium prior to the team's move to a new ballpark just north of the current...
, Tropicana Field saw the first official use of instant replay
Instant replay
Instant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
in the history of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. The disputed play involved a home run hit above the left field foul pole by Yankee Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez is an American professional baseball third baseman with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. Known popularly by his nickname A-Rod, he previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.Rodriguez is considered one of the best...
. The ball was called a home run on the field, but was close enough that the umpires opted to view the replay to verify the call. Later, the Trop saw the first case of a call being overturned by instant replay, when a fly ball by Carlos Peña
Carlos Peña
Carlos Felipe Peña is a Dominican professional baseball left-handed first baseman. He played previously with the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs.Although he was born in Santo Domingo and his family is from San Francisco de Macorís,...
originally ruled a ground-rule double due to fan interference, was overturned and made a home run on September 19. The umpires determined that the fan in question, originally believed to have reached over the right field wall, did not reach over the wall.
In October 2008, Tropicana Field hosted its first ever baseball postseason games as the Rays met the Chicago White Sox
2008 Chicago White Sox season
The 2008 Chicago White Sox Season is the organization's 109th season in Chicago and 108th in the American League. The White Sox won the American League Central division title for the first time since 2005. They finished the regular season tied with the Minnesota Twins and won a one-game playoff...
in the American League Division Series
2008 American League Division Series
-Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox:-Game 1, October 1:Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, CaliforniaIn a re-match of last year's ALDS, starters Jon Lester and John Lackey were sharp early on, each tossing a couple of scoreless innings. The Angels finally got on the board in the third, when...
, the Boston Red Sox
2008 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox' 2008 season began on March 25, in Tokyo, Japan for the MLB Japan Opening Day 2008. The Red Sox were attempting to become the first repeat World Series Champions since the 1999–2000 New York Yankees and also be the first repeat Champions of the 21st century. They also tried to...
in the American League Championship Series
2008 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Friday, October 10, 2008 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FloridaBoston won a pitcher's duel on a sac fly by Jed Lowrie in the fifth and an RBI double by Kevin Youkilis in the eighth. Starter Daisuke Matsuzaka was nearly unhittable in Game 1 of the 2008 ALCS. He held the Rays hitless...
, and the Philadelphia Phillies
2008 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies' 2008 season was the 126th in the history of the franchise. The team finished with a regular season record of 92–70, first in the National League East. In the post-season, the Phillies won the World Series; this was the first major sports championship for...
in the World Series
2008 World Series
The 2008 World Series was the 104th World Series between the American and National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies as champions of the National League and the Tampa Bay Rays, as American League champions, competed to win four games out of a possible...
. It hosted the on-field trophy presentations for the Rays when they became the American League Champions on October 19, following Game 7 of the ALCS. Chase Utley hit the first ever World Series home run at Tropicana Field during the first inning of Game 1 of the 2008 World Series. The Rays ended up losing the game 3–2 and eventually the World Series to the Phillies 4 games to 1.
On December 20, 2008, Tropicana Field was converted into a football stadium for the day to host the St. Petersburg Bowl (now known as the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
The Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg is a NCAA Division I FBS college football bowl game played annually at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was first played following the 2008 college football season, when it was known as the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl after corporate...
), a college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
sanctioned by the NCAA.
This makes Tropicana Field one of the few venues to host the "big four" major North American sports: baseball, basketball, football and hockey (and arena football, as well). The Trop returned to a football configuration on October 30, 2009, to host one of the three home games of the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League, which the Rays had invested in.
2010s
Tropicana Field became the only fixed dome structure in use in Major League Baseball when in 2010, the Minnesota TwinsMinnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
moved out of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
into open-air Target Field
Target Field
Target Field is a baseball park located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the home ballpark of the Minnesota Twins, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It is the franchise's sixth ballpark and third in Minnesota. The Twins moved to Target Field for the 2010 Major League Baseball...
.
The first no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
pitched at Tropicana Field took place on June 25, 2010, thrown by Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson is an American professional baseball pitcher.-Early life:Jackson's father, Edwin Jackson, Sr., a military cook, was stationed in Germany at the time of his birth. Jackson is one of 27 major league players who were born in Germany...
of the Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
. Jackson was a member of the Rays from 2006–2008. The first no-hitter at the Trop tossed by a Rays pitcher came just one month later on July 26, 2010, by Matt Garza
Matt Garza
Matthew Scott Garza is a United States professional baseball pitcher with the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball.-Amateur career:He attended Washington Union High School and Fresno State.-Minnesota Twins:...
in front of an announced crowd of 17,009. This was also the first no-hitter in Rays history. Garza faced the minimum 27 batters as the only batter to reach base was erased by a double play hit by the next batter.
Architectural
Tensegrity
Tensegrity, tensional integrity or floating compression, is a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, in such a way that the compressed members do not touch each other and the prestressed tensioned members delineate the...
structure and is lit up with orange lights after the Rays win a home game. With the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
vacating the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
following the 2009 season and moving into Target Field
Target Field
Target Field is a baseball park located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the home ballpark of the Minnesota Twins, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It is the franchise's sixth ballpark and third in Minnesota. The Twins moved to Target Field for the 2010 Major League Baseball...
in 2010, Tropicana Field is the only active Major League Baseball stadium with a fixed (i.e., not retractable) roof.
The main rotunda, on the east end of the stadium, resembles the Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
rotunda on the interior. The walkway to the main entrance of the park features a 900 ft (274.3 m) long ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
mosaic, made of 1,849,091 one-inch-square tiles. It is the largest outdoor tile mosaic in Florida, and the fifth-largest in the United States. It was sponsored by Florida Power Corporation
Florida Power Corporation
Florida Power Corporation was the generation, transmission, and distribution sector of Florida Progress Corporation. The company distributed power over much of central and north Florida. Today the company operates as Progress Energy Florida....
, which is now a part of Progress Energy
Progress Energy Park
Progress Energy Park is a 7,227 seat baseball stadium located on the downtown waterfront of St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is named in honor of Al Lang, a former mayor of St. Petersburg who helped to bring professional baseball to the city...
.
The primary 100-level concourse is at street level, with elevators, escalators and stairs separating the outfield and infield sections, since the ground is at different grades on either side. The 200-level loge box concourse is further separated, and is carpeted, as it includes the entrances to most of the luxury suites. The 300-level concourse is the highest of the concourses.
Seating and amenities
The seating is arranged with odd sections on the left field side, and even sections on the right field side. 100-level seating wraps around the entire field, broken at center field by the Batter's Eye Restaurant, with loge boxes along the infield from foul pole to foul pole. 200-level seating is the press boxes along the foul lines, broken by the press box behind home plate, with the luxury boxes directly behind and above them. 300-level seating wraps around the infield along the lines, and also features the "tbt* Party Deck," a small-capacity seating area above the left field outfield seats with separate concessions inside. Rows are lettered starting closest to home plate and rise as you move further away.There are a total of 70 luxury suites. 48 are accessible from the 200-level, while the other 15 are located on the 100-level.
There are a total of 2,776 club seats at Tropicana Field. The Home Plate Club, sponsored by Kane's Furniture until 2007, features its own entrance, recliner seats and a premium buffet with in-seat service. The second club section, the Whitney Bank Club, is along the first-base side in the 100 section, at the Loge Box level. It features its own premium buffet and premium seating.
Field-level party sections were installed in the corners in 2006. The left field party section is the "Corona
Corona (beer)
Corona Extra, better known as Corona and labeled as Coronita in Spain, is a brand of pale lager owned and produced by Cerveceria Modelo at a number of breweries in Mexico. It is one of the best-selling beers in Mexico and is one of the top-selling beers worldwide...
Beach Bar", while the right field party section is the "Checkers
Checkers (fast food)
Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. is the largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants in the United States. In June 2006, the Company went private through a merger with Taxi Holdings Corp., an affiliate of Wellspring Capital Management, a private equity firm.The company operates more than 815...
Bullpen Cafe." Before 2008, tickets to the Checkers Bullpen Cafe included a free meal at the Checkers kiosk immediately adjacent to the section. As of 2008, both the Corona and Checkers party sections feature all-you-can-eat buffet
Buffet
A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events...
s.
In 2008, the Rays also set aside a section of the Press Boxes on the right field side as an all-you-can-eat buffet section with typical ballpark fare. It is usually available for group parties, but it is available for individual ticketing on select dates.
Currently, the top 1/3 of the upper deck seating is tarped over, artificially reducing the stadium's capacity to 36,048 for the 2008 regular season. It was further reduced to 35,041 for the 2008 postseason since the tbt* Party Deck has been reserved by Major League Baseball as an auxiliary press area. On October 14, 2008, the Rays announced that the upper deck tarps would be removed for the remainder of the postseason, starting with a Game 6 of the 2008 American League Championship Series
2008 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Friday, October 10, 2008 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FloridaBoston won a pitcher's duel on a sac fly by Jed Lowrie in the fifth and an RBI double by Kevin Youkilis in the eighth. Starter Daisuke Matsuzaka was nearly unhittable in Game 1 of the 2008 ALCS. He held the Rays hitless...
. This increased the capacity of the stadium to nearly 41,000, depending on standing-room-only tickets sold.
The Rays Touch Tank
Just over the right-center field fence is the Rays Touch Tank. This 35-foot, 10,000 gallon tank is filled with cow nose rays that were taken from Tampa Bay waters. Admission to the tank area is free for all fans attending home games, but there is a limit of 50 people in the area at any given time. Not only do fans get to see the rays up close and get an education about them, but they are allowed to feed them as well.The tank helps to create an awareness of the Florida Aquarium, and educates people about rays and other aquatic life.
The tank also helps raise money for various charities in the Tampa Bay area. Proceeds from the sale of "ray food" goes to the Florida Aquarium and the team's charitable foundation. Additionally, for every ball hit into the tank during a game by a Rays player, the Rays will donate $5,000 to charity with $2,500 going to the Florida Aquarium and $2,500 going to that player's charity of choice. To date, Luis Gonzalez is the only player to have launched a home run into the touch tank, doing so as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
on June 24, 2007.
Concessions
There are two sit-down restaurants at Tropicana Field: the Center Field Brewhouse (located on the outfield 100-level concourse; formerly sponsored by BudweiserBudweiser
Budweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...
) and the Batter's Eye Restaurant (accessible via escalator/elevator from the main rotunda). The Center Field Brewhouse has typical restaurant fare, while the Batter's Eye has a premium buffet. The Batter's Eye is also available for group parties.
The Cuesta-Rey
Cuesta-Rey
Cuesta-Rey is a brand of hand-made cigar, founded in 1884 by Angel LaMadrid Cuesta and Peregrino Rey....
Cigar Bar is located across from the Batter's Eye, and offers a large selection of cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
s, many produced by a company founded in Tampa. It is the only indoor location at Tropicana Field where smoking is permitted.
In addition to various generic vendors and Checkers, there are also concession stands for Outback Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse is an American casual dining restaurant chain based in Tampa, Florida with over 1200 locations in 22 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It was founded in February 1988 in Tampa by Bob Basham, Chris T...
(including their famous "Bloomin' Onion
Blooming onion
A blooming onion, onion bloom, onion blossom, or onion 'mum is a dish consisting of one large onion which is cut to resemble a flower, battered and deep fried. It is served as an appetizer at some restaurants....
" appetizer) and Papa John's Pizza
Papa John's Pizza
Papa John's Pizza is the third largest take-out and delivery pizza restaurant chain in the United States, behind Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza. It is based in Louisville, Kentucky. Papa John's slogan is "Better Ingredients. Better pizza. Papa John's"...
. Both Checkers and Outback are Tampa Bay-based establishments. To compete with established stadiums' hot dog traditions, the Trop introduced the "Sting 'Em" Dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
in 2007. This consists of a regular hot dog topped with chili and cheese. It was renamed "The Heater" in 2008.
Ted Williams Museum/Hitters Hall of Fame
- For list of inductees and recipients of various awards, see footnote
The Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame opened in February 1994, in Hernando, Florida
Hernando, Florida
Hernando is a city in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,253 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hernando is located at ....
, in Citrus County—just a few blocks from the place where Williams lived in his later years.
In 2006, the museum and hall of fame
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
were moved to Tropicana Field after its original facility in Hernando went bankrupt. A new 7000 square feet (650.3 m²) upstairs wing was opened in 2007, which now houses the exhibits on Ted Williams' careers with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
and with the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, as well as the monuments to the members of the Hitters Hall of Fame complete with memorabilia, with donated authentic memorabilia wherever possible and many of Williams' own personal mementos from his career and post-playing life. Williams did not induct himself into his own Hitters Hall of Fame, and was inducted in 2003 only after he died.
The museum also includes a "Pitching Wall of Great Achievement", the Negro Leagues wing—including an exhibit about John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil (a "son" of Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
)—the "500 Homerun Club"
500 home run club
In Major League Baseball , the 500 home run club is a term applied to the group of batters who have hit 500 or more regular-season home runs in their careers. On August 11, 1929, Babe Ruth became the first member of the club. Ruth ended his career with 714 home runs, a record which stood from 1935...
exhibit, and exhibits about other topics, including the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. During the league's history, over 600 women played ball.-History:...
and the Tampa Bay Rays.
The museum is open during game days, opening at the same time as the park and closing after the seventh inning with the concession stands. Admission is free, and the museum is open to all ticketholders.
Catwalks
Among the most cited criticisms about the stadium are the four catwalkCatwalk (theater)
A catwalk is an elevated service platform from which many of the technical functions of a theater, such as lighting and sound, may be manipulated.- Function :...
s that hang from the ceiling. The catwalks are part of the dome's support structure. It was built with cable-stayed technology similar to that of the Georgia Dome
Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
. It also supports the lighting and speaker systems. Because the dome is tilted toward the outfield, the catwalks are lower in the outfield.
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
.
On August 5, 2010, Jason Kubel
Jason Kubel
Jason James Kubel is an American professional baseball player. A Belle Fourche, South Dakota native, Kubel was drafted by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2000 Draft after playing high school ball at Highland High School.-Early life:...
of the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
hit a sky-high infield pop-up that would have ended the inning in a 6–6 game if caught, but the ball struck the A ring and fell safely on the infield allowing the Twins to score the go-ahead run and extend the inning in a controversial 8–6 win. As a result, on October 4, 2010, Major League Baseball approved a change in the ground rules for the A and B rings, making it so that a batted ball striking either of the two rings was automatically ruled a dead ball, regardless of whether it strikes in fair or foul territory. The rules pertaining to the C and D rings remained the same. This change lasted for just the 2010 postseason.
On the other hand, several potential hits have been lost as a result of the catwalks. For example, Devil Ray
2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season
The 2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was their ninth since the franchise was created. This season, they finished last in the AL East division, and managed to finish the season with a league-worst record of 61-101...
Jonny Gomes
Jonny Gomes
Jonathan Johnson "Jonny" Gomes is an American professional baseball outfielder.-Early years:...
was called out during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays
2006 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 2006 Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing 2nd in the American League East with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses. For the second straight season, Blue Jays hitters combined for less than 1,000 strikeouts...
on May 12, 2006, when a ball he hit landed in the B Ring and rolled off to be caught by Toronto shortstop John McDonald. By the time it was caught, Gomes was already headed for home plate. Although Rays manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Joe Maddon
Joe Maddon
Joseph John Maddon is the Major League Baseball manager for the Tampa Bay Rays.He previously served as interim manager of the Anaheim Angels in both 1996 and 1999. He was also a long-time bench coach for the team.-Early life and career:Maddon attended Lafayette College, where he played baseball...
tried to argue that it should have been at least a ground rule double
Ground rule double
In baseball, a ground rule double is an award of two bases from the time of pitch to all baserunners including the batter-runner as a result of the ball leaving play after being hit fairly and leaving the field under a condition of the ground rules in effect at the field where the game is being...
since it stayed in the B Ring for a while before coming loose, umpires eventually ruled against the Rays and called Gomes out.
On May 26, 2008, Carlos Peña
Carlos Peña
Carlos Felipe Peña is a Dominican professional baseball left-handed first baseman. He played previously with the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs.Although he was born in Santo Domingo and his family is from San Francisco de Macorís,...
hit a pop-fly to center field that likely would have been caught by Texas Rangers
2008 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers' 2008 season was the 48th year of the franchise and 37th since moving to Arlington, Texas. The organization, after finishing second in the American League Western Division in 2007. The new season would be the first under the oversight of newly-hired club president and former...
center fielder Josh Hamilton. The ball instead hit the B ring catwalk and did not come down. Peña was mistakenly given a home run, but after deliberation the umpires awarded him a ground rule double
Ground rule double
In baseball, a ground rule double is an award of two bases from the time of pitch to all baserunners including the batter-runner as a result of the ball leaving play after being hit fairly and leaving the field under a condition of the ground rules in effect at the field where the game is being...
. This was the second time this had happened, as José Canseco
José Canseco
José Canseco Capas, Jr. is a Cuban-American professional baseball manager, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League and former Major League Baseball player. He is the identical twin brother of former major league player and current teammate Ozzie Canseco...
hit a ball that stuck in the same catwalk on May 2, 1999.
Many players have hit the C and D rings for home runs. The first player to ever hit the rings for a home run was Edgar Martinez
Edgar Martinez
Edgar Martínez , nicknamed "Gar" and "Papi", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and designated hitter. He spent his entire 18-year Major League career with the Seattle Mariners. He is the cousin of Carmelo Martínez.-Seattle Mariners:On December 19, 1982, the Seattle Mariners signed...
of the Seattle Mariners
1998 Seattle Mariners season
The Seattle Mariners 1998 season was their 22nd since the franchise creation, and ended the season finishing 3rd in the American League West, finishing with a record of 76-85.-Offseason:...
on May 29, 1998. Martinez's home run went off the D ring. Three players before him hit balls that went into the C ring, however at the time, balls hitting the C ring were not ruled a home run. Two days prior to Martinez's home run, the ground rules were changed so that a if ball hit the C ring, it would be called a home run. The first player to hit the rings for a home run in postseason play was Rays
2008 Tampa Bay Rays season
The Tampa Bay Rays' 2008 season, the 11th season in franchise history, marked the change of the team's name from the "Tampa Bay Devil Rays" to the "Tampa Bay Rays", as revealed on November 8, 2007. The change in name also came with a change in logo and uniforms, with new team colors of Columbia...
third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
Evan Longoria
Evan Longoria
Evan Michael Longoria is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays. Formerly, Longoria was a star infielder for the Long Beach State University baseball team, the Cape Cod League MVP, and the Big West Co-Player of the Year.He made his major league debut for the Rays in , and...
, who hit the C ring off Javier Vázquez
Javier Vázquez
Javier Carlos Vázquez is a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Previously, he pitched for the Florida Marlins , Atlanta Braves , Chicago White Sox , Arizona Diamondbacks , New York Yankees and Montreal Expos . Vázquez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico...
of the Chicago White Sox
2008 Chicago White Sox season
The 2008 Chicago White Sox Season is the organization's 109th season in Chicago and 108th in the American League. The White Sox won the American League Central division title for the first time since 2005. They finished the regular season tied with the Minnesota Twins and won a one-game playoff...
on October 2, 2008, in the third inning of Game 1 of the 2008 American League Division Series
2008 American League Division Series
-Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox:-Game 1, October 1:Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, CaliforniaIn a re-match of last year's ALDS, starters Jon Lester and John Lackey were sharp early on, each tossing a couple of scoreless innings. The Angels finally got on the board in the third, when...
.
On July 17, 2011, during a nationally televised game against the Red Sox, Rays batter Sean Rodriguez
Sean Rodriguez
Sean John Rodriguez is a Cuban American Major League Baseball short stop for the Tampa Bay Rays.-High school career:...
hit a high foul popup that shattered a lightbulb on a catwalk. Pieces of the broken bulb fell to the turf near the 3rd base coach's box. After a quick cleaning delay in which the Tropicana Field PA system played the theme to "The Natural"
The Natural (film)
The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
, the game resumed.
Bullpens
The bullpens are located along (and close to) the left and right field foul lines and there are no barriers that separate them from the field of play. In fact, fly balls hit into the bullpens are in play. The bullpen players and the pitching mounds are obstacles for fielders chasing fly balls into the pen. Teams have to station a batboy behind the catchers in the bullpens to prevent them from being hit by foul balls from behind. This style of bullpen used to be common in the Major Leagues, and is still in use in a number of other stadiums.Interior
Another criticism of the stadium is the drab interior environment, especially early in the (Devil) Rays existence, when the stark concrete interior was compared to a large warehouseWarehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
. However, since it was designed specifically with baseball in mind, it is somewhat smaller and the atmosphere is somewhat more intimate than in other domed stadiums, which often are built to also accommodate football games.
The current Rays' Stuart Sternberg
Stuart Sternberg
Stuart L. Sternberg is a Wall Street investor. He is the principal shareholder of the ownership group that owns the Tampa Bay Rays, and has acted as the team's Managing General Partner since November 2005....
-led ownership group has invested several million dollars in recent years to add various amenities and decorations including a larger scoreboard, video wall, catwalk sleeves, an outfield touch-tank featuring cownose ray
Cownose ray
The cownose ray is a species of eagle ray found throughout a large part of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, from New England, USA to southern Brazil. Cownose rays grow rapidly, and male rays often reach about in width and weigh . Females typically reach in width and weigh .-Gestation:The...
s, the Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is a citrus-flavored carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman and was first marketed in Marion, VA, Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee. A revised formula was...
Extreme Zone featuring a massive sound system and numerous baseball video games, and other miscellaneous improvements to make the facility more attractive and "fan friendly".
Location
The dome was built on the former site of a coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
gasification
Gasification
Gasification is a process that converts organic or fossil based carbonaceous materials into carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane. This is achieved by reacting the material at high temperatures , without combustion, with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam...
plant and in 1987, hazardous chemicals were found in the soil around the construction site. The city spent millions of dollars to remove the chemicals from the area.
It is also widely criticized as being located away from the center of the Tampa Bay area's
Tampa Bay Area
The Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
population base in Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
.
See also
- St. Pete Times ForumSt. Pete Times ForumThe St. Pete Times Forum is an arena in Tampa, Florida, that has been used for ice hockey, basketball, and arena football games, as well as concerts....
, home of the Tampa Bay LightningTampa Bay LightningThe Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
and Tampa Bay StormTampa Bay StormThe Tampa Bay Storm are an Arena Football League team based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. They play their home games in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.... - Raymond James StadiumRaymond James StadiumRaymond James Stadium, also known as the "Ray Jay", is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Tampa, Florida. It is home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as the NCAA's South Florida Bulls football team. The stadium seats 65,857 , and it is expandable to 75,000 for special events...
, home of the Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
and South Florida BullsSouth Florida Bulls footballThe South Florida Bulls are a Division I FBS college football program that plays its home games in Tampa, Florida. The team began playing in 1997, holding its first team meeting under a shade tree as the school had no proper football facilities on campus... - Rays BallparkRays BallparkRays Ballpark was the name used in project documents for a ballpark in the current location of Progress Energy Park on the Tampa Bay waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, proposed by the Tampa Bay Rays as a replacement for Tropicana Field....
, proposed new stadium for the Tampa Bay RaysTampa Bay RaysThe Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
that is currently delayed indefinitely.