Tropicana Field
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Tropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since 1998.
[edit] History
[edit] 1980s
The ballpark originally began construction in 1986 in the hope that it would lure a Major League Baseball team to the Tampa Bay area. It was taken for granted that a domed stadium was necessary for a prospective major league team to be viable in the area, due to its extremely hot, humid summers and frequent thunderstorms.
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.
[edit] 1990s
The stadium was finished in 1990, but still had no tenants. 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 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.
The Suncoast Dome did manage to gain a tenant in 1993 when the 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 attendance records were set during their time there. The Tampa Bay Storm of the AFL also played there during the Thunderdome era, and set attendance records for that league as well.
Finally, in 1995, the dome got 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 $70 million renovation then took place — to upgrade a stadium that had cost $115 million to complete only eight 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.
Although Tropicana was purchased by PepsiCo in 1998, PepsiCo did not elect to make any changes to Tropicana's naming rights.
[edit] 2000s
The park was initially built with an AstroTurf 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 astroturf fields the field at Tropicana had a full dirt infield as opposed to having only dirt sliding areas around the bases,and this configuration was kept when FieldTurf was installed.On August 6, 2007, the temporary 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 Sting 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 Rays. 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 35ft. x 64ft. (10.5m x 19.4m) 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 FSN Florida and WXPX airing at least a quarter of the schedule in HD in 2007 and accommodating the new video board's 16x9 SD capabilities.
[edit] Features
[edit] Architectural
The most recognizeable exterior feature of Tropicana Field is probably 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 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 900ft.-long (272 m) 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.
The primary 100-level concourse is at street level along the outfield, and is elevated along the infield, accessible via elevators, escalators and stairs. The 200-level loge box concourse is further separated, and is carpeted, as it includes the entrances to the luxury suites. The 300-level concourse is the highest of the concourses.
[edit] Amenities
There are a total of 63 luxury suites. 48 are accessible from the 200-level, while the other 15 are located on the 100-level.
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 buffet and premium seating.
[edit] Concessions
There are three restaurants at Tropicana Field: The Budweiser Brewhouse (located on the outfield 100-level concourse), the Batter's Eye Restaurant (accessible via escalator/elevator from the main rotunda) and the Cuesta Rey Cigar Bar (across from the Batter's Eye). The Cuesta Rey Cigar Bar is the only indoor location at Tropicana Field where smoking is permitted.
There are field-level party areas along the baselines behind each bullpen. The right field party area, behind the Rays bullpen, was converted into the Checkers Bullpen Cafe. Tickets can be purchased to sit in the area, and come with a free meal from the Checker's vendor on the outfield 100-level concourse.
In addition to various generic vendors and Checker's, there are also concession stands for Outback Steakhouse (including their famous "Bloomin' Onion" appetizer) and Papa John's Pizza. 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. [1]
[edit] Ted Williams Museum/Hitters Hall of Fame
In 2006, the Ted Williams Museum/Hitters Hall of Fame was moved to the facility after its original facility in Hernando, Florida, went bankrupt. A new 7,000-square-foot upstairs wing was opened in 2007, which now houses the exhibits on Ted Williams' careers both with the Boston Red Sox and the United States Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War, and 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 is open during game days, opening and closing at the same time as the park. Admission is free, and the museum is open to all ticketholders.
[edit] Picture Gallery
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