#30: Tropicana Field

Tropicana Field

One Tropicana Drive

St. Petersburg, Florida 33705

Capacity:  31,042

Indoors/outdoors:  Non-retractable roof

Notable Game Attended:  Orioles v. Rays; October 2, 2012

If you’ve ever been to the greater Tampa Bay area, there are probably a few things you notice right away.  The first is, no matter the time of year, it’s very hot and very humid.  The second is the magnificent bridges that span both Old Tampa Bay and new Tampa Bay (simply called “Tampa Bay”).  While these bridges are certainly nice to look at and form quite the picturesque sight line, they also are symbolic of one of the biggest problems that the area’s major league ballclub experiences on a nightly basis.  In short, the stadium, located in St. Petersburg, is not the most accessible place on Earth.  Nor is it located in a particularly bustling area.   Nor is it particularly nice to look at both inside and out.  Combine all those things, throw in the fact that the most successful team in baseball history has already laid claim to much of the area, and you have a recipe for disaster.  The result of that recipe?  The #30 ranked stadium on the list, Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.

A bit of background.  Tropicana Field (formerly called the “Florida Suncoast Dome”) was built with the sole purpose of bringing a baseball team to Western Florida.  At the time (the late 1980s, to be exact), I’m sure this place was seen as a practical building as domes were all the rage in baseball from the late 60s until about the turn of the century.  Most importantly, the roof would shelter fans and players alike from the oppressive heat offered by Florida summers.  The problem was, of course, that no team came.  Not until 1998 when the Rays (then called Devil Rays) and Arizona Diamondbacks both joined Major League Baseball.  I’m not sure on this, but I would bet that fans and ownership alike both grew tired of “The Trop” early on.  While Arizona enjoyed a brand new park the Rays were stuck in baseball purgatory (or hell) playing their games in what can only be described as a Costco with AstroTurf; a dark, dreary, lifeless place that cannot possibly stick around if the Rays hope to remain in the Tampa Bay area.

Baseball purists will tell you that there is something very displeasing about watching a baseball game inside, as if it’s Anti-American or something.  I happen to disagree and can see the need for having a stadium with a roof in places like Seattle and Florida.  What the designers of the Trop failed to keep in mind, I think, is that just because a place needs to be indoors does not mean that it has to feel like you’re watching a baseball game in a dungeon.  The first thing you notice when stepping inside Tropicana Field is how “dark” the place is.  It’s poorly lit, the walls are gray and the concourses are lifeless.  Walking out into the seating section offers little relief from the depressing feel of the place.  The only color afforded radiates from a “Tropicana” ad in the outfield and the yellow foul poles.  The roof looks like it was designed to be featured in a Hollywood film about dystopian America and houses concentric catwalks that actually hang low enough that balls often hit them.  This absurdity cannot be overstated.  PART OF THE ROOF CAN BE HIT BY BASEBALLS.  To mitigate this “problem” the Rays have a unique set of ground rules which, if memory serves, apply different results depending on which catwalk is hit.  I believe one of them results in an out, the other results in a ground rule double and the final ring results in a home run.  Of course, there is no place for something like this in a ballpark, which is another reason why The Trop is ranked so low.  All parks have their quirks, that’s what makes them so unique, but the Trop’s quirk is by far the toughest one to digest for baseball fans.

As previously mentioned, the location and surrounding area are not ideal.  Rays’ ownership has often criticized the park as being located away from the heart of the Tampa Bay region, and they are correct.  The park is in St. Petersburg which is located across from the City of Tampa and requires traversing an almost three mile bridge across Old Tampa Bay to get to.  Once you arrive, there is not much in the way of pre-game festivities to be found.  I believe my buddy and I found the one bar close to the park and it was actually a chill place, owing largely to the fact that, unless there is a playoff game going on, not a soul enters this place, adding to the lifelessness.  I know in the introduction I said I would not hold “lack of atmosphere” against a place if the team was bad, but the fact of the matter is, this place is deserted whether the Rays are in first place or last, a testament to just how bad a place it is to catch a baseball game.

Not all is lost, however.  The slanted roof is unique and looks pretty cool, I guess.  And in center field there is a tank of sting rays (stingers removed) that folks can go up and pet prior to a game.  This is a unique feature that is probably pretty necessary in what is otherwise an incredibly unremarkable place. 

So yea, the worst park in the majors.  Someone had to be last and Tampa, it's you.  Hopefully it won’t be around much longer as it looks like the Rays will either get their new park or try to head North of the Border, but I suppose only time will tell.  In the meantime the Trop will live on, to the chagrin of us all.

UPDATES

-A reader informed me of the actual ground rules at The Trop concerning the catwalks.  Apparently, none of the rings are an automatic out, but it does provide for some high comedy.  You see, defensive players often try to line up the ball when fielding a fly ball, and basic geometry and physics dictates that every hit ball will come down to Earth in some sort of beautiful parabola.  The catwalks completely mess this up and thus make any "can of corn" hit at the Trop an adventure.

-I CANNOT BELIEVE I forgot to mention the gorgeous display at the Trop honoring the final night of the 2011 regular season.  For those not familiar with the events surrounding this wonderful night (aka anyone that isn't a Rays, Red Sox or Orioles fan), the evening ended with the Red Sox blowing a historic division lead, thanks to the gutsy play of one Robert Andino.  Anyway, this "mural" does a much better job at highlighting the events of that evening than I ever could, so check it out if you're ever in the stadium.  For us Orioles' fans, this night was the highlight of a 13-year period of pure awfulness which was, thankfully, put to rest in 2012.