Tropicana Field

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays of Pro Baseball have called Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg their home field since their inaugural season in 1998. Construction of the ballpark originally began in 1986, when St. Petersburg was hoping for a Pro Baseball team. Thought of as a way to entice the Chicago White Sox to relocate, the stadium opened on March 3, 1990, with no official tenants. When the Tampa Bay Lighting first began playing in the National Hockey League (HHL), they played in Tropicana Field, then known as the Suncoast Dome and then the Thunderdome at that time, for their first three seasons.

When Pro Baseball expanded to Tampa Bay in 1995, Tropicana Field was ready. The $130 million ballpark was about to get its first permanent tenants beginning with the 1998 Pro Baseball season. A $70-million renovation was made to the stadium in preparation for the baseball team. Tropicana Dole Beverages paid for naming rights in 1996. The first regular season game took place on March 31, 1998, when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays hosted the Detroit Tigers.

There are many aspects of the 1.1 million square feet of Tropicana Field that are unique to the ballpark. Tropicana Field is the first in over 20 years that has an artificial turf playing field and all-dirt base paths. The seats behind the backstop are a mere 50 feet away from home plate as some of the closest seats in the league. Center Field Street is perhaps the most famous of all the renovations. Included in Center Field Street is baseball's first in-stadium cigar bar Cuesta-Rey Cigar Bar, as well as merchandise outlets, a bank, a travel agency, and various other family and fan-friendly venues. Almost 290 points of sale on the concourse is believed to be the most of any ballpark in the major leagues. Tropicana Field's dome roof is the second largest cable-supported dome roof, with the only bigger domed roof topping the Georgia Dome. Current capacity of Tropicana Field stands at 43,500 people.

Although it was built with baseball in mind, there have been 16 other sporting events and competitions that have been hosted at Tropicana Field. When the Tampa Bay Lightning played the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals on April 23, 1996, at Tropicana Field, an NHL single-game attendance record of 28,183 watched the game. During their stay at Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Storm set all of their franchise records. Various other attendance records for events in Florida have occurred at Tropicana Field.

Pro Baseball has made it known to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays that they must be out of Tropicana Field by 2010.

Getting there and getting around

Tropicana Field is located at 1 Tropicana Drive in St. Petersburg. Situated directly east of Interstate 275, Tropicana Field is easily accessible from a variety of directions including from the Tampa International Airport. Take Exit 22 off of 275. Alternatives to Exit 22 include 16th Street, Martin Luther King (9th Street), or 4th Street. There are 7,000 on-site parking spaces with most of them are located on the east side of the ballpark. For the 2006 season, the Tampa Bay Devils Rays are offering FREE parking at all home games, with an option extended to full season ticket holders to reserve a VIP parking spot close to the stadium for a mere $3 a game. Lots 1, 6A, and 7A all offer disabled parking. There are plenty of wheelchair-accessible seats located throughout the stadium.

The American League East Division hosts powerhouse ball clubs from New York and Boston. The Yankees and the Red Sox settled an old score this season as the Sox finally broke the curse of the Bambino. The Devil Rays down in Tampa Bay and the Blue Jays in Toronto show promise in their farm teams for next season and the Baltimore Orioles continue to be strong as always.

Nowadays players switch teams all the time and it's hard to keep track of who's playing for whom. So stay informed and check out the Yankees Roster, Red Sox Roster, Devil Rays Roster, Orioles Roster and the Blue Jays Roster at BuySellTix.

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