Tropicana Field
St. Petersburg, FL

Nearly a decade after its completion Tampa Bay finally was awarded a baseball team to play at Tropicana Field in 1998. Wanting to attract a major league baseball team to the area, construction began on a dome stadium in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area on November 22, 1986. A dome stadium was chosen because of the rain that the area receives throughout the year. Originally named the Florida Suncoast Dome, the stadium opened on March 3, 1990. Once the stadium opened officials began trying to lure several teams (San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle) to the area. However this was unsuccessful. Although the stadium did not have a baseball team it was used for basketball, hockey and many other events. Finally in 1995 Major League Baseball awarded the area a franchise. The team called the Tampa Bay Rays would begin playing at the dome in 1998. Although the stadium had originally been built for baseball, the organization decided to renovate the stadium to make it more like a ballpark. It was the last stadium built with a dome and looks similar to a cookie cutter stadium. The stadium was closed for 17 months while it was renovated. In 1996 the stadium was renamed Tropicana Field after Tropicana Juice purchased the naming rights. Part of the $85 million renovations included wider concourses, installation of Astroturf, clubhouses, dugouts, additional luxury suites, restrooms, elevators, escalators and administrative offices. The seating capacity was reduced from 48,000 to 45,000.

The Tampa Bay Rays played their first game on March 31, 1998 when fans filled Tropicana Field to see professional baseball for the first time. Fans enter the main entrance of Tropicana Field through a giant rotunda reminiscent of Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. Once inside the stadium, visitors find themselves in a location known as Centerfield Street. Found here is the Center Field Street Brewhouse, the Rays team store, the Capitan Morgan Deck and the Hitters Hall-of-Fame featuring artifacts of some of the greatest hitters in baseball. One of the most unique features at Tropicana Field is the Rays Touch Tank, a 35-foot, 10,000 gallon tank, where fans can touch rays. It is located just beyong the fence in right-center field. Upon entering the field area, fans view a sea of blue seats. The lower level of seats extend from right center field to homeplate and around to left center field. The upper level of seats extend down the base lines. An area of seats above the lower level in left field is a place called the Beach. This is a section with beach decor and tropical foliage. Tropicana Field's outfield wall has many nooks and crannies that provides interesting plays off the wall. Beyond the centerfield wall is the Batter’s Eye Restaurant. The main scoreboard is located beyond the right centerfield seats. After the 1999 season, the Astroturf was removed and replaced by Field Turf, a plastic grass. Since 2007, the Rays have been exploring the possibility of building a new ballpark in Tampa. Obstacles blocking potential construction include funding and location issues, however, the Rays are focused on building a new ballpark in the future. Although the Rays struggled for a decade on the field, in 2008 the team's and fan's fortunes changed as the team won the 2008 American League pennant.