21. Tropicana Field
As mentioned in my 2013 baseball stats summary, my 2014 baseball road trip was in Florida. I took advantage of my employer's timeshare in Reunion, Florida to hit both Florida parks as well as visiting some family. My parents and sister joined me for both parts of this adventure.
Our first baseball stop of the trip was an hour drive west to St. Petersburg, where we entered the domed monstrosity that is Tropicana Field. The stadium was built in 1990 to lure a team to Tampa Bay. I guess you could call it a If you build it, they will come attempt that paid off. Because it opened well before modern baseball only parks became common, it was built as a 1970s style multipurpose stadium, and indeed it hosted both the NHL and AFL for some years before it finally got the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who by the time we saw them in 2014 has rebranded themselves as the Rays (as in ray of sun). As proof of how much taste in ballparks had changed, when the Rays were awarded to Tampa in 1998 The Trop was heavily remodeled despite only being a scant eight years after it opened.
The only legacy of their old Devil Rays name is a tank of cownose rays that are in right-center field. We walked over from our seats near the right field wall to feed them bits of fish. It was a neat little exhibit. Unfortunately, it was also by far the nicest thing about the park.
The roof of The Trop is a horrible white color reminiscent of the Metrodome. Balls are very hard to pick up against the ceiling, and of course the stadium has astroturf instead of grass, although it does have a full dirt infield. The heavy air conditioning didn't quite dissipate the May heat and humidity, or perhaps it just felt clammy to me. Basically, it was the Metrodome without the crowd noise or the charm of hosting my first ever ballgame. I'm frankly amazed that MLB still plays here, but efforts to build a new, better park have failed repeatedly and the ownership of the Rays is committed to Tampa for now.
It wasn't all bad. I didn't go into it, but I did walk past the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame. You couldn't see the game from the concourses as you can in modern stadiums, but at least there was a wide variety of food options and the hallways were wide enough... ok, so I'm reaching. Apparently if we'd parked on the other side of the park (and it is surrounded by parking lots) we would have entered through some kind of rotunda with a very large mosaic.
Of more interest to me was the very first time I saw my Oakland A's outside of Jacobs Field. The A's mustered only one hit, but it was a Brandon Moss home run. That and some some poorly timed defensive errors by the Rays led the A's to 3-2 victory. We saw a ball go off the ceiling, which is always fun, and some entertaining intoxicated youth sat near us. Maximum humor value came from the drunk attractive college girl trying to get the phone number for Rays right fielder Will Myers. The park was very empty, with an announced attendance that barely cleared 10,000. We had no trouble parking on a nearby side street.
All in all, Tropicana Field is pretty much terrible. I can't recommend it. If you happen to be in Tampa and you really love baseball and/or are a stadium completist, you might as well go, but otherwise I'd wait for them to build a new park. Hey, it could happen, right?
Park Rankings
RankParkTeamFirst Visit# Visits
1 Wrigley FieldChicago CubsApril 23, 20042
2 PNC ParkPittsburgh PiratesSeptember 25, 20042
3 Jacobs FieldCleveland IndiansApril 17, 199963
4 Miller ParkMilwaukee BrewersApril 24, 20041
5 Camden YardsBaltimore OriolesJune 22, 20121
6 Kauffman StadiumKansas City RoyalsJune 9, 20131
7 Yankee Stadium (original)New York YankeesJuly 28, 20061
8 Comerica ParkDetroit TigersJuly 31, 20041
9 Turner FieldAtlanta BravesMay 5, 20071
10 Busch Stadium IIISt. Louis CardinalsAugust 8, 20131
11 Nationals ParkWashington NationalsJune 21, 20121
12 Citizens Bank ParkPhiladelphia PhilliesJune 23, 20121
13 Citi FieldNew York MetsJune 24, 20121
14 Rogers CentreToronto Blue JaysMay 21, 20051
15 Cinergy FieldCincinnati RedsAugust 8, 19984
16 Yankee Stadium (sequel)New York YankeesJune 25, 20121
17 The MetrodomeMinnesota TwinsJune 22, 19923
18 Shea StadiumNew York MetsJuly 24, 20061
19 Great American Ball ParkCincinnati RedsMay 9, 20041
20 U.S. Cellular FieldChicago White SoxApril 25, 20041
21Tropicana FieldTampa Bay RaysMay 21, 20141
Background: Prologue Memory Interlude
Our first baseball stop of the trip was an hour drive west to St. Petersburg, where we entered the domed monstrosity that is Tropicana Field. The stadium was built in 1990 to lure a team to Tampa Bay. I guess you could call it a If you build it, they will come attempt that paid off. Because it opened well before modern baseball only parks became common, it was built as a 1970s style multipurpose stadium, and indeed it hosted both the NHL and AFL for some years before it finally got the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who by the time we saw them in 2014 has rebranded themselves as the Rays (as in ray of sun). As proof of how much taste in ballparks had changed, when the Rays were awarded to Tampa in 1998 The Trop was heavily remodeled despite only being a scant eight years after it opened.
The only legacy of their old Devil Rays name is a tank of cownose rays that are in right-center field. We walked over from our seats near the right field wall to feed them bits of fish. It was a neat little exhibit. Unfortunately, it was also by far the nicest thing about the park.
The roof of The Trop is a horrible white color reminiscent of the Metrodome. Balls are very hard to pick up against the ceiling, and of course the stadium has astroturf instead of grass, although it does have a full dirt infield. The heavy air conditioning didn't quite dissipate the May heat and humidity, or perhaps it just felt clammy to me. Basically, it was the Metrodome without the crowd noise or the charm of hosting my first ever ballgame. I'm frankly amazed that MLB still plays here, but efforts to build a new, better park have failed repeatedly and the ownership of the Rays is committed to Tampa for now.
It wasn't all bad. I didn't go into it, but I did walk past the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame. You couldn't see the game from the concourses as you can in modern stadiums, but at least there was a wide variety of food options and the hallways were wide enough... ok, so I'm reaching. Apparently if we'd parked on the other side of the park (and it is surrounded by parking lots) we would have entered through some kind of rotunda with a very large mosaic.
Of more interest to me was the very first time I saw my Oakland A's outside of Jacobs Field. The A's mustered only one hit, but it was a Brandon Moss home run. That and some some poorly timed defensive errors by the Rays led the A's to 3-2 victory. We saw a ball go off the ceiling, which is always fun, and some entertaining intoxicated youth sat near us. Maximum humor value came from the drunk attractive college girl trying to get the phone number for Rays right fielder Will Myers. The park was very empty, with an announced attendance that barely cleared 10,000. We had no trouble parking on a nearby side street.
All in all, Tropicana Field is pretty much terrible. I can't recommend it. If you happen to be in Tampa and you really love baseball and/or are a stadium completist, you might as well go, but otherwise I'd wait for them to build a new park. Hey, it could happen, right?
Park Rankings
RankParkTeamFirst Visit# Visits
1 Wrigley FieldChicago CubsApril 23, 20042
2 PNC ParkPittsburgh PiratesSeptember 25, 20042
3 Jacobs FieldCleveland IndiansApril 17, 199963
4 Miller ParkMilwaukee BrewersApril 24, 20041
5 Camden YardsBaltimore OriolesJune 22, 20121
6 Kauffman StadiumKansas City RoyalsJune 9, 20131
7 Yankee Stadium (original)New York YankeesJuly 28, 20061
8 Comerica ParkDetroit TigersJuly 31, 20041
9 Turner FieldAtlanta BravesMay 5, 20071
10 Busch Stadium IIISt. Louis CardinalsAugust 8, 20131
11 Nationals ParkWashington NationalsJune 21, 20121
12 Citizens Bank ParkPhiladelphia PhilliesJune 23, 20121
13 Citi FieldNew York MetsJune 24, 20121
14 Rogers CentreToronto Blue JaysMay 21, 20051
15 Cinergy FieldCincinnati RedsAugust 8, 19984
16 Yankee Stadium (sequel)New York YankeesJune 25, 20121
17 The MetrodomeMinnesota TwinsJune 22, 19923
18 Shea StadiumNew York MetsJuly 24, 20061
19 Great American Ball ParkCincinnati RedsMay 9, 20041
20 U.S. Cellular FieldChicago White SoxApril 25, 20041
21Tropicana FieldTampa Bay RaysMay 21, 20141
Background: Prologue Memory Interlude