Sunday, July 8, 2012

A Day at Tropicana Field


On the 4th of July, I attended the New York Yankees v. Tampa Bay Rays game at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, FL.  “The Trop” is the 16th MLB stadium I have visited.  It is clearly the worst facility I have visited in Major League Baseball.  First of all, the facility has a fixed roof with synthetic turf.  Since the Metrodome was replaced with Target Field, “The Trop” is now the only fixed roof stadium in MLB.  The only other synthetic field is the Rogers Centre in Toronto.  Let go to the photos of the facility:
The Exterior:



The Entrance:


The View from CF:


Entering Section 101:


View from Section 101:



A Shot of the Concourses:


Fo years I have heard and read that the location and the facility is a main reason for fans not attending Rays games.  After visiting the facility, I agree.  The stadium is in St. Pete which is a good 30-45 minute drive from Tampa.  Once inside, the facility is old and not up to today’s stadium standards.  To be honest, the Rays have done all they can to make this as good a facility for baseball as possible.  With that said, there is only so much that can do done to a facility with a fixed roof in south Florida with small concourses.  
Here’s to a new facility in Tampa.  Joe Madden’s team plays a good brand of baseball.  I think a new facility would bring the fans to the ballpark and improve the Rays franchise and make it a desired destination for free agents.
Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.
Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

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