Tropicana Field

Tropicana Field
"The Trop"
	Tropicana Field in 2022
	Tropicana Field Location in Florida Tropicana Field Location in the United States
Former names	Florida Suncoast Dome (1990–1993); ThunderDome (1993–1996)
Address	One Tropicana Drive
Location	St. Petersburg, Florida
Coordinates	27°46′6″N 82°39′12″W / 27.76833°N 82.65333°W
Public transit	16th Street & 1st Avenue S
Owner	City of St. Petersburg
Operator	Tampa Bay Rays Ltd.
Capacity	45,369 (1998); 44,027 (1999); 44,445 (2000–2001); 43,772 (2002–2006); 38,437 (2007); 36,048 (2008); 36,973 (2009–2010); 34,078 (2011–2013); 31,042 (2014–2018); 25,025 (2019–present);
Record attendance	48,044 (WWE Royal Rumble 2024)
Field size	Left Field – 315 ft (96 m); Left-Center – 370 ft (110 m); Center Field – 404 ft (123 m); Right-Center – 370 ft (110 m); Right Field – 322 ft (98 m); Backstop – 50 ft (15 m)
Surface	AstroTurf (1998–1999); FieldTurf (2000–2010); AstroTurf GameDay Grass (2011–2017); Shaw Sports Turf (2017–present)
Construction
Broke ground	November 22, 1986
Opened	March 3, 1990
Renovated	2014
Construction cost	US$130 million; ($303 million in 2023 dollars)
Architect	HOK Sport (Kansas City); Lescher & Mahoney Sports (Tampa); Criswell, Blizzard & Blouin Architects (St. Petersburg)
Structural engineer	Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers, Inc. (bowl); Geiger Engineers P.C. (roof)
Services engineer	M-E Engineers, Inc.
General contractor	Huber, Hunt & Nichols
Tenants
	Tampa Bay Storm (AFL) (1991–1996); Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) (1993–1996); Tampa Bay Rays (MLB) (1998–present); St. Petersburg Bowl (NCAA) (2008–2017) ; WWE ThunderDome (pro-wrestling) (2020–2021)

Tropicana Field (commonly known as the Trop) is a multi-purpose domed stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The stadium has been the ballpark of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) since the team's inaugural season in 1998. The stadium is also used for college football, and from December 2008 to December 2017 was the home of the St. Petersburg Bowl, an annual postseason bowl game. The venue is the only non-retractable domed stadium in Major League Baseball, making it the only year-round indoor venue in MLB. Tropicana Field is the smallest MLB stadium by seating capacity when obstructed-view rows in the uppermost sections are covered with tarps as they are for most Rays games.

Tropicana Field opened in 1990 and was originally known as the Florida Suncoast Dome. In 1993, the Tampa Bay Lightning moved to the facility and its name was changed to the ThunderDome^[12] until the team moved to their new home in downtown Tampa in 1996. In October 1996, Tropicana Products, a fruit juice company then based in nearby Bradenton, signed a 30-year naming rights deal.

Tropicana Field's location and design (especially the ceiling catwalks) have been widely criticized. Along with Oakland Coliseum, it is often cited as one of the worst ballparks in Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball has cited the need to replace Oakland Coliseum and Tropicana Field as one of the primary obstacles to future MLB expansion.^[13]^[14]^[15]

In 2023, the Tampa Bay Rays announced a deal with local politicians to build a new stadium near Tropicana Field at an expected cost of $1.2 billion, half of which would fall on taxpayers.^[16] The St. Petersburg City Council blocked a proposal to allow St. Petersburg citizens to express their view on the stadium subsidy in an advisory referendum.^[17]

^ "1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Schedule, Box Scores and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
^ Parks, Kyle (March 7, 1999). "More Than Just Show". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
^ LaPeter, Leonora (July 31, 2001). "Trop Given 90 Days to Fix Disabled Access". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
^ "Rays' home opener officially sold out". raysbaseball.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
^ "Major league baseball preview: What's new at the Trop". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
^ Chastain, Bill (December 3, 2013). "Rays Provide Glimpse of Significant Trop Renovations". Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
^ "Stadium Ground Broken". Boca Raton News. November 24, 1986. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
^ Ortiz, Jorge (March 31, 2014). "New renovations aimed to draw fans to Tropicana Field". USA Today. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^ "Detroit Tigers to roar in Comerica Park". www.achrnews.com. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
^ "Ballparks.com – Tropicana Field". www.Ballparks.com. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
^ Davey, Monica (July 31, 1993). "That rumbling's not so distant". Tampa Bay Times. p. 1B. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
^ "Ranking All 30 MLB Stadiums from Worst to Best". March 28, 2023.
^ "All 30 MLB stadiums, ranked: 2023 edition". March 25, 2023.
^ "MLB expansion is on hold, despite some financial incentives".
^ Staff, Ken Rosenthal and The Athletic. "Rays reach deal for new stadium in St. Petersburg". The Athletic. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
^ Parker, Mark (November 2, 2023). "St. Pete residents will not vote on Rays stadium deal - St Pete Catalyst". St Pete Catalyst - Your seat at the table.

[1] "1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Schedule, Box Scores and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 8, 2016.

[2] Parks, Kyle (March 7, 1999). "More Than Just Show". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved April 4, 2012.

[cap-3] LaPeter, Leonora (July 31, 2001). "Trop Given 90 Days to Fix Disabled Access". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved April 4, 2012.

[4] "Rays' home opener officially sold out". raysbaseball.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2016.

[5] "Major league baseball preview: What's new at the Trop". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2010.

[6] Chastain, Bill (December 3, 2013). "Rays Provide Glimpse of Significant Trop Renovations". Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

[7] "Stadium Ground Broken". Boca Raton News. November 24, 1986. Retrieved September 20, 2011.

[8] Ortiz, Jorge (March 31, 2014). "New renovations aimed to draw fans to Tropicana Field". USA Today. Retrieved February 27, 2018.

[inflation-US-9] 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.

[10] "Detroit Tigers to roar in Comerica Park". www.achrnews.com. Retrieved June 8, 2016.

[11] "Ballparks.com – Tropicana Field". www.Ballparks.com. Retrieved June 8, 2016.

[12] Davey, Monica (July 31, 1993). "That rumbling's not so distant". Tampa Bay Times. p. 1B. Retrieved April 7, 2018.

[13] "Ranking All 30 MLB Stadiums from Worst to Best". March 28, 2023.

[14] "All 30 MLB stadiums, ranked: 2023 edition". March 25, 2023.

[15] "MLB expansion is on hold, despite some financial incentives".

[16] Staff, Ken Rosenthal and The Athletic. "Rays reach deal for new stadium in St. Petersburg". The Athletic. Retrieved December 26, 2023.

[17] Parker, Mark (November 2, 2023). "St. Pete residents will not vote on Rays stadium deal - St Pete Catalyst". St Pete Catalyst - Your seat at the table.

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Construction
"The Trop"

Tropicana Field in 2022
Tropicana Field Location in Florida Show map of Florida Tropicana Field Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Former names	Florida Suncoast Dome (1990–1993) ThunderDome (1993–1996)
Address	One Tropicana Drive
Location	St. Petersburg, Florida
Coordinates	27°46′6″N 82°39′12″W / 27.76833°N 82.65333°W / 27.76833; -82.65333
Public transit	16th Street & 1st Avenue S
Owner	City of St. Petersburg
Operator	Tampa Bay Rays Ltd.
Capacity	45,369 (1998)^[1] 44,027 (1999)^[2] 44,445 (2000–2001)^[3] 43,772 (2002–2006) 38,437 (2007) 36,048 (2008)^[4] 36,973 (2009–2010)^[5] 34,078 (2011–2013) 31,042 (2014–2018)^[6] 25,025 (2019–present)
Record attendance	48,044 (WWE Royal Rumble 2024)
Field size	Left Field – 315 ft (96 m) Left-Center – 370 ft (110 m) Center Field – 404 ft (123 m) Right-Center – 370 ft (110 m) Right Field – 322 ft (98 m) Backstop – 50 ft (15 m)
Surface	AstroTurf (1998–1999) FieldTurf (2000–2010) AstroTurf GameDay Grass (2011–2017) Shaw Sports Turf (2017–present)
Broke ground	November 22, 1986 (November 22, 1986)^[7]
Opened	March 3, 1990 (March 3, 1990)
Renovated	2014^[8]
Construction cost	US$130 million ($303 million in 2023 dollars^[9])
Architect	HOK Sport (Kansas City) Lescher & Mahoney Sports (Tampa) Criswell, Blizzard & Blouin Architects (St. Petersburg)
Structural engineer	Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers, Inc. (bowl) Geiger Engineers P.C. (roof)
Services engineer	M-E Engineers, Inc.^[10]
General contractor	Huber, Hunt & Nichols^[11]
Tenants
Tampa Bay Storm (AFL) (1991–1996) Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) (1993–1996) Tampa Bay Rays (MLB) (1998–present) St. Petersburg Bowl (NCAA) (2008–2017) WWE ThunderDome (pro-wrestling) (2020–2021)