Today was game day! We drove to Tropicana Field for a 1310 hrs baseball game between the Oakland A's and the Tampa Bay Rays. From where we are camping the drive was about 45 minutes considering the primarily 25 mph speed limit on base and we are about as far away from the main gate in the FamCamp as you can get!. Once off base the drive was not bad, the traffic was light and we were able to Tropicana Field and get in line for parking quickly. They are only operating at about 20% fill at the ballparks here, so there are tons of parking spaces therefore plenty of room for the big ol' brown truck. We still parked as far out as we could and had no one even close to us.
Tropicana Field started out as the Florida Suncoast Dome in 1990 and became the ThunderDome in 1993 when a National Hockey League team came here. It was renamed Tropicana Field on Oct 4, 1996, in accordance with a naming rights agreement between the Rays and Bradenton's Tropicana Dole Beverages North America.
Millions of dollars have been invested in Tropicana Field over the years and it shows. What a beautiful field and stadium. We were disappointed the stadium tours have been suspended due to COVID so we asked at Fan Services about areas of the stadium we should see and if they have a "heritage area". We were told there was not, but our online research says otherwise. There is apparently a Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame located in Center Field Street but it was closed. Very disappointing.
At Fan Services Doreen got her MLB "passport" stamped which is a date/time stamp proof of attendance. At most MLB stadiums Fan Services also issue a "first game" certificate for those who are attending an MLB game for the first time. Due to COVID they have suspended the certificates, BUT, they offer a QR code scan that allows you to go back and create your own certificate after the fact!
After that we made our way all the way around the stadium looking at the various vendors and their fare.
The Kid's Club. When they sign up they get some Tampa Bay swag and are treated like royalty!
We did not put two and two together before attending this game! Doreen and I lathered up with sun screen at the truck, hats on and sun glasses in place! Tropicana Field is a dome! And it does not open! It is like the UNI dome in Cedar Falls. It is held up by air pressure. So a pleasant surprise inside the dome with an air conditioned, pleasant 72 degrees and no need for sun screen! Ha! It was absolutely wonderful inside, especially with only 20% capacity. No lines for anything and no one around us!
As we did our self-tour of the stadium we found the string ray touch tank in the outfield, void of sting rays! Apparently due to COVID they have not been brought here yet from the aquarium. Normally you can touch them and watch them swim around.
One of the group ticket areas of Tropicana Field
We had great seats in section 123, which is the closest section to the field. You can see here they attendance was very light.
A view from our seats near third base line
A view from the outfield about the string ray tank.
Former Cardinal Stephan Piscotty up to bat. We sent this picture back to Jim Freese, a military comrade and a huge Card's fan.
Lunch was a Cuban sandwich for me and a chicken fajita for Doreen. They had a good selection of food in the stadium. We were able to stay for quite a bit of the game. We did get a photo op with the Tampa Bay Rays mascot "Raymond" before having to head back to the campground to let our dog out.
Oakland would go on to beat the Rays 3-2. We are glad we were able to visit this stadium during our sweep through Florida. Our next ball game will be in Miami on 9 May when the Milwaukee Brewers visit the Miami Marlins!
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