June 7, 2022, Tampa, FL - OK, let's get right to it. The Tampa Bay area is hot. Really hot. I know we all prefer outside baseball stadiums. But frankly, I was happy to attend our two Rays games in the air conditioning. Did I mention Tampa is hot?
Having said that, there is not much charm to the indoor Tropicana Field. The outside of the stadium looks like a big, grey, lopsided tent. This inside reflects the aesthetics of the outside. I don't think this area can do without an indoor facility, but a little artistry in the surroundings would not hurt.
Tampa Bay is having some issues with this winning team. A petition to MLB to split the season with Montreal failed. Negotiations for a new facility in Tampa instead of St. Petersburg has stalled. Fan support from the area is dismal (ranked 27th in the league). In the two games we attended against the Cardinals, the sparsely filled stadium was a sea of red.
The stadium is set in an artistic area of St. Petersburg with lots of breweries, bars, and small restaurants. We were able to stay a quarter mile away from the facility in a reasonably priced True (Hilton).
For our Tuesday night game we ate in the stadium. Christine and I had a hot dog which was fine. Sam had a cold mini pizza ($22.50) which was not fine. It may be the result of inflation, but high priced beer and food needs to have some quality. Our second game we passed on all food options - even the beer. We ate at a brewery before walking to the game.
Note to owners - Poor attendance by fans might merit a price decrease, not increase. Just say'in.
We enjoyed our seating for the games. Tuesday we sat on the second level behind first base; Wednesday we sat in the lower level behind the visitors dugout. The third level was completely empty for both games. I would guess there are no bad seats in this stadium.
Tuesday night's game was downright exciting. It went into extra innings with a walk off home run by Taylor Walls to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Wednesday was also a win for the Rays.
Racers - Not so much. The Rays three mascots (count'em, three) do a push-up contest.
Stadium Ratings are exciting, good, meh, bad, disastrous.
Facility - Not much charm, but I'm cutting the Rays a little slack because I think they have no choice but to play inside. We enjoyed petting manta rays in a tank they have available to fans. It is like petting a wet cat. Seats were good. Atmosphere was a bit muted, but without a lot Rays fans what can you do? Rating: Meh
Food - I expect pricey food in a baseball stadium, but the pricing here was gouging. Sam's mini pizza price vs quality was unforgivable. Their basic hot dog was fine, but limited on the condiment choices if you want anything other than ketchup. On the second night it was the first time ever we declined to buy anything in an MLB park, including beer. Rating: Disastrous
Mascot - The three mascots of Raymond (some kind of fuzzy dog), DJ Kitty (a super cool cat) and Stinger (a manta ray) put in the effort. They mixed with the fans, posed for pictures and were present throughout the games. They also had Rays cheerleaders to add a little spice. Rating: Exciting