My next locale of choice was down in St. Petersburg, FL, home of the park formerly known as the ThunderDome, which has way more buzz (Sorry, pun), and is accurately descriptive of the summer weather down in that region of the country. As well, I reached another attendance accomplishment in going to my 1st Opening Day. Considering what you can experience in Boston earlier in the season, picking a place that’s 72 degrees and air-conditioned inside, with some mild sunshine outside, I picked a great spot to make this first. Here is my experience from the land of cowbells and catwalks.
Game Time! (vs. Boston Red Sox – 3/29/2018, 3/30/2018) – The streets around the park were buzzing (Have to stop with the thunder puns), with an even blend of sun-tanned Sox and Rays fans enjoying a beverage and playing garbage can pong, which I saw everywhere during my time in the Tampa area. From the bar, I made the walk to the face of the stadium, which was a bit detached from the loud music and bean bag games that were happening 10 minutes away. While waiting to get in the park, it was fairly evident that the crew wasn’t used to managing large crowds, for I entered the ballpark in the Top of the 2nd (missing Eduardo Nunez’s inside-the-park homerun), even though we showed up about 40 minutes before game time. Whether it was due to being the opener, or the commemoration of the Rays’ 20th anniversary, the ambiance was more exuberant than expected. A dancing member of the grounds crew brought the energy to even greater heights. As much as it didn’t help my ears, the cowbells also had an assist in making the game crowd more lively. Especially when the Rays rallied back with a 6-run 8th to take the lead, and eventually the game.
Due to a generous boss of a friend, I was lucky enough to return to the Trop a second time in as many nights. It was on this evening where I got to enjoy rays in their true natural habitat in right-center field, as well as playing a little garbage can pong at the new Ballpark and Rec. However, the second time time around seemed a bit different. The overall size of the crowd was obviously down from the previous day, with exponentially less raucousness. Almost made me wish the Sox had won in the opener instead. As I sat watching both teams struggle to score while avoiding the temptation to grab Dippin’ Dots from the concession stand, I realized that there wouldn’t be many games like the opener here. The cold fact is that this game would be probably one of the most attended games all season (with exception of the opener), due to the strong presence of Red Sox fans that dwell nearby. Based on watching the team as a divisional rival over the years, I could make an educated guess that a Rays-Royals contest in August won’t generate the same crowds.
Home Runs: Like with every vacation spot above 70 degrees, I envisioned myself as a resident of this growing city, all with the fantasy of avoiding shoveling feet of frozen and slushy precipitation. I found that with the laid back vibe in St. Pete, it was very easy to fall in a conversation. It was through those small conversations that I was able to see that there is a solid fan base for team in spite of all the lean years and transplanted residents that have allegiances to certain teams up north. Players like Chris Archer and Kevin Kiermaier are looked up in high regard by the local faithful, and youngsters like Mallex Smith and Blake Snell are viewed as the building blocks of the next great Rays team. In one of the more out-of-the-box positives, the game viewing experience seemed a little brighter than in games I’ve seen on TV. Maybe it was the new artificial turf that was installed for this year that lightened everything up.
Flyouts: The contrast in environment from the first game to the second game couldn’t have been more evident. Unless a larger market team is in town, you generally will not see the kind of crowds at the Trop that I was lucky enough to experience. Even in a burgeoning area, it seems that there is a location mismatch between park and city, hence the low attendance numbers. In fact, Tropicana Field is currently on pace to be last in the American League in attendance for the sixth time in the last eight years, and that includes two playoff years for the Rays. Another thing is that the hustle and bustle that is generally at the face of stadiums is detached from the Trop, which doesn’t help hide the concrete aesthetic that the park provides. As a result, it creates a vibe similar to the old cookie-cutter stadiums of the past in which the most colorful thing around the ballpark were the yellow lines that marked the parking spots. But the palm trees still add a nice touch!
Around the Diamond: From talking to people in the area, the city has gone from exclusively a retirement destination, to a growing metropolis due to its recent youth infusion. As a result, the city has been filling up with many restaurants and bars, especially in the downtown area. In the opener, the place to be was definitely Ferg’s, which had festivities outside to commemorate the start of the season, and has a walkway in the back of the bar which leads you to the stadium gates. For food near the stadium, I had a solid burrito at Red Mesa, a good feeding spot prior to strolling through downtown. Depending on how much you eat here, it may be a slow crawl. Keep in mind that a lot of the St. Petersburg nightlife is further down the road. But if it’s not raining buckets and bolts from the sky, it’s worth the scenic walk.
My Final Play: I know the crowds I saw in my two days here were not the norm. However, I was impressed with how loyal some of the fans were, and even how some of the transplants made this team their own. But at the end of the day, it is clear that a change is needed to inject more interest into the club. Even in a growing area like St. Pete, it appears that the attendance potential is tapped out here. The recent rumblings confirm that team ownership is planning on a move over to Ybor City, a more established neighborhood just off of downtown Tampa. The presence of a retractable glass dome from the original drawings will also be a welcome departure from the Soviet Bloc-ish look that the Trop currently possesses. I’m actually a believer that Florida baseball can thrive beyond Spring Training. However, due to the slightly off-the-mark stadium placement for one team, and with bumbling ownership weighing down the other, it seems as if Major League Floridian baseball has had as much of a chance as a gazelle already in the mouth of a lion. Overall, I would assess that this is a wonderful area to watch a ballgame, but the stadium itself doesn’t scream all-timer. As much as I loved the city and watching my team under a different background (Which I would still recommend all of you to do), I’d be rooting for this Ybor Bay Rays move to happen. Has a better ring to it than the Montreal Rays!
Well, now you know!: For starters, Tropicana Field pre-exists the team, for it opened up in 1990, 8 years before the Devil Rays came into the world. The Florida Suncoast Dome (the initial name) held everything from ping pong to sprint car racing to karate tournaments. Hell, it was even the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning for a few years when the franchise entered the NHL in 1993. But do you know who drew the biggest crowd? None other than Boston’s own New Kids on the Block, who drew 47,150 screaming fans in August ’90, which proves that a Boston-based act has always drawn a large crowd in this venue. Guess some things never change.
Want to bask in a city that claims to be ‘always in season’? Enjoy a nice river walk every now and then? Click here to get linked up to the St. Petersburg/Tampa gallery page to get more views of the park, as well as photos from around the area!