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Tropicana Field is home, sweet home for the Rays

In print: Thursday, October 2, 2008

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St. Petersburg is about to be thrust into the national spotlight, thanks to the Tampa Bay Rays’ entrance into the playoffs for the first time in their history. And for better or worse, the sight that’s going to be associated with the ‘burg is the Trop — that tilted white megadome that is home to the Rays. Beloved by a loyal core of fans, but ridiculed by many, the stadium is full of charms and quirks that make it seem like a member of the team itself. And indeed, the Trop has played a huge part in the Rays’ success this year, because the team is 21-2 at home when the crowds have been 30,000 or more. So whether you’re watching on TV or enjoying the game from in one of those blue seats, here’s our primer on the place. — Steve Spears and Anne Glover, Times staffe_SClBHow the dome got built

Historically a home for spring training, St. Petersburg had long pursued a baseball club of its own, but had no formal deal for a team when the decision was made in 1982 to offer the 66-acre Gas Plant site near downtown as the stadium location. The cost? Just $1 a year, for 40 to 50 years. In 1984, a $85-million bond was used to finance construction. And on Nov. 22, 1986, more than 9,000 supporters held miniature shovels that said “I Dig the Stadium” to break ground. Final cost when it opened on March 3, 1990: $138-million.

How did the stadium become the Trop?

It was the Florida Suncoast Dome (yawn) when construction was completed in 1990. Thanks to lobbying by media who couldn’t stand the name (and the Times was a leader) it became the ThunderDome when the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning made it their home ice for three seasons beginning in 1993 (before moving to the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa). It became Tropicana Field in 1996 after Tropicana Products bought naming rights upon the birth of the Rays.

It could have been worse : Some names suggested by the public were: Codger Stadium, Dome-DaDome-Dome, Pelican Palace and Boondoggle by the Bay.

Architectural marvel

Uh no, but it does have a few cool features. Among them: 
The main entrance rotunda is modeled on the eight-story-high entrance to the old Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers; the Trop has the world’s second-largest cable-supported domed roof (Georgia Dome is largest). It’s made of 6 acres of translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass, and it supports itself with 180 miles of cables connected by struts; that orange glow at night? Not the moon; it’s the Trop after a win when they light up the dome with orange lights.

Notable features

A couple, but one is REALLY important (guess which one):

•  Seats behind the backstop are some of the closest in the Major Leagues — only 50 feet from home plate.

•  The catwalks that snake through the dome infrastructure have necessitated some of the most complicated home field rules in baseball. To wit: The catwalks are labeled “A,” “B,” “C” and “D” rings, with “D” being the lowest. If a ball strikes A or B in fair territory, the ball is in play. If a ball strikes C or D in fair territory it is a home run. (Trust us, this is the shorthand version.)

There are live rays in the outfield?

Freaky, but true. A 3-foot-deep, 10,000-gallon tank, located just beyond the right-center field fence, is home to a small school of cownose rays. Fans can pet the rays for free or spend a few bucks to feed them by hand.

•  For every ball hit into the tank during a game by a Rays player, the team will donate $5,000 to charity ($2,500 to the Florida Aquarium and $2,500 to player’s charity of choice).

•  Luis Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit the first home run into the tank on June 24, 2007. (Gonzalez also hit the first homer at the Trop back on March 31, 1998, while he was playing for the Tigers. Fittingly, he is a Tampa native.)

More trivia to impress your friends

Biggest dome crowd? Wish we could say the recent crowds set attendance records. No, the honor goes to a New Kids on the Block concert Aug. 11, 1990. It drew 47,150.

Home plate faces … Northeast.

What about the field? The Trop is the only one among Major League parks that features an artificial surface and all-dirt base paths. The artificial grass surface, called FieldTurf, is actually synthetic blades held in place by a mixture of ground-up sand and rubber. Scoop some of it up, and it’s a little like a rubberized version of tiny size Kitty Litter.

Give us the dirt: The Trop is different among Major League parks in that it has dirt base paths, emulating an outdoor stadium. Other parks with an artificial surface have only dirt cutouts around the bases and at the pitcher’s mound.

From Times files and the Tampa Bay Rays official Web site.