Some of the seats in the upper deck.
Some of the seats in the upper deck.
Catwalks are visible in this upper-deck shot overlooking Tropicana Field.
1 baseball
From 1994 to 1997, the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning utilized the facility, with a substantially smaller seating configuration. During those years, the building was known as the Thunderdome. The award of an American League expansion team to St. Petersburg eventually provided the impetus for a new arena across the bay in Tampa for the Lightning, known as the Ice Palace. Meanwhile, the dome was also used for NCAA tournament basketball games just prior to the Devil Rays’ opener.
Baseball made its formal debut at the Suncoast Dome in March 1998. A corporate sponsorship agreement changed the facility’s name once again. A citrus juice producer paid to have the building called “Tropicana Field”, with the “field” part of the name a futile attempt to distract game attendees from the inevitable realization that there is a roof over their heads.
The roof is translucent, making for a bright, almost tolerable experience during the day. When clouds come over, however, the place becomes noticeably darker, almost to the point of seeming dingy. The afternoon I attended, in August, the heat in the upper deck was unbearable as well, defeating the purpose of the domed stadium.
In all, I did not rate the park as worthy of another visit. It falls into the bottom quarter of the major league parks I’ve attended.
There is a proposal on the board to build a new major league facility on the site of Al Lang Field and move the Rays there. This move, which would only be several blocks, still requires local approvals.
In the meantime, I am advised that the collection of memorabilia once housed at the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame in Hernando has been relocated to Tropicana Field.
| Game # | Date | League | Level | Result |
| 324 | 9-Aug-1998 | American | MLB | TAMPA BAY 2, Cleveland 1 |