Tropicana Field Seating chart

Tropicana Field
Situated in the Tampa Bay Area, an area very popular for the games of Major League Baseball (MLB) during their spring trainings, is the very famous Tropicana Field.

Home to the MLB"s Tampa Bay Rays, the most exquisite external feature of the field is its slanted roof, which is lit orange when the Rays win their home games. Other than including unique design features, Tropicana Field also features some of the most exclusive fan amenities which are found nowhere else in the Major Leagues.

Tropicana Field is the first ever domed stadium in Florida"s City of St. Petersburg, and the seventh of its kind in the rest of the United States of America. Other than being home to the Major League Baseball team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Tropicana Field also houses other athletic events, trade shows, conventions, and concerts, along with hosting other entertainment acts.

In order to gain a share of the professional sports picture in Tampa Bay area, the City of St. Petersburg soon realized to have their own stadium to attract a Major League Baseball team in the 1980s. Many possible designs were proposed for the building of a unique stadium in the vicinity.

Finally, it was decided to construct a stadium with a fixed permanent dome to prevent the latent MLB team from the hot, humid summers and frequent thunderstorms of the area. Thus, the construction of the debut domed stadium, in the region of Florida, stared in 1986.

It was first named as Florida Suncoast Dome and wanted to lure the Chicago White Sox, however, dths did not happened as the people of Chicago voted to build a new ballpark for them, and the team moved to New Comiskey Park, which is now known as U.S. Cellular Field instead, in 1989.

The construction of the new domed field finished in 1990, still missing on any tenants. After many attempts to gain various tenants, the Tampa Bay was finally granted with a franchise by the MLB.

The Tampa Bay Lightening National Hockey League (NHL) became their tenants, and the field was then renamed as Thunderdome. Later, after an agreement with Tropicana Dole Beverages in 1996, the field was eventually named the Tropicana Field.

Tropicana Field"s park was originally made with an Astro Turf surface, and in 2000, it was replaced by Field Turf. In 2006, the field which was built at a total cost of $130 million underwent many expensive renovations and facelifts.

Then in 2007 season, a newer version of Field Turf was installed, known as Field Turf Duo. Other additional peculiarities included further family features the right side field area, formation of a new quality club, and various brand-new video boards, with a chief new and huge video board, known as Daktronics LED.

Due to the addition of built-in High Definition Television capabilities, Tropicana Field saw the first official use of instant replay in the history of Major League Baseball, during the match between the Rays and the New York Yankees, in 2008.

Other points of interest in the Tropicana field include the Ted Williams Museum/Hitters Hall of Fame, which moved there in 2006; the two restaurants at Tropicana Field - the Center Field Brewhouse and the Batter's Eye Restaurant; and the Cuesta-Rey Cigar Bar, which offers a great variety of top-class cigars and is located across from the Batter's Eye. It is the smokers" true paradise.