Tropicana Field
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| Missing image Trop.jpg Tropicana Field | |
| Location | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| Opened | March 3, 1990 |
| Capacity | 45,000 |
| Owned By | City of St. Petersburg |
| Architect: |
HOK Sport (Kansas City) |
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Dimensions:
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The ballpark originally began construction in 1986 in the hope that it would lure in a Major League Baseball team. The stadium, built originally as the Florida Suncoast Dome, was first used in an attempt to move the Chicago White Sox if a new ballpark was not built to replace the aging Comiskey Park. The governments of Chicago and Illinois eventually agreed to build a "new" Comiskey Park in 1989, and the White Sox owners ceased discussing the idea of moving the team to Tampa Bay.
The stadium was finished in 1990, but still had no tenants. There were rumors of the Seattle Mariners moving in the early part of the 1990's, and the San Francisco Giants were reportedly very close to moving to the area, with Tampa Bay investors even announcing they were in a press conference in 1992. However, the sale was blocked by the then-owner of the Florida Marlins, H. Wayne Huizenga, and the move never happened. A local boycott of Blockbuster Video stores occurred for several years thereafter.
The Suncoast Dome did manage to gain a tenant in 1993 when the Tampa Bay Lightning made the stadium its home for 3 seasons. In the process, the Suncoast Dome was renamed the Thunderdome. Because of the large capacity of what was basically a park built for baseball, several NHL attendance records were set during their time there. The Arena Football Tampa Bay Storm also played there during the "Thunderdome" era, and set attendance records for that league as well.
Finally, in 1995, the dome got a baseball team when Major League Baseball expanded to the Tampa Bay area. Changes were made to the stadium and the name, which was changed due to the sale of naming rights, became Tropicana Field in 1996. A $70 million renovation then took place - to upgrade a stadium that had cost $115 million to complete only eight years earlier. The first regular season baseball game took place at the park on March 31, 1998, when the Devil Rays faced the Detroit Tigers, losing 11-6.
The park was initially built with an AstroTurf surface, but it was replaced in 2000 by softer FieldTurf, becoming the first major professional facility to use it.
The facility has also been used for rounds of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament; it hosted the Final Four in 1999.
The Kane's Club is a premium seating area located at the lowest level right behind the home plate.