tropicana field guide
Tropicana Field, AKA “The Trop” opened it’s doors for baseball in 1996. You may not know (and may not care) that the dome was originally opened in 1990 and has been home to a total of 16 different sports and competitions throughout the years. In 2006 the Rays did a pretty drastic overhaul to make the place more baseball friendly. The Trop is a fairly cool park and it definitely agreeable with many budgets. Shall we delve?
Tropicana Field Parking
The Rays offer free parking at Tropicana Field. The catch is that you need to have at least 4 people in your car. They do this as an incentive to carpool, and I love the idea. If you have less than 4 people, it costs $15 to park. Here are the details from their website on free parking: Complimentary parking for all vehicles with four or more passengers will be available in Rays lots 2, 6, 7, 8, and 9 for all Sunday games. The first 100 vehicles with four or more may park for free in Rays lots for all other regular season home games. So if you have family or friends going to the game, it definitely pays to pick a spot in town to drop your car and ride together. It can be a little confusing because some parking lots at the Trop are preferred or reserved lots which don’t carry this policy. You will want to go after lots 6 or 7 which will be the easiest free parking lots to find at a Ray’s game.
Another option you may like is paying ahead of time for a reserved spot. This can be done on Park Whiz, and prices usually start at about $6. It is a pretty cool service. Click here to search for Rays parking, or see the chart below for the upcoming games and click on your desired date:
Another option you may like is paying ahead of time for a reserved spot. This can be done on Park Whiz, and prices usually start at about $6. It is a pretty cool service. Click here to search for Rays parking, or see the chart below for the upcoming games and click on your desired date:
There is also a free shuttle to some Rays games. This is always in use for Red Sox and Yankees games, also games which have a concert afterward. You will likely pay $5 to park near a downtown shuttle stop, but you then take the shuttle back and for to Tropicana Field. Here is a link to the trolley’s page where you should always double check to see if it will be running the night you go to the game. If you are going with less than 4 people in your car, this may work for you.
I almost always recommend looking for metered parking as a free parking alternative for a baseball game. However, I am backing off that recommendation for Tropicana Field. If you google St. Petersburg Metered Parking, you will see that its actually a hot topic in the area right now. There is no consistent law which guides the times meters are enforced, so many people end up with tickets they didn’t expect and so forth. If you do stumble across a metered spot on 3rd or Central, please make sure you look for signs or read the meter to see if it is enforced 24 hours or not. If it is, move on.
I almost always recommend looking for metered parking as a free parking alternative for a baseball game. However, I am backing off that recommendation for Tropicana Field. If you google St. Petersburg Metered Parking, you will see that its actually a hot topic in the area right now. There is no consistent law which guides the times meters are enforced, so many people end up with tickets they didn’t expect and so forth. If you do stumble across a metered spot on 3rd or Central, please make sure you look for signs or read the meter to see if it is enforced 24 hours or not. If it is, move on.
cheap rays tickets - spend wisely!
Tropicana Field is a dome, so it’s always 72 and sunny for a Rays home game. You may not have heard, but the Rays made the World Series in 2008 and suddenly started selling tickets. Fortunately for us, there are still good value tickets at Tropicana Field.
The Ray’s do what most teams do with a tiered pricing structure based on the quality of the opponent or timing of the game. They have regular, marquee, and prime pricing levels. That makes a difference of $6 in the upper deck from regular to prime, but that goes up to $35 difference for a field side box seat. I understand why teams do this pricing change, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
One thing I like about the Trop’s pricing, is they have the upper deck as one pricing level. Most places raise the price the closer you get behind the plate. It will cost you $10 for a regular game to sit in the upper deck, and if you get in a low row behind the plate or in the infield – you have a great seat. Tropicana’s Field upper deck is set-up to where the first 4 or 5 rows are below the concourse. So if you are in those rows, you come down the walkway and step down to your seats. Why do I mention this? Because it is a huge benefit for your personal enjoyment of the game. You will have exponentially less people walking down the aisles in front of you, which means you can actually watch the game. I wrote an entire page on this here. When reading it, keep in mind that if you are sitting in a seat at Tropicana Field, the seat on the left end of your row is seat #1. The picture below was taken from high in the upper deck, so if you can land a seat in the first couple of rows you will be much closer to the action.
The Ray’s do what most teams do with a tiered pricing structure based on the quality of the opponent or timing of the game. They have regular, marquee, and prime pricing levels. That makes a difference of $6 in the upper deck from regular to prime, but that goes up to $35 difference for a field side box seat. I understand why teams do this pricing change, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
One thing I like about the Trop’s pricing, is they have the upper deck as one pricing level. Most places raise the price the closer you get behind the plate. It will cost you $10 for a regular game to sit in the upper deck, and if you get in a low row behind the plate or in the infield – you have a great seat. Tropicana’s Field upper deck is set-up to where the first 4 or 5 rows are below the concourse. So if you are in those rows, you come down the walkway and step down to your seats. Why do I mention this? Because it is a huge benefit for your personal enjoyment of the game. You will have exponentially less people walking down the aisles in front of you, which means you can actually watch the game. I wrote an entire page on this here. When reading it, keep in mind that if you are sitting in a seat at Tropicana Field, the seat on the left end of your row is seat #1. The picture below was taken from high in the upper deck, so if you can land a seat in the first couple of rows you will be much closer to the action.
Another great place to buy tickets is from Score Big. Let's face it, most ticket broker sites are the same but this one is actually different. It is kind of like the Priceline of sports tickets. Essentially you can search events in your area, and make an offer on tickets and get an instant answer on whether your bid is accepted.
Here are a couple of screenshots of how it works. You can select a quantity, and then it gives you different tiers. It gives you an approximate discount percentage, and shows on the seat map which sections your tickets could possibly be in.
Next you enter in a price, again it gives you an idea how how likely that is to be accepted. I made the comparison to Priceline, and it is true, you have to put in payment details prior to making an official offer. But if you are going to the game, what a great way to save money on tickets!
Here are discounted Rays tickets currently available:
Here are a couple of screenshots of how it works. You can select a quantity, and then it gives you different tiers. It gives you an approximate discount percentage, and shows on the seat map which sections your tickets could possibly be in.
Next you enter in a price, again it gives you an idea how how likely that is to be accepted. I made the comparison to Priceline, and it is true, you have to put in payment details prior to making an official offer. But if you are going to the game, what a great way to save money on tickets!
Here are discounted Rays tickets currently available:
I think the upper deck at Tropicana Field is clearly the winner when it comes to best value tickets for a Ray’s game. The prices go up relatively sharply as you move down, and in my opinion it’s mostly not worth it. The Rays also charge a “day of game fee” which I don’t like. If you buy tickets within 5 hours of game time, you pay an extra 3 dollars per seat. However, you are going to pay a service fee if you buy online, over the phone, or through a third party broker. So pretty much the only way you can avoid having something extra tacked onto your ticket is to drop by Tropicana Field the morning of the game and buy your tickets. In other words, you are going to pay a fee however you buy..
If you do decide to up the ante a little with tickets, be sure you spend wisely.You could sit in Loge box 107 which is the top part of the field level, but provides a great view. If you were to move down a few rows to the lower box, your ticket price would double, and that is simply not worth it. Also many of the activities in right field at the Trop are free on Sundays for kids 14 and younger. I have a list below. But Sunday seems to be a good day to take kids to the Rays game and save some money.
If you do decide to up the ante a little with tickets, be sure you spend wisely.You could sit in Loge box 107 which is the top part of the field level, but provides a great view. If you were to move down a few rows to the lower box, your ticket price would double, and that is simply not worth it. Also many of the activities in right field at the Trop are free on Sundays for kids 14 and younger. I have a list below. But Sunday seems to be a good day to take kids to the Rays game and save some money.
Food at Tropicana Field
Going to Tropicana Field on a budget becomes easier because of the fact that you can bring your own food into the stadium. Technically the food should be in a clear plastic bag or a soft sided cooler. Feel free to pick up dinner on the way or pack snacks from home, but either way you save big. You can also take in plastic bottles of water which are still sealed and unopened.
One unique thing in Tropicana Field that I guess falls under the food category is the cigar bar in center field. In fact, this is the only cigar bar at a Major League stadium. Its located in the outfield behind center field and is filled with leather chairs, a view of the game, and is for cigar smokers only. This would completely blow your budget, but if cigars are your thing it is a unique opportunity.
One unique thing in Tropicana Field that I guess falls under the food category is the cigar bar in center field. In fact, this is the only cigar bar at a Major League stadium. Its located in the outfield behind center field and is filled with leather chairs, a view of the game, and is for cigar smokers only. This would completely blow your budget, but if cigars are your thing it is a unique opportunity.
free stuff at the rays' game
- INSIDE PITCH - The Official Gameday Program of the Rays is free for all fans upon entry to Tropicana Field. Each issue features more than 60 colorful pages of fascinating stories, player profiles and kids' activities.
- 2k Sports Lounge - Play Major League Baseball 2K13 here! The only MLB-licensed game on all consoles. Open daily. Free.
- Baseball Trivia Challenge - Step on stage, and take part in Tropicana Field's very own game show. Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday games. Free.
- Make Your Own Baseball Card - Get a card with your name and picture on it, delivered in a protective sleeve, $5. (Free to kids 14 and under on Sundays.)
- Right Field Corner: Coaches Corner - Get your swing analyzed by a Rays Baseball Camp Coach for free.
- Raymond's Art Studio - Kids can create their own arts and crafts, including signs to root on the Rays. Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Free.
- Rookie Challenge - The Rookie Challenge features a video batting cage and a speed pitch machine. Open daily, $3 each. (Free to kids 14 and under on Sundays.)
- Rays Baseball Carnival - Try your hand at fun, challenging carnival games, including Tip-a-Jug, Ring Toss, and more. Simply purchase a scorecard for $5 from the redemption table and keep track of your high scores. Everyone's a winner and receives a prize! All proceeds from these games go toward the Rays Baseball Foundation. Open for Saturday and Sunday games. (Free to kids 14 and under on Sundays.)
- RAYMOND'S ACTIVITY BOOK - Raymond's Activity Book includes mazes, word scrambles, coloring pages, connect-the-dots, crossword puzzles and much more! At each Family Fun Day presented by the Tampa Bay Times (every Sunday home game), kids 14 and under can get their activity book stamped at designated locations inside the stadium and receive a cool Rays prize when they collect them all. Raymond's Activity Book is free for all Rays Rookies members and can be picked up at The Clubhouse by Gate 3.
- RAYS TOUCH TANK - The Rays Touch Tank is located in Center Field Street at Gate 1. This experience is free to all fans attending home games.