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?
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. 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. Here is a map provided by the Rays which will give you some context as to where these lots are relative to the ballpark.
There is also a free shuttle to some Rays games for the 2009 season. 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.
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. 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. Here is a map provided by the Rays which will give you some context as to where these lots are relative to the ballpark.
There is also a free shuttle to some Rays games for the 2009 season. 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.
tickets
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 fieldside 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 upperdeck, 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.
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 fieldside 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 upperdeck, 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.
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. For $22 on a regular game, 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.
Tickets can always be found on eBay as well, and many times at below face value. Here is my advice for ticket buying on eBay; wait until the last minute. I know that sounds crazy, and you would think that closer to the event the prices would shoot up; but that is not the case. I have bought and sold plenty of tickets on eBay and I have found that when I sell them early I get top dollar because there is less competition. As the event gets closer, everybody in America who is selling tickets begins to list them at auction. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that when the market is flooded with supply the price is driven down. I don't know if there are any published numbers to back me up, but I have seen it time and time again. So if buying on eBay, buy late. Here are a couple of auctions ending soon with a current bid under $50.
If you do decide to up the ante a little with tickets, be sure you spend wisely. For $22 on a regular game, 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.
Tickets can always be found on eBay as well, and many times at below face value. Here is my advice for ticket buying on eBay; wait until the last minute. I know that sounds crazy, and you would think that closer to the event the prices would shoot up; but that is not the case. I have bought and sold plenty of tickets on eBay and I have found that when I sell them early I get top dollar because there is less competition. As the event gets closer, everybody in America who is selling tickets begins to list them at auction. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that when the market is flooded with supply the price is driven down. I don't know if there are any published numbers to back me up, but I have seen it time and time again. So if buying on eBay, buy late. Here are a couple of auctions ending soon with a current bid under $50.
food
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.
Another option that I consistently recommend is Restaurant.com Here you can buy $25 gift certificates to local restaurants for $10. You can also do a google search for "Restaurant.com coupon codes" and almost always get an extra 60 - 80% off that. I often buy these $25 certificates for $2. That is the best way to eat a decent meal before or after the game and save a chunk of change. When you follow the link, just type in the zip code of Tropicana Field (33705) to see what restaurants are nearby.
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.
Another option that I consistently recommend is Restaurant.com Here you can buy $25 gift certificates to local restaurants for $10. You can also do a google search for "Restaurant.com coupon codes" and almost always get an extra 60 - 80% off that. I often buy these $25 certificates for $2. That is the best way to eat a decent meal before or after the game and save a chunk of change. When you follow the link, just type in the zip code of Tropicana Field (33705) to see what restaurants are nearby.
