Tropicana Field Historical Analysis
Tropicana Field was originally called the Florida Suncoast Dome, then the Thunderdome and since the Tampa Bay Rays moved in it has been Tropicana Field. It is the first Major League ballpark in more then twenty years to feature AstroTurf and all-dirt base paths.
Tropicana Field closed its doors in October 1996 for a seventeen month, eighty-five million dollar baseball renovation that included adding 319,000 square feet of space. The Florida Suncoast Dome was originally built for baseball, yet there have been at least fifteen other sports (including 5-K runs, basketball, equestrian events, figure skating, football, gymnastics, hockey, karate, monster truck races, motorcycling, ping pong, soccer, sprint car, tennis, and weightlifting) and competitions played in the stadium. The Thunderdome was offiically renamed on October 4, 1996, in accordance with a naming rights agreement between the Tampa Bay Rays and Tropicana Dole Beverages North America. |
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"It is the self-billed 'Ballpark of the 21st Century,' a technologically enhanced playground with a distinctive surf-and-sand personality. Tropicana Field is downright proud of the cutting-edge amenities and entertainment options it serves up with its baseball. Where else can you combine pitch counts and batting averages with a beach, a shopping mall, a cigar bar, a bank, a travel agency, a climbing wall and more food groups than you ever knew existed?" - The BallPark Book (2001) |
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