Tropicana Field

About

Tropicana Field, nicknamed "The Trop", is a domed multi-purpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. "The Trop" is the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). The venue is the only nonretractable domed stadium in the MLB making it a notable local attraction when visiting St. Petersburg and Tampa. Tropicana Field is the smallest MLB stadium by seating capacity when obstructed-view rows in the uppermost sections are covered with tarps as they are for most Rays games.

Tropicana Field opened in 1990 and was originally known as the Florida Suncoast Dome. In 1993, the Tampa Bay Lightning moved to the facility and its name was changed to the ThunderDome until the team moved to its new home in downtown Tampa in 1996. In October 1996, Tropicana Products, a fruit juice company then based in nearby Bradenton, signed a 30-year naming rights deal.

Tropicana Field's location and design (especially the ceiling catwalks) have been widely criticized, and it is often cited as one of the worst stadiums in MLB, which itself has cited the need to replace Tropicana Field as one of the primary obstacles to future expansion.

In 2023, the Tampa Bay Rays announced a deal with local politicians to build Gas Plant Stadium, a new stadium near Tropicana Field at an expected cost of $1.2 billion, half of which would fall on taxpayers. In March 2025, the Rays cancelled the deal.

On October 9, 2024, much of the translucent, fiberglass roof membrane of Tropicana Field was destroyed by Hurricane Milton. Repairs on the stadium began in July 2025 and were completed in April 2026. Due to the hurricane damage, the Rays played all of their home games for the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa before returning to Tropicana Field on April 6, 2026, with a 6–4 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.