| The AL
East Tampa Bay Devil Rays:
In 1995 Major League Baseball owners formally welcomed the Tampa Bay
Devil Rays as the 13th expansion teams in Major League Baseball history.
The Arizona Diamondbacks were inducted that very same year as the 14th
expansion team in Major League Baseball. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays and
the City of St. Petersburg agreed on a 30-year lease for the team to
play their home games at the Thunder Dome. Then in 1996 the Devil Rays
became the first team in baseball history to date to host spring
training in their home city. This change forced the NL St. Louis
Cardinals to relocate their spring training to St. Petersburg, Florida
(they have practiced there since 1946).
On October 3, 1996 the Devil Rays and Tropicana Dole Beverages of North
America announced an agreement to rename the Thunder Dome Tropicana
field. The city of St. Petersburg received more than $13 million dollars
for the contract. Several improvements were made to the stadium over
time, the most well known being a 900-foot tropical ceramic tile mosaic
created in 1998. It is made up of 1,849,091 tiles and is the largest of
its kind in Florida and among the top five in the United States. Unique
lights and music give visitors of this major league baseball park an
astounding entrance. Also in March 2000, Tropicana Field became the
first Major League Baseball stadium to install Field Turf, a
revolutionary synthetic grass. Tropicana field has a capacity of
approximately 45,000 and is truly an amazing ballpark.
See more at the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Official Site
Click Here
Team
Stadium
2004
Team Schedule |
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Tickets Here |
