Tropicana Field
Address- 1 Tropicana Drive
Saint Petersburg, FL 33705
Team- Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Year Opened- 1990
Capacity- 43,819
Surface- Artificial Turf
aka:
Florida Suncoast Dome, Thunderdome
Nearly a decade after its grand opening, Florida's first and only domed field-sport stadium finally witnessed Major League Baseball in 1998. Built to attract a Major League team it seemed destined to become a perennial bridesmaid.
But after three names, eight years of tractor pulls, a taste of hockey, and extensive completion work and additions, it is the home of the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
The roof is a high-tech translucent membrane supported by a continuous tension/discontinuous compression structural system somewhat analogous to a bicycle wheel.
The home plate end is higher than the center field end, allowing more rows of upper deck seats in the preferred viewing locations, and reducing the volume of air needed to be cooled.
While the building is a perfect circle on the outside, the seating pattern is squarish.
And although the basic stadium plan is symmetrical, the outfield fences have been made somewhat irregular and asymmetrical, the contrast between the two geometries illustrating the sea-change in ballpark design philosophy that occurred between the period of original planning and the time of remodeling.
Source- The Idea Logical Company
