A Dome with Three Names



Home plate entrance to the Florida Suncoast Dome, aka Tropicana Field, Sep-2009.

The view from the party deck beyond the left-field foul pole. One of the famous catwalks is in plain sight here.

The view from the upper deck behind the plate: artificial turf, real dirt in the infield.
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Quick Facts: Rating: 1 baseball
When I first visited St. Petersburg, Fla., in 1993, a white elephant caught my attention and I had to pull off the freeway to take a look. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was the Florida Suncoast Dome, optimistically built so that the Tampa Bay area would be able to attract a baseball team. The Chicago White Sox were the initial target of speculation, as old Comiskey Park was on its last legs. Later rumors had the San Francisco Giants, and then the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners, moving to St. Petersburg. These cities, however, retained their teams.

From 1993 to 1996, the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning utilized the facility, with a substantially smaller seating configuration. During those years, the building was known as the Thunderdome. The award of an American League expansion team to St. Petersburg eventually provided the impetus for a new arena across the bay in Tampa for the Lightning, known as the Ice Palace. Meanwhile, the dome was also used for NCAA tournament basketball games just prior to the Devil Rays’ opener, and it hosted the Division I Men’s Final Four in 1999.

Baseball made its formal debut at the Suncoast Dome in March 1998. A corporate sponsorship agreement changed the facility’s name once again. A citrus juice producer paid to have the building called “Tropicana Field”, with the “field” part of the name a futile attempt to distract game attendees from the inevitable realization that there is a roof over their heads. While the game is played on FieldTurf, one of the latest-generation sports carpets, the park features full infield dirt in a standard configuration rather than the sliding pads that were common in early stadiums with artificial turf.

The roof is translucent, making for a bright, almost tolerable experience during the day. When clouds come over, however, the place becomes noticeably darker, almost to the point of seeming dingy. The first time I attended, in August, the heat in the upper deck was unbearable as well, defeating the purpose of the domed stadium. On my return visit in 2009, the air conditioning seemed to be working better.

Among recent improvements to the ballpark, the collection of memorabilia once housed at the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame in Hernando was relocated to Tropicana Field, although it was removed prior to the 2021 season. Sadly, though, on my 2016 and 2018 visits, even with many cosmetic improvements, I still could not escape the fact that I was watching indoor baseball. It did not help that the catwalks ringing the dome blocked this upper-deck spectator’s view of parts of the scoreboards. That said, I relocated to the area in 2019 and came to enjoy watching contests here, without fear of getting rained on or roasting in Florida’s legendary heat and humidity.

There was a proposal on the board to build a new major league facility on the site of Al Lang Field and move the Rays there. This move, which would only be several blocks, required numerous local approvals and was eventually tabled. In January 2016, the club and the St. Petersburg city council announced that the Rays had permission to seek relocation sites elsewhere in the region, perhaps across the bay in Hillsborough County. The club had been talking about a site in the Ybor City section of Tampa, across the bay, with a potential opening as early as 2022, but those plans went out the window and the club has committed to staying in the Suncoast Dome through 2027. As of 2024, approvals are in place for a new stadium to rise directly opposite Booker Creek (which runs just east of the current arena) from Tropicana Field. The new ballpark, part of a larger revitalization effort for a previously vibrant neighborhood ripped out in the early 1980s even before a sports arena was proposed for the site, is set to debut for opening day in 2028.

With attendance diminished in recent seasons, the club has opted to close off the entire upper level of seating for regular season games beginning with the 2019 season. This reduces the effective capacity to 25,025. The upper deck was reopened during the first two months of the 2021 season to comply with post-pandemic distancing requirements. The club does sell upper-deck seats during the playoffs.

In October 2024, Hurricane Milton brought 101-mph winds to St. Petersburg, ripping most of the 35-year-old roof off the structure and also doing other damage. The Rays quickly announced that they would not be able to open the 2025 season at the site while repairs are undertaken, though it was not certain whether the facility could be utilized later in the season or in 2026 or ’27, the last seasons of their lease with the City of St. Petersburg. Where the Rays play home games in the meantime is up for discussion; several plans have come forth that would entail utilizing area spring training facilities.


Game Date League Level Result
324 Sun 9-Aug-1998 American MLB TAMPA BAY 2, Cleveland 1
1032 Sun 6-Sep-2009 Major MLB Detroit 5, TAMPA BAY 3
1497 Thu 25-Aug-2016 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 2, Boston 1
1623 Thu 29-Mar-2018 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 6, Boston 4
1625 Sat 31-Mar-2018 Major MLB Boston 3, TAMPA BAY 2
1755 Thu 28-Mar-2019 Major MLB Houston 5, TAMPA BAY 1
1757 Wed 3-Apr-2019 Major MLB Colorado 1, TAMPA BAY 0, 11 inn
1776 Sun 21-Apr-2019 Major MLB Boston 4, TAMPA BAY 3, 11 inn
1779 Wed 24-Apr-2019 Major MLB Kansas City 10, TAMPA BAY 2
1798 Sun 12-May-2019 Major MLB NY Yankees 7, TAMPA BAY 1
1808 Tue 21-May-2019 Major MLB LA Dodgers 7, TAMPA BAY 3
1855 Sun 4-Aug-2019 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 7, Miami 2
1876 Mon 19-Aug-2019 Major MLB Seattle 9, TAMPA BAY 3
1902 Fri 30-Aug-2019 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 4, Cleveland 0
1905 Tue 3-Sep-2019 Major MLB Baltimore 4, TAMPA BAY 2, 1st
1906 Tue 3-Sep-2019 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 2, Baltimore 0, 2d
1907 Fri 6-Sep-2019 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 5, Toronto 0
1908 Sun 8-Sep-2019 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 8, Toronto 3
1915 Sun 22-Sep-2019 Major MLB Boston 7, TAMPA BAY 4
1916 Tue 24-Sep-2019 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 2, NY Yankees 1, 12 inn
1934 Sun 11-Apr-2021 Major MLB NY Yankees 8, TAMPA BAY 4, 10 inn
1935 Tue 13-Apr-2021 Major MLB Texas 8, TAMPA BAY 3
1937 Wed 14-Apr-2021 Major MLB Texas 5, TAMPA BAY 1
1938 Thu 15-Apr-2021 Major MLB Texas 6, TAMPA BAY 4, 10 inn
1939 Fri 23-Apr-2021 Major MLB Toronto 5, TAMPA BAY 3
1940 Sat 24-Apr-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 5, Toronto 3
1941 Sun 25-Apr-2021 Major MLB Toronto 1, TAMPA BAY 0
1943 Thu 29-Apr-2021 Major MLB Oakland 3, TAMPA BAY 2
1946 Sun 2-May-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 5, Houston 4
1956 Sat 15-May-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 12, NY Mets 5
1966 Tue 25-May-2021 Major MLB Kansas City 2, TAMPA BAY 1
1967 Sat 29-May-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 5, Philadelphia 3
1995 Sun 27-Jun-2021 Major MLB LA Angels 6, TAMPA BAY 4
2014 Thu 29-Jul-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 14, NY Yankees 0
2018 Sun 1-Aug-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 3, Boston 2
2019 Mon 2-Aug-2021 Major MLB Seattle 8, TAMPA BAY 2
2020 Tue 3-Aug-2021 Major MLB Seattle 4, TAMPA BAY 2
2021 Wed 4-Aug-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 4, Seattle 3
2031 Mon 16-Aug-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 9, Baltimore 2
2035 Thu 19-Aug-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 7, Baltimore 2
2038 Sat 21-Aug-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 8, Chi White Sox 4
2040 Sun 22-Aug-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 9, Chi White Sox 0
2054 Mon 30-Aug-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 6, Boston 1
2056 Wed 1-Sep-2021 Major MLB Boston 3, TAMPA BAY 2
2074 Tue 21-Sep-2021 Major MLB Toronto 4, TAMPA BAY 2
2075 Wed 22-Sep-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 7, Toronto 1
2077 Fri 24-Sep-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 8, Miami 0
2078 Sat 25-Sep-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 7, Miami 3
2079 Sun 26-Sep-2021 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 3, Miami 2
2095 Sat 9-Apr-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 5, Baltimore 3
2098 Tue 12-Apr-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 9, Oakland 8, 10 inn
2099 Wed 13-Apr-2022 Major MLB Oakland 4, TAMPA BAY 2
2100 Thu 14-Apr-2022 Major MLB Oakland 6, TAMPA BAY 3
2110 Tue 26-Apr-2022 Major MLB Seattle 8, TAMPA BAY 4
2113 Thu 28-Apr-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 2, Seattle 1
2114 Fri 29-Apr-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 6, Minnesota 1
2115 Sat 30-Apr-2022 Major MLB Minnesota 9, TAMPA BAY 1
2130 Mon 16-May-2022 Major MLB Detroit 3, TAMPA BAY 2
2139 Tue 24-May-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 4, Miami 0
2140 Sat 28-May-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 3, NY Yankees 1
2147 Tue 7-Jun-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 4, St Louis 2, 10 inn
2148 Wed 8-Jun-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 11, St Louis 3
2149 Thu 9-Jun-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 2, St Louis 1
2164 Mon 20-Jun-2022 Major MLB NY Yankees 4, TAMPA BAY 2
2200 Sat 30-Jul-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 6, Cleveland 4
2220 Fri 19-Aug-2022 Major MLB Kansas City 3, TAMPA BAY 2, 10 inn
2222 Sun 21-Aug-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 3, Kansas City 2
2224 Mon 22-Aug-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 2, LA Angels 1
2227 Thu 25-Aug-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 8, LA Angels 3
2238 Sun 4-Sep-2022 Major MLB NY Yankees 2, TAMPA BAY 1
2239 Mon 5-Sep-2022 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 4, Boston 3
2247 Fri 16-Sep-2022 Major MLB Texas 4, TAMPA BAY 3
2249 Mon 19-Sep-2022 Major MLB Houston 4, TAMPA BAY 0
2250 Tue 20-Sep-2022 Major MLB Houston 5, TAMPA BAY 0
2251 Wed 21-Sep-2022 Major MLB Houston 5, TAMPA BAY 2
2278 Thu 30-Mar-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 4, Detroit 0
2279 Sat 1-Apr-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 12, Detroit 2
2280 Sun 2-Apr-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 5, Detroit 1
2283 Sun 9-Apr-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 11, Oakland 0
2286 Thu 13-Apr-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 9, Boston 3
2293 Fri 21-Apr-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 8, Chi White Sox 7
2295 Sun 23-Apr-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 4, Chi White Sox 1
2296 Mon 24-Apr-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 8, Houston 3
2305 Thu 4-May-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 3, Pittsburgh 2
2324 Mon 22-May-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 6, Toronto 4
2338 Sat 10-Jun-2023 Major MLB Texas 8, TAMPA BAY 4
2375 Tue 25-Jul-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 4, Miami 1
2376 Wed 26-Jul-2023 Major MLB Miami 7, TAMPA BAY 1
2395 Sun 13-Aug-2023 Major MLB Cleveland 9, TAMPA BAY 2
2406 Tue 22-Aug-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 12, Colorado 4
2407 Wed 23-Aug-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 6, Colorado 5, 10 inn
2408 Thu 24-Aug-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 5, Colorado 3
2410 Fri 25-Aug-2023 Major MLB NY Yankees 6, TAMPA BAY 2
2420 Mon 4-Sep-2023 Major MLB Boston 7, TAMPA BAY 3
2426 Sun 10-Sep-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 6, Seattle 3
2433 Thu 21-Sep-2023 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 5, LA Angels 4
2434 Fri 22-Sep-2023 Major MLB Toronto 6, TAMPA BAY 2
2450 Fri 29-Mar-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 8, Toronto 2
2451 Sat 30-Mar-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 5, Toronto 1
2452 Sun 31-Mar-2024 Major MLB Toronto 9, TAMPA BAY 2
2453 Mon 1-Apr-2024 Major MLB Texas 9, TAMPA BAY 3
2454 Wed 3-Apr-2024 Major MLB Texas 4, TAMPA BAY 1
2463 Mon 15-Apr-2024 Major MLB LA Angels 7, TAMPA BAY 3
2464 Tue 16-Apr-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 7, LA Angels 6, 13 inn
2466 Wed 17-Apr-2024 Major MLB LA Angels 5, TAMPA BAY 4
2467 Thu 18-Apr-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 2, LA Angels 1
2471 Mon 22-Apr-2024 Major MLB Detroit 7, TAMPA BAY 1
2480 Fri 3-May-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 10, NY Mets 8
2482 Sat 4-May-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 3, NY Mets 1
2483 Sun 5-May-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 7, NY Mets 6, 10 inn
2485 Mon 6-May-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 8, Chi White Sox 2
2487 Tue 7-May-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 5, Chi White Sox 1
2488 Wed 8-May-2024 Major MLB Chi White Sox 4, TAMPA BAY 1
2490 Fri 10-May-2024 Major MLB NY Yankees 2, TAMPA BAY 0
2501 Mon 20-May-2024 Major MLB Boston 5, TAMPA BAY 0
2505 Thu 30-May-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 6, Oakland 5, 12 inn
2517 Fri 7-Jun-2024 Major MLB Baltimore 6, TAMPA BAY 3
2518 Sat 8-Jun-2024 Major MLB Baltimore 5, TAMPA BAY 0
2519 Sun 9-Jun-2024 Major MLB Baltimore 9, TAMPA BAY 2
2521 Mon 10-Jun-2024 Major MLB Baltimore 5, TAMPA BAY 2
2538 Mon 24-Jun-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 4, Seattle 3
2567 Fri 26-Jul-2024 Major MLB Cincinnati 3, TAMPA BAY 2, 10 inn
2568 Sat 27-Jul-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 4, Cincinnati 0
2569 Sun 28-Jul-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 2, Cincinnati 1
2583 Mon 12-Aug-2024 Major MLB Houston 6, TAMPA BAY 1
2599 Fri 30-Aug-2024 Major MLB San Diego 13, TAMPA BAY 5
2600 Sat 31-Aug-2024 Major MLB TAMPA BAY 11, San Diego 4
2601 Sun 1-Sep-2024 Major MLB San Diego 4, TAMPA BAY 3
2602 Mon 2-Sep-2024 Major MLB Minnesota 5, TAMPA BAY 4
2604 Thu 5-Sep-2024 Major MLB Minnesota 4, TAMPA BAY 3
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This page updated 31-Oct-2024