{"id":222088,"date":"2026-04-07T15:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T15:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/222088\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T15:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T15:27:10","slug":"a-full-house-welcomes-baseball-back-to-the-trop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/222088\/","title":{"rendered":"A full house welcomes baseball back to the Trop"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a sweet homecoming for the Tampa Bay Rays, as they returned to Tropicana Field after more than a year away from St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n

The dome that was shredded by Hurricane Milton in October 2024 was replaced. A new, larger scoreboard greets fans in right-center field. New amenities have been added to the ballpark.<\/p>\n

And maybe most of all, fans who sweated in the summer heat playing last season at the Rays\u2019 temporary home at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa were bathed in sweet air conditioning.<\/p>\n

But all that was put behind them as the team returned to a spruced-up Trop for Monday\u2019s home opener, which ended as a 6-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. A sellout crowd of 25,114 attended.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a moment for the community,\u201d said Rays CEO Ken Babby, an exclamation point on nearly 10 months of work to get the place ready for Monday. During that aggressive timetable, the Rays were sold to an ownership group that included Babby.<\/p>\n

Their first priority: a new stadium in Tampa by 2029.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Country star Eric Church performs the National Anthem before the game.<\/p>\n

Three hours before the first pitch, James Hickey was in the stadium parking lot, hunched over the back of a pickup truck, doling out sandwiches. He drove to St. Petersburg from North Port, and is not upset over the possibility of the Rays heading across the bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just don\u2019t want to lose them,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve heard rumors of them maybe going to Montreal and stuff, and we want to keep them in Tampa Bay, no matter where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know they struggle to get attendance in here and it\u2019s still an hour and a half for us to come up and we try to come to as many games as we can,\u201d Hickey said, \u201cbut just whatever to keep them here if that\u2019s what they think is the answer, then maybe maybe a new location can\u2019t hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many have blamed the attendance issues on location. Other critics blame the stadium. Outdated. Sterile. Catwalk circus.<\/p>\n

Melanie Shepherd winters in St. Petersburg, coming from Boston. There, she went to Red Sox games at the baseball shrine known as Fenway Park. So just how does the Trop compare?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very different from Boston. Culture shock. I didn\u2019t know that it was a covered arena. It was so weird. Didn\u2019t expect that at all. And air conditioning!\u201d she exclaimed. \u201cIt was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back inside the dome, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor each threw out ceremonial first pitches, a symbolic nod to a season spent split between cities \u2014 and a return that felt bigger than baseball.<\/p>\n

Babby framed the moment as both responsibility and opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, we don\u2019t have a sophisticated business. We are community stewards, and we\u2019re trying to do what\u2019s right \u2026 and continue that work forward,\u201d Babby said during the Rays TV broadcast. \u201cThere\u2019s great history and great rooted tradition, and now we\u2019re trying to take this franchise \u2026 to the next level, both on the field, and, of course, off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new ownership, led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski, committed additional private money on top of the roughly $57 million the city of St. Petersburg spent to restore the stadium. Babby pointed out the new sound system, lights, video board and turf and \u201ca lot of new seats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe replaced almost all the seats in between the dugouts, you know, which are really special, and a lot of happy fans here today,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re out here working as hard as we can, because our fans deserve it, and it is our honor to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bryan Baker struck out Chicago\u2019s Pete Crow-Armstrong to seal the Rays\u2019 triumphant Trop return. It evened their record at 5-5 after a difficult start to a season-opening nine-game road trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt pretty good to say the least,\u201d Baker said of his reaction to the final pitch. \u201cI think that was an encapsulation of how everybody felt getting back in this building and playing in front of these fans. To get out there and seal the deal for the boys was really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rays players appreciated the full house and the amenities of a major-league park.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great. Shoutout to the city of St. Pete and the fans for showing up for us after everything they\u2019ve been through,\u201d said Chandler Simpson, who had two hits and two stolen bases.<\/p>\n

Junior Caminero, who hit one of three home runs for Tampa Bay, said, \u201cThe fans\u2019 support was amazing. It was exciting to be back at Tropicana.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s lease ends after the 2028 season. The owners have proposed building a $2.3 billion stadium on land now used for Hillsborough College, an outfielder\u2019s throw from Raymond James Stadium.<\/p>\n

The Rays want tax dollars to pay half the estimated cost.<\/p>\n

The Rays would build surrounding development, including hotels, offices, restaurants, residential and recreational areas, that would be \u201c100 percent\u201d privately financed, with tax dollars from the district used to eventually pay off the tab.<\/p>\n

The issue is expected to come before the Hillsborough County Commission this month.<\/p>\n

Steve Newborn covers the environment and politics in the Tampa Bay area for NPR affiliate WUSF.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rays principal owner Patrick Zalupski, left, and CEO Ken Babby walk onto the field during the pregame ceremonies.<\/p>\n

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