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November 18, 2008 [LINK / comment]

Tropicana Field update

Tropicana Field Since the Tampa Bay Rays won the American League pennant for the first time, it is fitting that their stadium should get more recognition, humble though it may be. Accordingly, I've revised -- yet again -- the Tropicana Field diagram, including a version that shows the roof and catwalks. The seating areas around the right and left field corners are much improved, showing the tight curvature, and a few other details are refined. Just in time for basketball season (!), I also made a new basketball version in the configuration used at the 1999 NCAA Final Four Championship; it's presumably similar to the arrangement for Tampa Bay Lightning hockey games from 1992 to 1996. What's more, there is now a football version in anticipation of the first-ever "St. Petersburg Bowl" to be played there next month.

But wait, there's more! I also added to that page four very good photos of Tropicana Field -- three interior and one exterior -- that were sent in to me by John Minor. I'm much obliged.

And on the subject of a possible new home for the Rays, team owner Stuart Sternberg has suggested that the Rays might not stay in St. Petersburg if the state and local governments don't cough up enough money to build a new stadium. See tampabay.com; hat tip to Mike Zurawski, who doubts that any other city is going to pay for a new major league baseball stadium for years to come. I agree: under the current harsh economic climate, the Rays are going to have to make do or close up shop. Hard times! I am still working on a suggested "roof-less" alternative design, in case the Rays can't get public funding for a brand-new stadium and resort to refurbishing what they've already got.

While searching for images of the outfield area, I came across a interesting batch of photos of the aquarium / water tank where the Cow-Nosed Rays frolic just to the right of center field. See Tampa Bay Aquarium.

Odds 'n ends

Thanks to John Crozier for pointing out (via a blog comment) an error on my Citi Field diagram. Stay tuned...

I am posting this item under the Latin America blog category, but it will be of interest to Orioles fans and others: Baseball Diplomacy in Nicaragua.

COMMENT by: John Crozier, of Long Island, NY on Nov 18, 2008 17:57 PM
Hi Andrew, I'm glad you included the hockey/basketball diagram in Tropicana Field. As a big hockey fan (Go Islanders!) I was hoping you would eventually include something like that. No problem for the help on the Citi Field diagram. It's a pleasure to put my $0.02 in once in a while. Keep up the great work!

COMMENT by: Brian Hughes, of Edison, NJ on Nov 19, 2008 00:21 AM
Does this addition of the basketball diagram for the Trop foreshadow future basketball diagrams for other parks, and maybe even that bowling diagram for Miller Park? :P

COMMENT by: John Crozier, of Long Island, NY on Nov 19, 2008 21:21 PM
It looks like you updated the Yankee Stadium diagram. It looks awsome. Yankee Stadium was/is always a special place for me. I'm glad you were also able to see our new home (New Yankee Stadium). Seems like it got your seal of approval. It's truely a grand place and I can't wait to start going to games next year.

COMMENT by: Andrew Clem, of Staunton, VA on Nov 22, 2008 17:11 PM
I had intended to do the basketball/hockey version of The Trop all along, and will do likewise for the Metrodome (NCAA - BB). As for the bowling version of Miller Park, that would depend on whether the attendance was high enough to qualify it as a major sporting event. John, you were really on the ball spotting the Yankee Stadium updates. I'm still trying to nail down some details before I "announce" it, but I guess you spilled the beans. :-)

COMMENT by: John Crozier, of Long Island, NY on Nov 23, 2008 18:22 PM
Hi Andrew, Upon further review, I noticed that the Yankee Stadium diagram does not include the oval escalator towers at gates 4 and 6.

Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 23 Nov 2008, 6: 22 PM

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Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.


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The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:

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