Tropicana Field Game Day Guide
Tampa Bay Rays · St. Petersburg, FL
Know Before You Go
- Bag policy
Each fan may bring one single-compartment clear bag up to 12 x 12 x 6 inches and/or one non-clear fanny pack or clutch up to 5 x 7 inches.
Backpacks, non-transparent bags, and oversized bags are prohibited, with exceptions for diaper bags accompanying a young child and medical-device bags.
- Bag storage
Tropicana Field does not store prohibited items, including noncompliant bags.
Guests must return prohibited items to their vehicle or discard them.
- Gate opening
Gates open 90 minutes before first pitch Monday through Friday and two hours before first pitch on Opening Day and Saturdays and Sundays.
- Mobile tickets
Tropicana Field accepts digital tickets presented in the MLB Ballpark app or Apple Wallet.
Screenshots, printed tickets, and copied barcodes shown in third-party apps are not accepted. Guests without a smartphone or with a dead device should ask a Box Office associate for help.
- Re-entry
Tropicana Field has a no-re-entry policy at every gate.
A guest whose service animal needs a relief area should contact a staff member for an escort to a convenient area outside the ballpark.
- Prohibited items
Tropicana Field prohibits weapons, fireworks, hard-sided coolers, outside alcohol, glass and metal containers, drones, lasers, and noncompliant bags.
The list also includes projectiles, aerosol cans, radio-controlled devices, speakers, bats, wheeled recreational devices, selfie sticks, camera lenses 12 inches or longer, and most loud noisemakers; review the official list before arrival.
- First aid
First Aid is between Gates 3 and 4 on the 100 Level behind home plate.
The clinic is staffed by the St. Petersburg Fire/Rescue Medical Team.
- Nursing and lactation
A private nursing and pumping room is behind home plate inside the Orlando Health Fan Care Clinic.
The room has a keypad privacy lock, is sanitized after each use, and can be opened with code 33705.
- Family restrooms
Every Tropicana Field level has accessible restrooms, all-gender restrooms, and changing stations.
All-gender restrooms are on the 100 Level near Sections 102-104, 114-116, and 121-123; in the DEX Home Plate Club, Republic Bank Draft Room, and Left Field Meeting Room; and on the 300 Level near Sections 309-311 and 310-312.
- Tickets for children
A child needs a game ticket beginning on their second birthday.
- Guest services
Guest Services is at Gates 1, 3, and 4 and on the MaintenX SkyDeck.
For help during a game, contact a Fan Host or text 727-594-0860 with the issue and location. Questions before or after a visit can be emailed to CustomerService@RaysBaseball.com.
- Service animals
Service animals trained to perform tasks for guests with disabilities are welcome at Tropicana Field.
Contact a staff member if the animal needs a relief area outside the ballpark.
- Smoking and vaping
Tropicana Field is smoke-free, and tobacco, e-cigarettes, vapes, and chewing tobacco are prohibited throughout the property.
Game Day Timeline
What the day looks like at Tropicana Field, hour by hour.
Arrive in downtown St. Pete
Drive or rideshare to the Tropicana Field area. Park in the official lots or find street parking in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Pregame in the EDGE District
3 Daughters Brewing, Cage Brewing, and Green Bench Brewing are within walking distance. The Central Avenue brewery scene is the pregame move.
Enter Tropicana Field
Walk through the main gates. The climate-controlled dome is an immediate relief from the Florida heat. Explore the Rays Touch Tank behind center field.
Watch batting practice
Head to the lower level outfield sections. The catwalks and ceiling rings above the field are unique to the Trop, balls that hit them are in play.
Find your seat
The Trop is smaller than most MLB parks, navigate easily to your section. Check out the Rays Tank where live cownose rays swim during the game.
Play ball
Nine innings of baseball under the dome. The AstroTurf surface plays fast. Expect sharp grounders and high bounces. Watch for balls hitting the catwalks.
Stand up and stretch
Grab a final Cuban sandwich or frozen mojito. The indoor atmosphere stays comfortable regardless of the Florida weather outside.
Head to Central Avenue or the waterfront
Downtown St. Pete's restaurant and bar scene on Central Avenue is a 10-minute walk. The waterfront parks along Tampa Bay are beautiful at sunset.
Tips & Fan Reports
The catwalks above the field are unique to the Trop. Balls that hit them are in play. It's happened in key game situations.
Beach Drive and downtown St. Pete have a great dining scene that's better than the arena food. Eat before the game.
Tropicana Field is an indoor dome - no weather concerns but no natural atmosphere either. AC is aggressive, bring a layer.
The Rays Touch Tank behind center field has live cownose rays you can feed and touch. Free for all ticketholders.
Rays tickets are among the cheapest in MLB. The Trop may not be glamorous but it's an affordable baseball experience.
Tailgating starts when the lots open for the event rather than at a fixed hour.
No open flames or fire pits, and nothing that counts as a large commercial grill.
Alcohol in the lot is allowed here, which is unusual, but none of it comes inside with you.
Sunshades and chairs are fine as long as they clear the aisles and your neighbour's bay.
Before the Game
Tailgating is allowed at Tropicana Field from the moment the lots open for that event, with the restrictions aimed at scale rather than at the activity: no big tents, no open flames, no fire pits and no large commercial grills. Sunshades and folding chairs are fine provided they block neither the parking aisles nor another space. The distinctive rule here is alcohol: it is permitted in the tailgating area, which most ballparks forbid, but never permitted to be carried inside the ballpark.
Where to Go Before the Game
The Tropicana Field lots
Tailgating is allowed across the lots from the time they open for the event. Sunshades and folding chairs are permitted so long as they block no aisle and no neighbouring space.
Known for Tailgating permitted · Open with the event · Alcohol allowed in the lot
The parking aisles
The lanes between rows, which sunshades, chairs and other structures may not block at any point, the practical limit on how far a setup can spread.
Known for Must stay clear · Limits the setup
The alcohol boundary
Alcohol is permitted in the tailgating area but may never be carried into the ballpark, so whatever is opened in the lot stays in the lot.
Known for Allowed in the lot · Never inside · Finish before you enter
Pregame Rules
What Tropicana Field allows before the game, and what it does not.
- Tailgating is allowed once the lots are open for that event.
- Structures such as sunshades and folding chairs may not block parking aisles or other spaces.
- No big tents, open flames, fire pits or large commercial grills are allowed.
- Alcohol is permitted in the tailgating area, but is never permitted to be carried inside the ballpark.
Weather
Tropicana Field is indoor, so these are the conditions for the parking lot and the walk in, not the seats.
Across the MLB season the warmest month is July, with an average high of 91°F, and the coldest is April, when the average low is 66°F. August is the wettest month at 9.3 inches and May the driest at 2.5 inches.
That April low ranks 29th coldest of the 30 MLB venues, and August here ranks 2nd wettest.
April
2.6 inchesMay
2.5 inchesJune
7.2 inchesJuly
8.3 inchesAugust
9.3 inchesSeptember
7.5 inchesOctober
2.5 inchesWhat to Bring
- Only the outside food and drink the rule allows
Outside food and drinks are prohibited, except one sealed water bottle of 20 ounces or less or one empty plastic bottle or cup per ticketed fan.
- A card or a phone wallet
Tropicana Field is cashless and accepts credit cards, debit cards, and Rays Wallet for concessions, merchandise, and parking.
- Water for the walk in
July highs average 91°F outside Tropicana Field.
- A rain layer for the walk in
August averages 9.3 inches of rain outside Tropicana Field.
Tailgate Gear
Lots open when the lots open for that event.
- A small grill rather than a large commercial one, and nothing with an open flame or a fire pit
- A sunshade and chairs that fit without blocking an aisle or the next bay
- No big tent: those are specifically excluded
- A plan to finish any drinks in the lot, since none may be carried inside
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Game day timeline
Gate opening time checked against the venue's own gate-opening policy: Gates open 90 minutes before first pitch Monday through Friday and two hours before first pitch on Opening Day and Saturdays and Sundays.
- Pregame
Tampa Bay Rays official site: Parking at Tropicana Field, and Tropicana Field Policies and Procedures
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
- Venue policies
Current Rays Tropicana Field, accessibility, dietary, sensory, and mobile-ticket guidance reviewed for entry, family, payment, food, parking, and accessibility rules.