After Tampa was awarded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Rowdies in the 1970s, St. Petersburg decided it wanted a share of the professional sports scene. City officials decided that they would attempt to attract Major League Baseball. Possible designs for a baseball park or multi-purpose stadium were proposed as early as 1983.

City officials decided that a stadium with a fixed permanent dome was necessary for a prospective major league team to be viable in the area, due to its hot, humid summers and frequent thunderstorms. Ballpark construction began in 1986 in the hope that it would lure a Major League Baseball team to the facility.

The nearest airport to Tropicana Field is St. Petersburg (PIE) Airport which is 10 miles away. Other nearby airports include Tampa (TPA) which is 16 miles away, and Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ) which is 27 miles away.

Direct flights from London to Tampa International Airport (TPA) are available with a flight time of 9-10 hours.

St. Petersburg (PIE) and Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ) are great options if you are already in the US and looking to travel to/from the arena. Most US domestic airlines including Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Eagle, Frontier Airlines, Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airways and WestJet offer internal flights.

There are bus stops located within a few minutes’ walk of Tropicana Field, including 3rd Ave S + Dr Mlk Jr St N which is 217 yards away (a 3 minute walk), Dr Martin Luther King Jr St S + 2nd Ave S (246 yards), and Central Ave + 11th St South (562 yards) all allowing plenty of options for travelling to the field by bus. You could also make use of apps such as Moovit to get directions to the arena using public transportation.

Rideshare services such as Uber or Lyft are also available in the vicinity.

Beyond the Airbnb and Sonder options there are many hotels nearby to suit all budgets in the nearby neighbourhoods.

Downtown St. Petersburg, also known as the Sunshine City, is one of the most vibrant and exciting areas in Florida. Located in the heart of Tampa Bay, this thriving district is a hub of culture, entertainment, and recreation. Central Ave is a vibrant street in St. Petersburg that starts at the beautiful downtown waterfront and stretches west. It invites you to wander along its vibrant boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and bars. You can spot murals, shop for one-of-a-kind threads, and explore the heart of the local food and drink scene as you go.

The Tampa Bay Rays sell their tickets via mlb.tickets and the MLB Ballpark App.

SeatGeek has replaced StubHub as the official ticket resale partner for MLB.

Baseball fans can still use other resale ticket marketplaces to buy and sell tickets to MLB games. MLB will verify those tickets so buyers know they’re getting a legitimate ticket.

Here are links to the main ticket resale sites. Click on the link, which will open up a new window, and you can compare the prices on the different ticket resell sites, bearing in mind that the prices shown are before the selling platforms fees are added, so take time to have a read of my tips to Buying Tickets in North America.

• SeatGeek
• SportsEvents365 (Click on the Search Button)
• StubHub International
• StubHub US
• Ticketmaster US
• TicketNetwork
• Viagogo
• Vivid Seats

I recommend downloading the Ballpark App to your phone as it contains a lot of Gameday information for the Ballpark you are visiting and a place to check in and record all the baseball games you have been to.