Upper-deck blues

Fans reassess their seat strategy after learning of restrictions on the cheaper and higher decks at the Trop.

By CURTIS KRUEGER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 3, 2002

		[Times photo: Toni L. Sandys] Haley Newhausen, 2, of Spring Hill is all smiles as her brother, Chase, 6, and mother, Lynda, enjoy the upper deck of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Tuesday night. They were sad to learn the area will stay closed for games this season when the lower levels are not sold out

You would see how he was dressed, note that he showed up three hours early for opening night of a team tied for worst in the major leagues last year, and conclude that he must be thrilled with the perfectly good $14 outfield ticket in his pocket.

Not Berry.

This 55-year-old data entry worker let his outfield seat in Tropicana Field stay empty on Tuesday night, and climbed to the $10 cheap seats of the nosebleed section. He ascended to Row Q of the upper deck, where the blue chairs slope down like the side of a mountain glacier and home plate looks like a white pebble in a green sea.

For Berry, the upper deck holds the best seats in the house, the place where you can see all the action, and never lose sight of the baseball as it streaks into the highest reaches of the dome.

And now it's virtually gone. Though the upper deck was open for Tuesday's game, it will stay closed for most games this season, except for those games in which the lower levels have almost sold out.

I do not like it," Berry said emphatically.

"I think they're crazy myself, because a lot of people like the upper deck," said Tom Witzke, 70, who spends winters in Zephyrhills.

"You can quote me," added fellow upper deck die-hard Carol Schulmeyer, after saying something a family newspaper would rather not quote.

Under the team's new plan, the officials will announce the opening of the upper deck if the 29,000 lower-level seats are on the verge of selling out. But the Devil Rays sold fewer than that number in the vast majority of their games last year.

The closing takes away seats that sold for between $8 and $19 last year. For those few games when the upper deck remains open, the seats will cost $10.

For fans such as Berry, it's a blow to the wallet. Last year, he would buy two $8 upper-deck tickets and bring a friend -- $16 total. This year he'll buy one $14 outfield seat for himself.

"I can't afford to buy two $14 tickets," he said.

All told, the closing of the upper deck means there's a new landscape in Tropicana Field for those who watch baseball on a budget.

The cheapest seats are in "the Beach," a section overlooking the outfield on the third-base side, where they cost $5 for adults; $2 for senior citizens (55 and older); and $2 for children ages 2 to 12.

But things have changed there, too. Unlike last year, fans are restricted to the Beach area, which has its own bar, concessions and a tiny merchandise stand. Sitting in the Beach now means you can't take the kids to the rock climbing wall or the candy rack downstairs, and it means the grownups can't lounge in the Budweiser Brewhouse or browse through the lower-level Team Store.

The Devil Rays organization wants fans to know it's still affordable to come to the ballpark, especially with promotions that knock dollars off regular prices, said John Browne, the team's vice president of sales and marketing.

"Our general goal here is to make the opportunity to come to Tropicana Field a very affordable option for families," he said. One promotion says four tickets and hot dog dinners can be purchased for $34.

As the Devil Rays were busy defeating the Detroit Tigers 9-5, many fans were mulling their own game strategies.

Usually, "I'll buy a cheaper ticket and spend (extra cash) on food and drink," said Dan McGrew, 67, of Clearwater. Now he'll do the reverse. He thinks the Devil Rays should recognize that cheaper seats make happy customers.

"You make people happy, they start throwing money," he said.

Three 21-year-old Hillsborough Community College students sitting in the upper deck, Josh Fullenkamp, Donnie Spellman and Shane Smith, were torn on where to sit next. The Beach prices sounded nice. But so did roaming the stadium.

"If they'd charge less for beer, we'd get better seats," Smith said. "That's about what it boils down to."

Cutting back

LOOPER TROLLEY: The downtown trolley for fans will operate only on opening day and when the Rays are hosting the New York Yankees.

THE BEACH: If you buy one of the 1,339 tickets in the Beach section of the outfield, you can't roam the rest of the stadium.

UPPER DECK: It will be closed except when big games (against the Yankees, most likely) attract large crowds. That probably means in excess of 29,000 fans.