Rays/MLB

Welcome (really) to the new Trop

By MARC TOPKIN
Published April 2, 2006

Whether the Devil Rays are any better on the field remains to be seen.

But just about everything else about the franchise seems to be new and improved.

Since Stuart Sternberg took over as principal owner and Matt Silverman became team president in October, the Rays have launched a series of fan-friendly initiatives designed to make the team and the stadium more inviting.

"There are lots of great changes taking place," Silverman said.

Among them:

Parking in team lots at Tropicana Field will be free for the entire season (see map for details).

Fans are now allowed to bring food and some drinks into the stadium. Food items must be wrapped, bagged or contained in a softside container no larger than 16" x 16" x 8". Single-serve juice boxes and sealed plastic water bottles, no larger than 1 liter, are also allowed.

Prices for some tickets and concessions were reduced. For example, hot dogs, popcorn, bottled water, pretzels and sunflower seeds are being reduced by 25 cents, and coffee and hamburgers by 50 cents. There will also be $1 hot dogs and Pepsi drinks at eight Monday home games: April 10, May 1, June 5, July 24, July 31, Aug. 21, Sept. 4 and Sept. 18.

Tailgating, for the first time, is allowed in the team parking lots, with gates opening 21/2 hours before game time.

The stadium is undergoing a $10-million renovation, including refurbishing the bathrooms, finishing and painting the concourse walls, cleaning every seat, adding flat-screen TVs throughout the concourse, upgrading the home clubhouse, constructing a new plush club along the first-base line, adding new signs in the parking lot and enhancing the rotunda entrance. There are also plans to construct a large touch tank of rays above the outfield fence, to renovate all suites and to add a new scoreboard next offseason.

The number of promotional dates has been increased, as has the number of items that are given away on each date.

The number of benefits for season-ticket holders has been increased.

All game-day employees are being trained in a fan-first approach through a program called R.A.Y.S. U - Ready At Your Service.

[Last modified April 2, 2006, 01:24:20]