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Glitches aside, opener is a hit with crowdsBy STEPHEN NOHLGREN © St. Petersburg Times, published April 1, 1998 They roared when Devil Rays left-hander Wilson Alvarez threw the first pitch -- a ball. They cheered Rays centerfielder Quinton McCracken, who snared a first-inning line drive and toppled over backward, and third baseman Wade Boggs, who hit the team's first regular season home run. They filled their bellies with hot dogs, peanuts and beer. "This is just so emotional for me. I've been waiting for this moment for 50 years," said St. Petersburg businessman Jim Anthony, a former batboy. "When they sang the national anthem, I cried." The day was not without glitches. Some of the city's new parking pay stations refused to accept money. Police arrested at least 34 people for scalping, logo infringement and drunk and disorderly conduct. For the most part, however, the sellout crowd of 45,369 filed in and out of a spiffed-up stadium in a happy and orderly fashion. Gone were the indoor puddles and dangling light fixtures that marred the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen tournament at the dome just 11 days earlier. By noon, restaurants along Central Avenue served food and drink to thousands of ticket holders, hangers-on and downtown workers, some of whom donned Devil Rays gear and left work early. Radio stations set up makeshift tents in vacant lots and broadcast live under clear, 80-degree skies. Fears of traffic gridlock proved groundless as fans arrived hours before the game's 5:05 p.m. start. Some happily paid $10 to park in and around Tropicana Field. Others took advantage of the city's free shuttle system. Tampa resident Michelle Hanke, a senior at the University of South Florida, skipped classes and headed across the Howard Frankland Bridge with her father, Doug. They left the interstate about 3 p.m., parked at a downtown bank and hopped the shuttle to watch the Devil Rays take on the Detroit Tigers. "I thought there'd be a real hassle. You hear about all the traffic jams and things," Hanke said. "But we whipped right in there." Perhaps the biggest problem was the city's new parking pay station system. Some worked like a charm, but dozens around the city refused to cooperate. Fans struggled to stuff $10 bills into the new machines, only to have their money come right back out. All around the stadium, scalpers and last-minute fans held up fingers, signifying that they were looking for tickets. A few remained on sale at the box office almost to game time. Ed Lewis, 69, of Bradenton stood along Ninth Street S with a Louisville Slugger perched on his shoulder, waiting for his wife. "I told her I was coming over to get some tickets," he said. "She didn't think I'd do it. Well, I got the tickets and called her. I wouldn't miss this for the world." Gabe Cazares, who lost a seat on the Pinellas County Commission after voting to underwrite the stadium with tourist tax money, wore a T-shirt that said, "We Built It and They Came." Seeing the finished product, he said, made it all worthwhile. "This is more important than any political career," said Cazares, 78. "This stadium will be here forever, and the benefits will continue to accrue to the Tampa Bay community forever." Such enthusiasm wasn't universal. A group of homeless people picketed along 16th Street. Members of the National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement staged a protest on the exit ramp of Interstate 175 at Ninth Street S. They complained that the African-American community has not shared in the economic success of baseball. Six people were arrested. Inside the stadium, Milton Ambrose discovered that a 10-foot screen behind the visitors' bullpen obstructed his view from seats along the leftfield foul line. Ambrose, a 44-year-old Tampa resident, said the screen wasn't there when he picked out seats and bought season tickets. "The team should have told people that there was going to be a net there," he complained. Season-ticket holders Dave and Colleen Wegener, both 52, of Seminole had some of the highest seats in the house and found a catwalk blocking their view of second base. And there is the sonic delay. "You've got to be watching carefully -- the ball can go quite far before the sound of it being hit gets here," Mrs. Wegener said. Devil Rays owner Vince Naimoli, mostly smiling, took reports of problems in stride. "There are things we would have done differently but the important thing is we're here," he said. "Baseball's a marathon, not a sprint."
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T. PETERSBURG -- The game was wonderfully ugly, and it didn't matter. The festive throng that packed Tropicana Field on Tuesday finally put St. Petersburg's 8-year-old domed stadium to its intended use and came away fulfilled.
