Gameday
Steinbrenner Field wasn’t built for an experience beyond baseball, so your expectations should be just that. There are no rays touch tanks, like at Tropicana Field, or Ferris wheels like you might find elsewhere. Your time at Steinbrenner will almost exclusively be spent enjoying the game.
Pre-Game and Post-Game Outside the Stadium
One of the tragic losses of Hurricane Milton tearing the roof off of Tropicana Field is no more (for now) pre- and post-gaming at the iconic Ferg’s Sports Bar across the street from the stadium. The Trop was also relatively close to other great bars and restaurants, so there was a choice of things for fans to do. Steinbrenner Field, on the other hand? Not so much. And by “not so much,” we mean … almost nothing.
So let’s make the best of this and give you what we think are the best options for your gameday experience.
Near the stadium
Riveters Tampa at 2301 N Dale Mabry Highway might be the closest thing to a Ferg’s replacement near Steinbrenner. It’s a great sports bar with a big menu and lots of TVs, but it’s also more than a mile walk to the stadium with no gameday parking nearby, so it’s really more than two miles on foot round-trip. But if you really want a pregame bar experience near the stadium, this will be your best option, along with, perhaps, a rideshare to the ballpark. Just be careful – getting a rideshare after the game is more difficult.
If you want to pre-game near the stadium, we might suggest tossing a cooler in your car and stopping for some Publix Pub Subs and paying the $32 to park in a lot so you can tailgate. The parking lots are used for Tampa Bay Buccaneers football games, so they are made for tailgating, with plenty of grassy areas to throw and catch (until the lots start to fill up) and rows of port-o-johns.
Points of interest outside the stadium
Fans of all teams should appreciate the tributes to New York Yankees legends in front of the stadium, which used to be called, not surprisingly, Legends Field before the death of George Steinbrenner. You’ll find plaques with accomplishments honoring the best players to ever wear pinstripes, a statue of The Boss (Steinbrenner, not Springsteen), and a 9/11 tribute made from metal from the World Trade Centers here.
TSI TIP: We’re sure there’s a good reason for this, but it is frustrating nonetheless. If you take the pedestrian bridge across North Dale Mabry from the team’s parking lots and designated rideshare dropoff, you will not be able to access the front of the stadium, so only fans who park in the ADA lot, in private lots on Martin Luther King Boulevard or are dropped off out front by friends or rogue rideshare drivers will be able to do this before the game. All other fans will be able to enjoy it after the game, with access to the pedestrian bridge available.
One last neat thing – if you are entering Gate 1 where the pedestrian bridge directs you to, there’s a merch vending machine with hats and cooling items.
What to bring in with you
No outside food or drink is permitted, with the exception of one sealed bottle of water up to 20 ounces or an empty reusable water bottle up to 44 ounces – but it must be plastic. Water refilling stations are available throughout the stadium, so this is a great way to save some money and stay hydrated in the hot and humid temps.
Sunscreen dispensers
The sun in Florida in the summer is unforgiving, so be sure you lather up with sunscreen before arriving and bring a small bottle of sunscreen that can fit in your MLB-approved clear or clutch bag. If you’re not bringing a bag, one of the team’s biggest sponsors – Orlando Health – has a couple of free sunscreen dispensing stations inside the ballpark.
Misters
Also, shading yourself from the brutal sun or eventual thunderstorm with an umbrella might sound like a smart option, but umbrellas are banned from the ballpark. But we do like that there are a large number of misters in the park so you can get a quick, cool blast of moisture as you walk around the stadium.
Storing Your Luggage at the Ballpark
Steinbrenner Field does not have a luggage storage option, so if you aren’t driving a rental car, leave your bags at your hotel and factor in the extra time to retrieve them when planning your flight home or departure time from the field.
What to Do Inside Steinbrenner Field
You can’t blame the Rays for this, but don’t get to the ballpark early expecting fun stuff to check out like you’d expect at a Major League Stadium. No Rays touch tank and no Rays museum like at the Trop. There’s just no space, and with the team only being here a year, it wouldn’t make much sense even if there was.
Social hangouts
The Webullpen Club on the first-base side of the field and the Third Base Club are pleasant places to grab a table or barstool, a beer, and a snack before the game. Both have large bars, plenty of high-top tables, and TVs to watch the pre-game. Floor-to-ceiling garage doors are open to give both bars an airy feeling, but both are air-conditioned as well, which makes them good in-game stops to cool off a bit. The Third Base Club also has a small back room with comfortable couches and a couple of TVs, and is our favorite place in the entire ballpark to cool off in.
Kids activities
Perhaps one of the greatest losses from the Tropicana Field damage, especially since the Rays pride themselves on being family-friendly, is the lack of a dedicated kids activity area. So be sure your tablets and phones are fully charged to give your kids a distraction when they get bored with the game.
Raymond, the team’s official mascot, as well as DJ Kitty and Stinger the Stingray, also walk around the stadium when they are not entertaining on the field, so hopefully your kid (or you) can snag a selfie with one of them.
Sundays, however, are Family Fundays with face painters and other kids’ activities before the game and an opportunity for fans 14 and younger to get player autographs on the first-base line about an hour before game time.
Team stores
We’ll also miss the two-story Bay Republic team store from Tropicana Field, but despite the tight space, the Rays have three merch spots in the stadium. There’s the built-in team store the Yankees use during Spring Training where they’ll personalize an official jersey for you during the game. Then there’s a merchandise tent as you enter from Gate 1 that also features some game-used and historical options that benefit the Rays Foundation, and a smaller merch stand in the concourse behind home plate.
Concessions
There’s not enough Dippin’ Dots in Steinbrenner Field to sugarcoat this – by far the most tragic loss from Tropicana Field is the variety of food options. One of the things the Rays did great at the Trop was inviting iconic Tampa Bay restaurants and food purveyors to be a part of the concession options, so fans not only had a wide variety of food to choose from, but also visitors could leave the park saying they had a taste of the region. Only Colony Grill, a pizza place, made the cut at Steinbrenner.
The team does have a large smoker available, so the Legendary BBQ stand in the concourse behind third base is probably the best play among the concession stands, with a hand-carved pastrami sandwich for a not-terrible $16 a good option. Not much else stands out, aside from the ‘chicken tender helmet bucket’ which crams lots of tenders and fries into a full-size souvenir plastic Rays helmet. We giggled at the creativity, but cried at the $26 price.
The Webullpen Club and Third Base Club have identical food menus, so you might be better off filling up on a Cuban Burger or a beer-battered Fish Sandwich at one of those clubs.
The Rays were able to maintain some partnerships with alcohol companies, including the local Coppertail Brewing, so what the food lacks, the liquor and local beer will make up for, with many specialty drink stands sprinkled throughout the concourse and in right field.
Also, keep in mind that almost all of the food options are in the concourse, so you won’t be able to see the field while waiting in line. Fortunately, the team tented the concourse and put up some standing high-top tables under the tents, so you’ll be shielded from the sun and rain there and have another option of somewhere to eat other than your seat.
Batting practice and autographs
Gates don’t open until 90 minutes before the game, so you’ll likely miss Rays BP. But Steinbrenner Field is a great place to catch the visiting team warm up. It’s a hitter-friendly park to begin with, and when the wind is blowing out, there will be plenty of souvenir baseballs to go around for fans who bring their gloves and post up in the expansive right- and left-field areas, where you can literally be right on the wall.
Fans line up near both dugouts for autographs, but it is such a tight space that we don’t recommend it unless you’re one of the first to queue up. You might have better luck choosing a seat next to either bullpen and hoping your favorite relief pitcher will let you drop a ball down to them for a signature.
Stadium tour
Steinbrenner Field does not offer stadium tours. We’d say you’re not missing much, but much has been made about the extensive renovation to the home team clubhouse, with many players saying it’s the best they’ve seen in any Major League stadium, including a game room and plunge pools with TVs. So while that would be nice to check out, we don’t believe you’re missing much more by not getting a tour.
First Game Certificate
Steinbrenner Field does not offer a first-game certificate.
Promotions
While the Rays don’t have any discount ticket days, aside from the Rays Rush standing-room-only tickets we detailed in the Seating section, they also have always been creative when it comes to giveaways.
There will be a smattering of all-fans giveaways this year, including a series of bobbleheads that pay homage to the team’s one-year stay at Steinbrenner Field. But also keep your eye out for one of the several premium giveaway days, including special jerseys honoring the Dominican, Greek, Cuban, Colombian, and Puerto Rican heritages, that must be bought in advance and include a game ticket.
Attractions during the game
Again, the Rays are somewhat limited on what they can do with the smaller stadium and scoreboard, but keep your ears open, as the in-game host usually gives you a half-inning-ahead alert when the Mascot Race is going to take place. We recommend taking the kids out to the standing-room-only area by the left-field foul pole for a great vantage point to see Raymond, DJ Kitty, and Stinger racing.
Bottom Line
Just as with Tropicana Field, the Rays have made the most of the bad hand dealt to them in turning a less-than-desirable stadium into as good a place to catch a game as possible. Everything is tempered for this one year at Steinbrenner Field – getting to play outside … but having to contend with heat and rain. Playing in a sold-out or nearly sold-out stadium every night … but also in one lacking in concession variety and stuff to do besides watch the game. On balance, we believe this is a (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a regular-season Major League game in such an intimate environment.