Jump to content

MLB Stadium Saga: Oakland/Tampa Bay/Southside


So_Fla

Recommended Posts

If the ballpark opens to the water (which is on the gulf side of Florida) wouldn't that make for some killer sun hitting the third base side?

The ballpark is actually next to Tampa Bay itself, not the gulf. The field is oriented to the northeast in the city of St. Petersburg.

TampaBayArticleMap.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its definitely a very innovative design and if its built as is shown there, it definitely would do the best job of having a covered field that keeps it feeling outdoors, which has always been my biggest problem with retractable roof stadiums.

Plus with only 34,000 seats, its definitely the right size for their fan base. This would be huge for their franchise, I really hope they get it built.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks nice, but seems like a waste of money to me. Tropicana is only what.. 12 years old? Wouldn't renovating Tropicana be much easier than rebuilding Al Lang field anyway?

It may sound crude, but the best and cheapest way to renovate that mausoleum would be to implode it and convert it into a parking lot. :P

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks nice, but seems like a waste of money to me. Tropicana is only what.. 12 years old? Wouldn't renovating Tropicana be much easier than rebuilding Al Lang field anyway?

Although Tropicana Field is entering it's 11th season for MLB in 2008, it was built far earlier than that. The Trop was initially began construction in 1986, with the intention to lure a relocated franchise. It was finished in 1990, still without any tenants. It took until 1993 to get a tenant, in this was the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team. The stadium was renovated to accommodate the arena-style setting and the Lightning remained there until 1996 when they moved to their new arena in downtown Tampa. The Rays were awarded as a franchise in 1995 and began play in 1998, and have been the tenants ever since.

As you can see, the Trop is clearly past due, being that contruction began in 1986, that means the design plans for the Trop were about that old. The Trop is outdated among current trends and is past it's prime, even though the team is 11 years old next year

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Exactly how is the "roof" supposed to close or open? In the renderings, it's always closed. On ballparksofbaseball.com, it says it would close by way of the "Hoist Tower". But where does it go when it is opened? It meets at one point on the tower, and unless somebody manually unhooks it from there, it could only be up, as shown, or down on the field. I hope everybody understands what I'm saying.

I'm sure there is a way that it opens and closes correctly. I'd just like to know the process of the "roof" opening and closing, because right now, I'm confused about it.

All in all, though, I'm definately for them replacing the Trop. But I feel this design kind of reflects their new logos and uniforms. While decent and not necessarily bad, it's just kind of meh, and just kind of stopped short of good. However anything is better than the abandoned Home Depot, I mean Tropicana Field.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Isnt Tropicana Field relatively new? And they talk about renovating it....for what? Who is going to use it if the Rays move into a new ballpark?

Nope.

Its almost 20 years old. It was pretty much outdated when it opened. Horribly designed IMO. They could renovate it, but I bet the cost would be so high that they'd be half way to a new stadium. I'd start from scratch if I were them.

Actually, I'd move the team if I were them...but then again, I'm NOT them. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is that a spread of netting covering the top of the ballpark?

I think it is.

Y'know, the more I look at the images the more I'm hating the whole 'netting' thing. I see the direct connection to sailing and boats...but in the end it looks way too overdone and annoying. The shadows that it will create will also look pretty annoying too. Not to mention that the beautiful views of the skyline will be obstructed.

I really hope they rethink it a bit and try to incoporate that feature in a much less obstructive way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is that a spread of netting covering the top of the ballpark?

I think it is.

Y'know, the more I look at the images the more I'm hating the whole 'netting' thing. I see the direct connection to sailing and boats...but in the end it looks way too overdone and annoying. The shadows that it will create will also look pretty annoying too. Not to mention that they beautiful views of the skyline will be obstructed.

I really hope they rethink it a bit and try to incoporate that feature in a much less obstructive way.

It's supposed to be entirely transparent so as to protect from rain, but still look like it's uncovered. The wires would be about the only obstructive part, and I don't really know how obstructive they'd actually be. The skyline view wouldn't really change.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is that a spread of netting covering the top of the ballpark?

I think it is.

Y'know, the more I look at the images the more I'm hating the whole 'netting' thing. I see the direct connection to sailing and boats...but in the end it looks way too overdone and annoying. The shadows that it will create will also look pretty annoying too. Not to mention that they beautiful views of the skyline will be obstructed.

I really hope they rethink it a bit and try to incoporate that feature in a much less obstructive way.

It's supposed to be entirely transparent so as to protect from rain, but still look like it's uncovered. The wires would be about the only obstructive part, and I don't really know how obstructive they'd actually be. The skyline view wouldn't really change.

Well maybe its the artist's rendering, but the netting looks very much like it would obstruct the views of the skyline. Again, even if it is more invisible, I think its overdone. A good idea, that doesn't work very well the way they executed it in the images.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hate the netting, for the same reason that I hate Miller Park's roof - it's never really gone, even when retracted. It dominates the park.

I don't see how that system of cables and lines could help but be obtrustive, even when the tarp is rolled back. It'd be like watching a game under power cables.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Exactly how is the "roof" supposed to close or open? In the renderings, it's always closed. On ballparksofbaseball.com, it says it would close by way of the "Hoist Tower". But where does it go when it is opened? It meets at one point on the tower, and unless somebody manually unhooks it from there, it could only be up, as shown, or down on the field. I hope everybody understands what I'm saying.

I'm sure there is a way that it opens and closes correctly. I'd just like to know the process of the "roof" opening and closing, because right now, I'm confused about it.

I am not sure if I understand you correctly, but I believe that there is a permenant wire(s) between the "hoist tower" and the main stadium behind home plate. I think that the roof material is drawn down the wire to the roof of the main structure. The material is held in the main roof in my understanding.

The lights are probably under the "roof" overing the main stands, somewhat like Heinz field...

800px-Heinz_field_scoreboard_and_river.jpg

saBS.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Isnt Tropicana Field relatively new? And they talk about renovating it....for what? Who is going to use it if the Rays move into a new ballpark?

Re-read the origional article. They aren't talking about renovating the Trop, rather tearing it down, selling the land and using the money generated from the sale (where that land (the land the Trop currnetly sits on) is turned into retail space).

The renovation you're refering to on the Trop are renovations that have already been done just to get the Trop even close to modern standards for a MLB ballpark... As others have noted, for a stadium that's barely 20 years old, it was outdated the moment it opened...

Moose

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.