How Topping SHOULD Be |
The ballpark itself is in bad need of replacement. It has the smell of someone’s old basement, and the artificial turf is a green I had not seen since the Brady Bunch went off the air. I am pretty sure Mrs Brady had a kitchen appliance that color. The turf is nasty and looks like the carpet in a $25 a night seedy motel. While I had promised in an earlier blog to never bitch about indoor baseball again, I won’t, but the three circular light banks that surround the inner dome roof look like the mothership from the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” is about to descend on you. But enough about how much I love the Trop. How about the dog.
Dog:
Bun-almost fresh.
Taste-the Kayem frank was pretty damn good. I was pleased with its quality.
Price-$5 is not over the top, but far from the best price I have seen.
Portability-just when you thought it could not get any worse than the paper boat, there is the ¾ paper boat with an open end. Not sure what that is about other than it is pretty useless.
It Factor-there is the dog, the jumbo dog and the Heater (with chili). The heater is a cool name so I give the Rays an extra half point for that.
Ballpark:
Location-it is on the fringes of downtown St. Petersburg. Not the best of locales, especially, since the team is called the TAMPA Rays.
Access-not super easy to access, but it does have a walkable factor to it for some close residents.
Cleanliness-Tropicana field can be summed up in one word: dingy. There is some obvious rust that needs attended to and it appears maintenance is not a priority.
Fans-Saturday game, concert included and the Rays could still only fill about 40% of the seats.
Teams move because of that kind of support.
Ambiance-I have seen more sports ambiance in some man caves.
Dog | Ballpark | Total Dog/Game | ||
Bun | 4 | Location | 4 | |
Taste | 5 | Access | 4 | |
Toppings | 1 | Cleanliness | 3 | |
Price | 4 | Ambiance | 2.5 | |
Portability | 2 | GA Ticket Price | 3 | |
It Factor | 2.5 | Fans | 3 | |
18.5 | 19.5 | 38 |
The bottom line here is that Tampa Bay needs a new ballpark, preferably in Tampa. Or move. They also need to treat their fans equally. I don’t expect skybox treatment in the cheap seats, but I do expect the same service and condiments as those on the lower levels. The greater Tampa area has a plethora of baseball to see, and many of those play in small, cozy and swanky MLB spring training facilities. My recommendation is to bypass Tropicana Field and catch a game at one of those ballparks. You can spend the money you save on a CD of Joan Jett’s greatest hits.
No comments:
Post a Comment