Block party builds buzz for Rays' return to the Trop

ST. PETERSBURG -- Inside, Tropicana Field is starting to look a lot more like the home of the Rays.

It felt that way outside, too, on Saturday afternoon.

The Rays hosted their annual Fan Fest on Valentine’s Day, this one with a twist. It was dubbed the “Fan Fest Block Party,” as it was held outside the Trop along 16th Street S. The event brought the usual mix of player appearances, autographs, panels, games and merchandise, and it served as a reminder that baseball will be back inside the Rays’ ballpark in less than two months.

“I'd say if there's any indication of excitement about Tampa Bay Rays baseball, it's here on full display today at Fan Fest,” Rays CEO Ken Babby said.

Tropicana Field’s roof panels were fully restored in November after being ripped off during Hurricane Milton in October 2024, and work continues inside. The artificial turf has been set. They’re testing the lights and new sound system. The 40 Rays players who attended Fan Fest on Saturday got a look inside the upgraded home clubhouse.

When the Rays reopen the Trop against the Cubs on April 6, fans will find an expanded video board, new and improved premium seating and other upgrades the club intends to reveal closer to Opening Day. And after a season spent outside at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, they will return to the 72-degree dome the club still calls home.

“It’s great to be back,” a smiling Babby said during a Fan Fest panel with radio broadcaster Neil Solondz. “And it’ll be great to have air conditioning, too.”

Babby said there were 50,000 free tickets claimed for the Fan Fest Block Party, and the lines were certainly long as they snaked around the parking lots across the street from Tropicana Field.

“It's so exciting,” Babby said. “I mean, it's hard to believe we're not even playing a baseball game today.”

During his panel, Babby reiterated his previous statement that the Trop “is going to look better than you guys have ever seen it.” The Rays’ new ownership group remains focused on securing a new, long-term ballpark for the club to begin the 2029 season, and they recently entered an agreement to pursue a mixed-use development featuring a new ballpark on the site of Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus.

But they are balancing those plans with a desire to make the most of their remaining three seasons at the Trop.

“When our fans walk in here on April 6, we want that experience to be really, really special,” Babby said. “We're committed to that and confident that'll be the case.”

It will be special for the Rays in uniform, too. For all they could have complained about regarding the transition to Steinbrenner Field -- the ballpark’s dimensions, the weather, their lack of success at home early in the season -- they put forth a remarkably consistent and upbeat attitude.

But there is no doubt they are excited to return home, too.

“This is my 20th season with the team, and for a lot of it, when the Trop is the topic of conversation, it's usually about what's wrong with it. That's usually where things go,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said recently. “That's changed. Now, it's about everything that's right with it.

“So it'll mean a lot because it's our home. It'll mean a lot to the area because of, I think, what the destruction of that building symbolized for a lot of the hardships people went through here. Looking forward to doing our best to give them a product to be proud of out there.”

Added manager Kevin Cash: “There is genuine, authentic excitement to get back to the Trop. We’ve played well in the Trop. We've had a lot of success in the Trop. And I think we're going back to something that's probably going to be a little bit newer, a little bit better than maybe as we left it, because they had to do so many repairs. So I think all of us will be very excited that day that we first step foot in.”