Around Tropicana Field

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The first thing around Tropicana Field is parking. The dome sits in its own ring of lots, and nothing on the stadium footprint itself is worth your pre-game hour. The scene starts one street over. Cross 1st Avenue South and you’re at Ferg’s, the sports bar that has run Rays game days since 1992. From there, Central Avenue carries you east through the Edge District into downtown St. Petersburg, picking up bars, breweries, and restaurants along the way, until you hit the waterfront and the St. Pete Pier about a mile and a half out. The gates are not wrapped in a bar district, but the stretch from Ferg’s east is a real scene, and it gets denser the farther east you walk.

The land under the dome has its own past, the Gas Plant District. You can find more about the Gas Plant District in our History section.

Ferg’s Sports Bar, across the street

Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill opened at 1320 Central Ave in 1992, six years before the Devil Rays threw their first pitch, and it has been the game-day meeting spot ever since. It sits directly across from the park, about a third of a mile from the gates. It has a national reputation as one of the best sports bars in the country.

It is big enough to back up that reputation, with 90-plus TVs, wings, a patio that holds a serious pre-game crowd, an upstairs bar, axe throwing, and a dog park. On a game night the whole block leans Rays. If the plan calls for one stop before first pitch, make it this one.

The Edge District and Central Avenue

The Edge District covers the stretch closest to the park, roughly 10th to 16th Streets, and the corridor keeps filling in as it runs east toward downtown. Three spots near the park are worth a stop:

• Pacific Counter (660 Central Ave): sushi rolls, poke, and banh mi from the same operation that runs a stand inside the park on the Budweiser Porch.
• Colony Grill (670 Central Ave): bar pizza two doors down, ordered by the pie.
• Kahwa (204 2nd Ave S): the local coffee roaster. The same cups pour at two stands inside the dome, so a pre-game stop here is the cheaper version of the same coffee.

West of the park, the same avenue runs into the Grand Central District, more of the corridor in the other direction.

The St. Pete breweries

St. Pete has a real craft-beer scene of its own, and the names that matter here are the ones brewing in the neighborhood. Green Bench Brewing sits about a mile northeast of the dome at 1133 Baum Ave N. 3 Daughters Brewing, whose Beach Blonde ale pours on taps inside the park, runs one of the larger taprooms in town.

Pick whichever one sits along your walk. You do not need both before first pitch.

Downtown and the St. Pete Pier

Downtown St. Petersburg starts about a mile east of the dome and reaches the water at roughly a mile and a half. That’s where Beach Drive, the museums, and the St. Pete Pier sit, and it’s the stretch that turns a game into a full day in town.

The walk from the gates is flat and simple in good weather, but it is a sweaty walk in July. The SunRunner, the bus rapid transit line run by PSTA (the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, the county transit agency), stops on the north side of the park and covers the run downtown in about five minutes, with buses every 15 minutes until 8 p.m. and every 30 minutes after that until midnight. For more on the SunRunner route, fares, and parking, see our Getting There section.

Tailgating in the Rays lots

Tropicana Field allows tailgating in its own lots. The lots open two and a half hours before weekday games and three hours before weekend games, and once they open, the tailgate is legal. Charcoal, open flames, and oversized tents are not allowed. Drinks are fine in the lot, and none of them go through the gates with you.

For a group, a cooler and a parking spot is a legitimate alternative to a bar tab, and nothing stops you from doing both. Just remember the gate rules pick up where the lot ends: clear bags only, no outside food, one sealed water per person. You can find more about the gate rules in our First-Timer Guide section.

Family-friendly options

• The Dalí Museum (anytime; best as a pre-game afternoon): the largest Salvador Dalí collection outside Spain, on the downtown waterfront. It’s friendlier to kids than a surrealism museum sounds, with a dedicated kids’ gallery, a free-app audio tour built for kids, and a scavenger hunt through the collection. Before a night game it fills the afternoon without wearing anyone out.
• St. Pete Pier (anytime; the playground option): a playground, a splash pad, a small beach, and open green space, built out over the bay downtown. Pack a towel for the splash pad.
• Great Explorations Children’s Museum (pre-game or day activity): a hands-on children’s museum just north of downtown, next to Sunken Gardens. Plan it as a daytime stop rather than an evening one.

Once you’re inside the dome, the kid options keep going: the Cownose Clubhouse touch tank in right-center field, with live cownose rays in a 10,000-gallon tank, and Raymond and DJ Kitty meeting kids at the Gate 1 Rotunda 30 minutes before first pitch. Our First-Timer Guide section has more on the in-park kid options.

More to do in Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay is Ybor City, the aquarium, and the Gulf beaches a short drive away.

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The St. Pete waterfront is minutes from the Trop. After a day game, this three-hour sunset cruise takes in the bay and the Skyway light show, and it’s moderately priced.

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Know Tropicana Field better than we do? Tell us what we got wrong, or where we should be sending people instead.

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