MLB Stadium #44!

We took a super quick trip to Tampa two weeks ago and as you may have surmised from the title of this post, it was to attend another MLB game!

The home park of the Tampa Bay Rays is Tropicana Field and we attended a game there many moons ago. Sadly, that stadium sustained serious damage during Hurricane Milton last October, leaving the team in need of a home this season while repairs take place. Enter George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is the spring training stadium for the New York Yankees!

In our continuing quest to see a game in every MLB stadium, we obviously had to go, despite it technically being a spring training ball park!

We flew to Tampa on Saturday morning, landing at 9:55 am. The reason I know it was 9:55 am is because our flight home was Sunday morning at 9:55 am and we literally had to check into our flight home as we were landing in Tampa. This meant we only had 24 hours in Tampa, but it also meant that Avalanche had a pretty short stay at his dog hotel (even though he absolutely loves it there, I always feel guilty!).

We didn't bother renting a car, opting instead just to walk around Tampa from our hotel and taking an uber to and from the game and to and from the airport. We spent part of Saturday afternoon at the Florida Aquarium, but clearly the main event of the weekend was the baseball game. The Guardians ended up beating the Rays 3-2, and it wasn't a particularly thrilling game in terms of action, but the stadium was fantastic! If i'm being honest, I had pretty high expectations, as I rank Yankee Stadium as the best in baseball, mainly for how it is run, which nothing short of stellar. Although I have my personal favorite stadiums around the league, the fan experience at Yankee Stadium is unmatched (and before I'm accused of being biased, I'm not a Yankees fan - my two teams are the Blue Jays and the Dodgers!). So I was pretty sure any stadium affiliated with the Yankees organization was going to be great and I was correct!

For now, we're caught up, and it looks like there won't be any new MLB stadiums until the Athletics officially move to Las Vegas, although a couple of team have new stadiums planned, so I guess it will depend on which team gets their ball parks completed first!

as we were walking around Tampa,
we passed Amelie Arena,
home of the TB Lightning

this axolotl was taking pictures with guests
but by the time we got through the aquarium
and down to the first floor, the axolotl had been
replaced by another character and I was
pretty disappointed LOL

I bought a hat bc I forgot to pack one and it was very sunny,
but the Moana vibes were what sold me on it

I don't really understand this mascot,
but he did keep the crowd entertained

We had a super fun weekend and are happy to be caught up on MLB stadiums. We're one behind on NHL arenas because a team's relocation, so that will be our next sports-oriented trip!

Happy Tails to you!