$450 Million "Sailboat" Stadium

[cack]

This Rays' 'sailboat' stadium looks pretty cool

By 'Duk

Don't adjust your monitors, people. Pictured above is a rendering of the Rays' proposed $450 million waterfront stadium in St. Petersburg. The photos of this plan have been available for some time, but the team just released this image yesterday, which features the park with the roof in the "closed" position. As you can tell from the photo, translucence is king.

And after seeing those Lindsay Lohan photos in New York magazine, I have to ask: Who doesn't love translucence?

The roof is supposed to resemble a sail and I suppose it does. But it also kinda looks like a kids' pillow fort. Not to mention that the long post in the outfield originally reminded me of Montreal's Olympic Stadium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Stadium_(Montreal)).

Still, I really like this plan, which could be completed as early as 2012. It'll be unique to the Bay area and it's obvious that anything has to be better than Tropicana Field. The sad truth is that until the Rays and Marlins get new stadiums, I'll never attempt to hit every ballpark in the bigs.

This design would make the Florida swing worth it, though.

Now if only they could figure out how to equip it with A/C.

Picture Of Stadium (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/mlb_experts/post/Tampa-takes-quantum-leap-in-ballpark-design?urn=mlb%2C67665)

[cack]

And after seeing those Lindsay Lohan photos in New York magazine, I have to ask: Who doesn't love translucence?


:lol: :rotfl: :lol: :rotfl: :thumbsup:

[Gamecock_Aholic]

wow...that thing looked amazing!!!

[SouthernCock]

that is phat

[cack]

well the problem i see with it ... pop flies will be KILLER to try to pick up (like the dome in Minnesota with the white roof) ... looks cool (which is all that matters these days) ... but would be insane to try to play with

[hardcock2]

Doesn't look bad. Tampa and Florida are badly in need of better stadiums that should be open air....your in FLORIDA for God's sake. The Trop is awful and Dolphin Stadium is just that...for the Dolphins.

[cold-cocked]

really cool considering the devil rays are statistically the worst team in baseball history!:lol:

[cack]

really cool considering the devil rays are statistically the worst team in baseball history!:lol:

maybe that's why they changed their name ... it's no longer the DEVIL RAYS ... just the RAYS ... sounds pretty ghey when you say Tamp Bay Rays

[hardcock2]

maybe that's why they changed their name ... it's no longer the DEVIL RAYS ... just the RAYS ... sounds pretty ghey when you say Tamp Bay Rays

I knew they were talking about it, but didn't know they did. They could've atleast changed it to the Stingrays, or Manta Rays...something.

[CaptainCrunch]

pretty awesome looking
(http://f3.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_mlb_experts/ept_sports_mlb_experts-126587184-1203514557.jpg?ym.Cc8.C8roer.6W)

[Gucci Mane]

wheres the picture of the stadium im not seeing it

[JAYBEZ]

So, do you think they are really thought this "Sail" thing through?

I don't want to rain on the parade, but it is Florida. Hurricanes and Sails don't really play nicely together.

[cack]

wheres the picture of the stadium im not seeing it

click on the link that says "Picture Of Stadium"

[NastyNash]

wow

[carolinafan53186]

Yeah let a hurricane rip through Florida and see how pretty it looks

[mickeyrivers]

very nice

[PyroPepper]

I was in Tropicana Field last summer for a Rays/Orioles game, and it was not terrible. Given, you would think that they would want to be outside in St. Pete, and it's a little older, but I don't get the disdain for Tropicana.

[SwampFox]

sounds pretty ghey when you say Tamp Bay Rays

My sentiments exactly. They were just tired of us refering to them as the Dead Last Rays, and not the Devil Rays.

What we have here is a dead last baseball team in a stadium it has a lease that is a long way from running out that the city still has not paid off over 15 years after it was built. Instead of throwing money at a new stadium they need to put the money into their players and pay for some coaching and players who can actually play at the major league level.

The only reason I go to their games is to watch the other team beat the crap out of them and catch an occasional glimpse of the stars of the other teams, as the Rays sure as sh!t don't have any.

[cockypastor]

maybe that's why they changed their name ... it's no longer the DEVIL RAYS ... just the RAYS ... sounds pretty ghey when you say Tamp Bay Rays
You can call me Ray. Or you can call me Jay. Or you can call me RJ.

[PyroPepper]

What we have here is a dead last baseball team in a stadium it has a lease that is a long way from running out that the city still has not paid off over 15 years after it was built. Instead of throwing money at a new stadium they need to put the money into their players and pay for some coaching and players who can actually play at the major league level.

I agree! What part of the bay do you live in Swamp?

[SwampFox]

I live in St Petersburg less than 4 miles from the Trop.

[PyroPepper]

I live in St Petersburg less than 4 miles from the Trop.

Ah, cool. I'm an old Tampa Bay guy myself. We rented a house in Gulfport last summer, for vacation. I love it down there.

[NXS]

I really like the design, but.... as someone already pointed out, 450 million for a stadium that in all likelihood will lose its roof the first time a Hurricane blows through might be a little risky. But hey when is the last time a Hurricane found Florida anyway.... just sayn...

[LollerCock]

Yeah let a hurricane rip through Florida and see how pretty it looks

That was the second thing I thought of. (After thinking about how cool it looks) A hurricane would rip that thing to shreds.. I'd have to see it in closed position. I'm sure the architects and engineers thought about hurricanes though, so I doubt it will be a problem.

Someone above (was it Cack?) mentioned the white overhang interfering with fielders' ability to see high fly balls or pop-ups. One would think that they could simply make the underside a dark grey or something to fix that. It should be an easy thing to fix.. but will they make it slightly less attractive to enhance playability? Probably not.

[uscsweig]

So, do you think they are really thought this "Sail" thing through?

I don't want to rain on the parade, but it is Florida. Hurricanes and Sails don't really play nicely together.

I'd venture a guess that they thought about that already. We can design for hurricanes now.

[sc455]

why do they get a new stadium? they have one of the newest stadiums around