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TV Coverage From 1990 of the Grand Opening of the “Florida Suncoast Dome”

Watch as reporters we still see on the news here in Tampa marvel at what would become Tropicana Field.

An Aeriel view of Tropicana Field, then home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, on March 3, 1998.

(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Now we call it Tropicana Field. But back then there was so much excitement about the future of St. Pete's new domed stadium "The Florida Suncoast Dome." There were no Tampa Bay Devil Rays yet. And there were some who didn't want to put a roof on it. Check out this video footage of reporters in awe of what we now know as The Trop. With yesterday's news that The Tampa Bay Rays are being given the green light to look at sharing the team with Montreal, it's interesting to rewind and remember back when the "Florida Suncoast Dome" was an "architectural marvel" designed to host concerts, various sporting events and "fingers crossed maybe even a baseball team." The locker rooms hadn't even been finished yet, but check out this footage as reporters gasp at the size and beauty of an unfinished stadium that now in 2019 has outstayed its welcome to many. Kenny Rogers performed at its grand opening on March 3, 1990. And look at those familiar faces we still see on the news here in Tampa from 30 years ago!

GenoEditor
Hear Geno on the air weekday afternoons. Geno's passions include fat guy food, concerts, sports, travel to Europe and South America. He loves 80s and 90s music, from MTV hairbands to old school freestyle, alternative rock to TRL era jams. Geno's radio career began in his hometown of Portland, Maine. Since then he's been on the air coast to coast from Boston to Las Vegas, Tampa to California.