It has always been the nature of baseball “experts” and “fans” to rip on stadiums they’ve never even been to, just because it’s trendy. Two stadiums which fall under that category are the Oakland Coliseum and Tropicana Field in Tampa. Having spent 10 years in MLB press boxes across the nation, we know most of the critics are just expressing bandwagon opinions without the actual experience of visiting those places. Lame.

We have spent a lot of time at the Coliseum, of course, but our first memory of attending Tropicana Field was a Memorial Day Weekend, four-game series there in 2015: the Rays didn’t finish above .500 that year, and the weather was rotten—hot, humid, and wet—yet we had a fascinating time exploring the stadium we’d heard nothing nice about at the time. Now, with hurricanes ripping its roof off, we have to represent.

The stadium was built in 1990, long before it had an MLB team. When the regional area was rejected for 1993 expansion, a group of investors made an offer to buy the San Francisco Giants, which was accepted in August 1992. However, MLB rejected the sale in a vote, and it took until 1995 for the original Devil Rays to be approved as an expansion team for the 1998 season. Thus, the stadium is old and due to be replaced by 2028.

A lot of wannabe “purists” think indoor baseball sucks, but in a place like Tampa Bay, it’s a blessing. We went to the old Metrodome in Minneapolis in 1997, and we visited the old Kingdome in Seattle many times in the mid-1990s as well. The Trop was our “third dome”—and we liked it the best, for many reasons. One of them was the amazing food selections and variety from the local vendors, which at the time seemed unique.

Of course, when you’ve spent no time in the South, relatively speaking, you’re used to stadiums in Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle that you attend(ed) regularly during those phases of your life. Then again, we went to Kauffman Stadium once in Kansas City, too, and remember nothing about the food vendors there. So, we will say that was one of the Tropicana highlights.

The stingray tank in the centerfield bleachers area was quite unique, too. It fits the team’s mascot/nickname, of course, and it’s a fun thing to do during the game, especially if you sit out there. On our visit, we spent two games in the press box and two in the stands with friends (one seated along the right field line and one seated in the bleachers, for perspective). Thus, we definitely took advantage of the petting-zoo opportunity.

Perhaps the best bit at the Trop, though? The Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame. We were alway admirers of the Splendid Splinter in our younger years, and it was a very special treat to explore this on-site shrine to some of the sport’s greatest players: Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, etc. If you like baseball history, this is a must-see attraction for any real fan, which makes the Trop better than most parks.

We will be sad to see the Trop go away.