Janelle Irwin Taylor
The Florida Aquarium’s Stingray Beach is getting a piece of Major League Baseball, and it’s not the Tampa Bay Rays’ touch tank that featured stingrays just behind center field.
With repairs on the way at Tropicana Field after Hurricane Milton’s winds shredded its iconic domed roof to tatters, the Tampa Bay Rays have gifted four of its stadium seats to the Florida Aquarium to bring ballpark nostalgia to its own stingray home.
The blue seats sit atop a square of artificial turf, in front of a giant mural of adoring Rays fans waving golden towels to cheer on their home team.
The Aquarium has partnered with the Rays for about two decades, and the touch tank at Tropicana Field, installed in 2006, belongs to the Aquarium. It is home to seven cownose stingrays who survived the hurricane and are now thriving.
But with extensive damage to Tropicana Field, the Rays are now playing — for this season — at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa while repairs to its home field are completed. The four gifted seats at the downtown Tampa Aquarium give fans a chance to still interact with stingrays, while sitting in real Rays stadium seats.
“This one-of-its-kind experience is truly a home run for our guests and allows Rays baseball fans and aquarium stingray enthusiasts to recreate the stadium experience in a unique and fun way,” Florida Aquarium President and CEO Roger Germann said. “Like the Aquarium, Rays baseball is ingrained in our region’s identity, and we’re excited to enhance our partnership by replicating an in-game experience Rays fans have come to love.”
Stingray Beach is located on the second floor of the Aquarium. The Rays began sponsoring the exhibit last year. It offers a hands-on encounter with cownose stingrays.
As presenting sponsors for Stingray Beach, the Rays offer visitors 10% off regular season home games by scanning an on-site QR code. Rays Rookies Kids Club MVP members get free Aquarium admission with a full-price adult admission.
