Since I started writing this blog, I have advocated a social media presence for Tropicana Field. A social media presence for the building would be different than the Rays social media account in that a Tropicana Field-specific account would offer information on parking, food, specials, and other non-baseball events such as graduations, exhibitions, football bowl games, conventions, and anything else that happens at the Trop.
Currently, Tropicana Field does not have a twitter account and an
Instagram account claiming to be Tropicana Field has two posts, both which were posted over 120 weeks ago.
Being that Tropicana Field is not owned by the Rays, the social media manager of Tropicana Field would probably be an employee of the City of St Petersburg, current owner of the use agreement holding the Rays to the facility. The
City of St Pete has a twitter account which does occasionally mention the Rays, but recently went 3 months without tweeting - from April 26th to July 31st.
Is Tropicana Field's absence from social media rare? How do other MLB stadia fare on twitter and instagram?
The following chart depicts my searches for twitter and instagram accounts for each MLB stadium.
If we consider the Tropicana Field instagram account a real and official account, Tropicana Field avoids being one of only 8 stadiums with no social media presence. While some of the accounts listed as "Yes" are frequently active, some only tweet or post about non-baseball events happening at the facility.
According to the chart:
- 9 MLB stadiums have both a twitter and an Instagram account
- 9 MLB stadiums have a twitter account but no Instagram account
- 4 MLB stadiums have an Instagram account but no twitter account
- 8 MLB stadiums have neither a twitter nor an Instagram account
Tropicana Field is in company with Citizens Bank Park, Progressive Field, and Safeco Field with an Instagram and no twitter account.
Locally, a few Tampa Bay area facilities have both twitter and instagram accounts. But there is an interesting division. Facilities in Tampa have social media accounts, while those in Pinellas County/St Pete/Bradenton do not.
Perhaps the Tampa Sports Commission or another governing body insisted or facilitate the Raymond James, Amalie Arena, and Steinbrenner Field accounts. Maybe the governing bodies on the other side of the bay do not have the manpower or worse, the social media acumen to run the accounts.
I've often written that Tropicana Field social media accounts are a must. Not only do they provide information to fans, they are also conduits of the experience. They can promote others' positive experiences, answer questions about the facility, provide inside access, and share pictures and perspectives that fans can follow.
Both of these platforms have been available for years and the powers that be behind Tropicana Field need to get moving. If that is the City of St Pete, they should also create accounts for Al Lang Stadium. Failure to do so when other cities and stadiums are active could lead to the assumption that St Pete is not doing all it can to support the teams that play in the facilities.
So if Mayor Kriseman is so supportive of Baseball Forever in St Pete, the least he can do is hire an intern to tweet on behalf of Tropicana Field.
