Tropicana Field, home of the Rays, is one of the most unique ballparks in baseball

ST. PETERSBURG, FL − The Milwaukee Brewers will play Game 3 of the World Series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Oct. 26 with a chance to get one step closer to the first championship in franchise history. Could this be the place where the Brewers celebrate their first title?If you're not familiar with the fixed-roof stadium, you should be. It's one of the strangest places in Major League Baseball. Here's what to know about Tropicana Field:Tropicana Field pre-dates the Tampa Bay RaysIt's technically one of the 10 oldest ballparks in Major League Baseball, opening in 1990. But it wasn't used by the Rays until 1998 because the Rays didn't exist until 1998.First used by the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League and the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, the stadium was known previously as the Florida Suncoast Dome and the Thunderdome before it became Tropicana Field in 1996 and home of the Rays two years later. It actually hosted Davis Cup tennis as its first premier event. But attempts to garner an expansion franchise in 1993 failed.The roof has been completely repaired for this seasonThis 2026 World Series is all about the roof, from the retractable one that came into play in the National League Division Series in Milwaukee to the permanent one atop the stadium in St. Petersburg.The roof had to be completely repaired following Hurricane Milton before the 2025 season, displacing the Rays to George M. Steinbrenner Field (spring training home of the Yankees) for the 2025 season. Cost of the project was just shy of $60 million. The Brewers haven't played here since 2023, hosting the Rays in 2024 before playing at Steinbrenner in 2025 and again hosting the Rays earlier in 2026. The roof features an unusual architectural slant. It is the only stadium with a roof that is not retractable in Major League Baseball.The catwalks are the weird thing everyone knows about itThe feature everyone knows about the roof inside Tropicana is the catwalks, two of which are in play and two of which are either in foul territory or count as home runs. Here are the ground rules. The catwalks frequently come into play during Rays games. If a ball comes to rest in the catwalk, it's a ground-rule double. They have live Rays who live in a center field aquarium, and you can pet them The fun feature is part of a partnership with the Florida Aquarium, and yes, you can pet the rays with two fingers out in center field. The "touch tank" is 10,000 gallons and 35 feet long. Seven players have hit home run balls into the tank, but the area was netted off in 2021 to prevent that from happening again.The stadium is not in Tampa Bay or TampaAs a reminder, Tampa Bay is a body of water. Tampa is the nearest major metro. But the stadium is in St. Petersburg.The stadium's days are numberedBut the Rays are going to play in Tampa soon enough.Officially approved in August, the Rays' stadium plans feature a new home on the Hillsborough College campus in Tampa. If everything goes smoothly, they hope to play their first game there in 2029. The lease at Tropicana conveniently expires after 2028. The new home also will have a fixed roof.The turf is unusualNo direct sunlight means an unusual playing surface, with Tropicana Field using Shaw Sports Turf and dirt basepaths on the infield and pitching mound. That can create unusual hops, as if trying to catch a pop-up against a white roof backdrop isn't already hard enough.The turf is backfilled with coconut husks, not the rubber pellets you might find at your local high school field.Are you thirsty for juice now since we've said 'Tropicana' a whole bunch?The longtime juice brand was founded in Florida but actually has its headquarters in Chicago today.Other facts about Tropicana FieldThe first use of instant replay in MLB came in 2008 when a disputed home run by Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees hit a foul pole. It also had the first call overturned by replay when a ground-rule double by Carlos Peña, so ruled because of fan interference, was changed to a home run. MLB approved use of replay for calls like these in August 2008.The stadium has hosted games in one World Series before, in 2008; the Rays made the 2020 World Series, but they played all games in Texas during the COVID-19 season.Like American Family Field, the stadium has actually served as home to the Houston Astros once because of a hurricane. In 2017, the Astros played the Rangers there because of Hurricane Harvey. The Brewers hosted the Astros against the Cubs during Hurricane Ike, where Carlos Zambrano threw a no-hitter.The Rays have three mascots, the fuzzy blue Seadog, a cownose stingray named Stinger and DJ Kitty, who is … uh, a kitty that's a DJ.No, the team has not officially changed its name back to the "Devil Rays," which it used through the 2007 season. But it has been wearing jerseys that pay homage to that era in the postseason.This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tropicana Field, home of the Rays, is one of the most unique ballparks in baseball