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Traffic Problems Snarl Rays' Opener

By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 25, 2009

Will you make it to Port Charlotte for any Rays spring training games?

PORT CHARLOTTE - Three innings into the Rays' first game at their new spring training home, it seemed just about everything was operating as planned inside the ballpark.

The only problem was getting to the ballpark.

Major traffic backups delayed numerous fans who were trying to make their way to Charlotte Sports Park on Wednesday afternoon for the Rays' game against the Cincinnati Reds. Though nearly every ticket for the fixed seats at the ballpark had been sold, empty seats were abundant in the opening innings as fans struggled simply to reach the parking lots.

Traffic was heavy on El Jobean Road in front of the stadium even in the fourth inning, more than an hour after the first pitch had been thrown. Rays officials vowed to find whatever solution they could to the problem before the team's next home game Friday afternoon against the Boston Red Sox, when another large crowd is expected.

"Clearly, we've got to work with the county and the police and figure out a way to get people in and out of here," said Rays senior vice president Michael Kalt. "We're going to be doing that this afternoon. I can promise you it's going to be a hell of a lot better on Friday."

Wednesday, though, there were plenty of unhappy people straggling into the ballpark much later than expected. There were reports that it took one hour, 45 minutes to reach the parking lots from the intersection of Toledo Blade Blvd. and US-41 – a distance of about two miles.

Among the issues expected to be addressed was the way admission to the main parking lot was being handled. Vehicles were funneled down to one lane entering the lot so attendants could collect the $7 fee or check prepaid parking passes. Kalt indicated more lanes could be opened by Friday.

He also noted that many fans didn't know where they were supposed to go and many stopped to ask questions – thus backing up the lines even further. As the Rays play more games at their new facility, Kalt expects that problem to be alleviated.

The traffic jam marred an otherwise impressive debut for the ballpark, as no other problems of significance were reported.

"Everything else is really working about as smoothly as we could have hoped," Kalt said. "Security's doing great, concessions are working fine, the ticket-taking was great, the team store was good. All the stuff you could worry about going wrong has pretty much been pretty smooth, with one major exception of the traffic. But we'll fix it."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227.

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