MARINERS, A'S BATTLE IT OUT AS RAYS PUNCH CLOCK FOR SIX GAME HOME STAND

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (April 30, 2012) -The Tampa Bay Rays are back in their corner office at Tropicana Field and remain tied for first as they kick off two back-to-back home stands against Seattle and Oakland beginning tonight through May 6.  The Rays take on Seattle tonight through Wednesday, May 2, at 7:10 p.m. and on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. before a three game stretch against the A's Friday and Saturday, May 4 and 5 at 7:10 p.m., followed by a Sunday matchup at 1:40 p.m. On Thursday afternoon, fans may see minor traffic delays when the game ends during rush hour. 

For all games, fans are encouraged to arrive at Tropicana Field with plenty of time to find parking in one of the 7,000 convenient on-site spaces and settle in before the first pitch.  As an alternative, fans may choose to park downtown and hop aboard the free baseball shuttle with convenient pickup and drop-off locations, as well as more than 100 licensed surface parking lots surrounding the ballpark. The privately-owed and operated lots have applied for permits to provide fans with legal paid parking during Rays games. The lots are clearly marked with signage featuring a capital "P," lot number and city ordinance number and are the only licensed parking areas for fan parking outside of Tropicana Field but still inside the half-mile radius.

Fans are strongly encouraged to only park in on-site Rays lots, licensed off-site private lots (designated with a blue "P" and posted lot number) or in one of the downtown waterfront parking facilities accessible via the free baseball shuttle. The signage, along with additional baseball parking information, is viewable at www.stpete.org/baseballparking. Parking in any lot other than those listed above or parking illegally (blocking sidewalks, right-of-ways, driveways or in front of fire hydrants) is not recommended as vehicles may be ticketed or towed. Fans are encouraged not to self-park or pay to park in improper spaces.  Legitimate parking attendants should be in uniform and able to provide fans with a receipt/ticket for payment. For more information, visit http://www.stpete.org/st_pete_loves_the_rays/index.asp.