Rays Release 2013 Ticket Prices

The Rays have released their 2013 ticket prices, and, depending how you look at it, the team either held or dropped prices on 75% of their tickets.....or they raised prices on 25% of their seats.

The team's press release was peppered with pats-on-the-back for success and affordability, but didn't mention which tickets would be going up in price.  A quick search of the team's website failed to turn up any 2013 ticket price information either.

However, there's no doubt the team is offering lots of opportunities for value, with tickets as low as $10:

The Tampa Bay Rays have announced that almost 75 percent of their tickets for 2013 regular season games at Tropicana Field—nearly 2 million total—will either decrease in price or remain the same. The Rays enter the 2013 campaign having recorded five consecutive winning seasons, an achievement matched by only the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.

The Rays will continue with four categories of single-game ticket pricing: Diamond, Platinum, Gold and Silver. Upper Deck seats will cost as little as $10 for 28 of the Rays home games in 2013. Overall, nearly 80 percent of 2013 Rays games at Tropicana Field will feature ticket prices of $14 or lower. For Gold games, Outfield prices have dropped from 2012 pricing by nearly 25 percent from $22 to $17.

For the second time in four years (2009 and 2012), the Rays have been named the No. 1 most affordable team in professional sports, according to ESPN the Magazine’s annual “Ultimate Standings.” It marked the sixth consecutive year that the Rays ranked in ESPN’s top three in Affordability out of 122 Major League Baseball, NBA, NFL and NHL franchises.

All Monday-through-Friday home games will start at 7:10 p.m., with the exception of seven weekday games including Opening Day (April 2 at 3:10 p.m.), Memorial Day (May 27 at 3:10 p.m.) and the home regular season finale (September 23 at 3:10 p.m.). Saturday game times will be announced at a later date and Sundays will remain at 1:40 p.m. The Rays will also welcome the 2012 World Champion San Francisco Giants to town for a weekend series August 2-4, marking the Giants first visit to St. Petersburg in nine years.

For the eighth consecutive year, the Rays will continue to provide carpoolers access to free parking in team-controlled lots. As in 2012, vehicles with four or more passengers will continue to park free in team-controlled lots for all Sunday games, subject to availability. For all other games, the first 100 cars with four or more passengers will park for free up to an hour before game time, with other main lot Tropicana Field parking rates ranging from $15 to $20 per vehicle.

The Rays will also continue to be one of the few teams with the family-friendly policy of allowing fans to bring food and select beverages into the ballpark.