Efforts to get Tropicana Field ready for the Devil Rays
opener on Tuesday "are running into a stack of problems,"
with the "biggest headache" being a lack of glass,
"especially glass that fits," according to David Rogers of
the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES. Assistant city attorney Mirella
James sent a "blistering letter" to FL-based BCI Industries,
the contractor for the glass installation, which "detailed
the civic humiliation" the city has endured. James wrote
that the leaks in the facility's rotunda during last week's
NCAA tournament generated "negative news coverage" for the
stadium and caused "irreparable harm" to the community and
to the Devil Rays. The Devil Rays had no comment on the
situation. Rogers writes that the glass dispute "merely
tops the list" of problems at Tropicana. As of yesterday,
"only about" one-third of the temporary seating erected for
the NCAAs had been dismantled, and crews "still need several
days" to haul in the dirt and unroll the surface of the
Devil Rays' field (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 3/24).
MORE TROUBLE? Tampa Bay resident and disabled activist
George Locascio says that Tropicana Field is "deficient of
state and federal standards for disabled people." Locascio,
who in '91 successfully sued the city and forced officials
to add "about" $700,000 worth of improvements to make the
stadium more accessible for disabled visitors, voiced his
feelings yesterday at a meeting of stadium architects, city
lawyers and disabled activists. City lawyer Mirella James
and legal consultant Fred Lyon said that they met with Devil
Rays managing partner Vince Naimoli yesterday to "review ADA
compliance and other problems" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 3/25).
