The Rays and team partner Hooters have developed the Hooters Owls Den Suite, a new indoor group space near the foul pole in the right-field corner at Tropicana Field. The expanded, rebranded room can accommodate 48 people and it has the same interior look as a Hooters restaurant. Hooters chicken wings and other food and beverages served by the chain are menu options at the Owls Den, and Hooters hostesses are on hand. The cost to buy the suite for a single game is $2,500-4,000 depending on the opponent and day of game. The expense covers 32 tickets and six parking passes. Up to 16 tickets can be purchased at a pro-rated cost of $78-125 a game, said Rays Senior VP & Chief Sales Officer Mark Fernandez. The food and drink is catered by Centerplate, the stadium’s concessionaire. It is a separate cost. The Rays refused to disclose the investment to tear down the walls of three regular suites to create one large room. Construction was completed just in time for Opening Day, so the Hooters Owls Den was not part of the team’s initial suite marketing plan for the '11 season, but it has quickly become popular, Fernandez said. Club beer sponsors Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors use the Owls Den for corporate hospitality and cross-promotional opportunities with Hooters. Denise Williams, a marketing official representing Hooters, confirmed the Rays have the first Hooters Owls Den in a sports facility. The suite expands upon Hooters’ existing deal with the Rays. Hooters previously has sponsored the team’s radio and watch party promotions. The Hooters Owls Den is Tropicana Field’s second branded premium group space. The Rays several years ago developed the Advantica Eyecare Executive Suite, a higher-end space, after consolidating two regular skyboxes.
