Tampa Bay to Open Second Concession Stand for ALCS

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida. Mel Spinogle started working at Tropicana Field here when it was known as the ThunderDome and before that the Florida Suncoast Dome, but this week brought a new set of challenges to the 57-year-old facilities manager. "What are we going to do with all those potato chips?" he asks Junior Wilson, Jr., a skinny food service worker who is pushing a two-wheeler stacked with cardboard boxes of snacks.

ALCS Fever: Take two aspirin and head for the beach.

"You never know," Junior says. "I hear we might sell out a game."

The anticipated upsurge in consumer demand is fueled by the Tampa Bay Rays' first appearance in the American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox, scheduled to begin Friday night. "We've always gotten by with just one concession stand," says Spinogle. "The weather here's too nice to pay to watch a baseball game indoors."

"Would you go get me a champagne in the Rocco Baldelli souvenir cup?"

So Rays' management has made the last-minute decision to open up a second facility here that will serve a full array of ballpark staples such as hot dogs, popcorn, beer and soda. "We'll be watching it day to day," says Rays' Vice President-Operations Ken Ganderson. "If things get slow maybe we can book a wedding to keep the counter help busy."

Norm: "Is that so wrong?"

In Boston, by contrast, management has enjoyed a string of 469 consecutive sellouts and rabid Red Sox fans push ticket prices for playoff games into the four-figure range, a by-product of the "Norm Peterson" effect, so-named after the character in the long-running, Boston-based comedy series "Cheers". "People in Boston live vicariously through their sports teams to make up for their miserable, pathetic everyday lives," Norm said on one episode. "Is that so wrong?"

"Excuse me--I need to round third base."

Tampa Bay averaged 22,370 fans per game in 43,772 seat Tropicana Field in 2008, leading some to speculate that they might not sell out home games if they reached the World Series. "That's a bunch of baloney," said Rays' assistant marketing director Norville Lester. "If we have to, we'll book a boat show the same week."