Play with the Rays
Client: Major League Baseball & Tampa Bay Rays
Location: St. Petersburg, FL - USA
Service: Design, Fabrication, Installation
Date Installed: 06/2015
Awards: AIA Tampa Bay Award, AIA Florida Award
The Play with the Rays project was taking a once static in-between space and turning it into a communal, interactive experience within Tropicana Dome. The installation flows you through the stadium with its undulating design based on the wavelengths from the baseball classic “Take me out to the Ball game”. The playable elements within this section include tuned baseball bats, musical benches, drum walls, and much more wrapped 118’ long through the dome.
“The Urban Conga partnership is an exciting opportunity to create ‘play’ and energize our community through the magic of Rays baseball.”
Each bat and musical element are color coded for its specific note. On the wall above the interactive features is a color code breakdown of the song “Take me out to the ball game,” along with other baseball classics that can be played based on the colors. This color code system allows people to learn music through color. Each of the bats used within the work were disregarded bats made for the MLB that we then hand-tuned to act similar to a marimba. These musical bats stretch through three rooms and down main pathways creating a unique experience where people can begin to connect with one another through play. At the end is a space with giant tetras-like building blocks where people can mix and match their favorite Tampa Bay Rays mascots.
“Everytime I go to see a game I walk by and play the wall.”
