ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Baseball season may be over until spring, but Tropicana Field will be lit bright through the holiday season thanks to a very unique yuletide event.
- St. Pete 1 of 3 cities selected to host "Enchant Christmas"
- Tickets go on sale soon at https://help.enchantchristmas.com/en/
- More Pinellas County stories
St. Petersburg is one of three cities in the country, along with Seattle and Washington D.C., chosen to host Enchant Christmas. Ticket prices will vary depending on the day of the week.
The event runs from Nov. 22 until Dec. 29.
A number of families showed up with their kids for the lighting ceremony Tuesday, waiting to see Tropicana Field lit up for the first ever Enchant Christmas celebration. Unfortunately, a heavy downpour stopped the lights from coming on during the countdown.
The event’s director of installation, Dave Fortune, gave us the rundown of what people were supposed to see outside and what they’ll see inside.
“We were supposed to see that, that and then the roof go on, but unfortunately your "Tampa Bay Snow" took us by surprise,” Fortune said. “We’re going to have about 130,000 square feet of stuff inside. We have an 80-foot Christmas tree that works and we have a light maze, an ice skating trail, we have a Christmas market. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Fortunately, Santa was able to make his rounds before the heavy rain rolled in.
Tickets for the event are on sale now.
In the meantime, the light show is free for all who look up or pass by the Trop until Dec. 29.
(CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said the city would be providing free tickets to residents for the event, which is incorrect. Instead, city residents will receive a discount on tickets. Specifics on the ticket discount are not available at this time.)