Rays Planning to Light Tropicana Field Ceiling with Blue LED Lights Next Season

Boise State football has cornered the market on blue fields, but the Tampa Bay Rays may be taking it to another level with a blue ceiling.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported Sunday that the Rays are exploring a blue-tinted ceiling for Tropicana Field, the indoor stadium they call home:

Topkin also posted a preview of the Trop ceiling's potential new lighting:

Per Topkin, the blue ceiling would accomplish two objectives: improve gameplay (i.e. fewer balls lost in the white ceiling and lights) and "provide a more natural look."

However, MLB still needs to approve the proposed changes. League officials will pay a visit to the Trop on Monday.

Losing tracking of fly balls in the Trop ceiling is not uncommon, and the field doesn't exactly have a natural feel or sterling reputation. They notably rank last or near-last in numerous rankings of all 30 MLB fields.

Therefore, any potentially positive change to improve the field should be welcomed, and that seems to be the case thus far. Topkin polled some Rays and summarized the results.

"Initial reviews from players and coaches seemed positive, though most said they would need to see more, and how it looks at night," he wrote.

The Rays' first home game will be Thursday versus the Houston Astros.