Rays announce plan to reduce seating

The Tampa Bay Rays are eliminating approximately 10,000 upper deck seats at Tropicana Field next season, making it by far the lowest-seating capacity of any Major League Baseball stadium.

The team announced Friday it will close off the upper deck seating in a bid to provide a more "intimate" experience for fans.

The club said it would add some premium seating to its lower level, but that will still leave Tropicana Field with about 10,000 fewer seats than any other venue.

"These renovations mark our continued commitment to providing a first-rate fan experience at Tropicana Field ... Together, in concert with the reduction in seating capacity, these investments will help create a more intimate, entertaining and appealing experience for our fans," said Rays president Matt Silverman in a statement released by the team.

The Rays, who will have approximately 25,000-26,000 seating capacity next season, averaged 14,258 at home games last season, ahead of only the Miami Marlins (10,013).

Cleveland's Progressive Field seats just over 35,000 and is the next lowest capacity among MLB stadiums.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)