Skate-shredding demo draws rave reviews at Rays City Connect night

ST. PETERSBURG -- On Saturday afternoon, 162 Landing at Tropicana Field took on a new look.

The tables, chairs and baseball fans in the gathering area down the left-field line were replaced by ramps, rails and skateboarders of all ages.

The Rays hosted a skate demonstration before Saturday night’s game against the Orioles, featuring everyone from teenagers to Nike SB athletes and professional skateboarder Jake Ilardi.

The event drew a crowd during batting practice. Onlookers included fans who purchased a special Skate Ticket Package for the game, which came with a limited-edition City Connect T-shirt and a lower-level seat as well as the exclusive early access experience. It also caught the attention of several Orioles and Rays players, including Yandy Díaz, Garrett Cleavinger, Colin Poche and Pete Fairbanks.

“It's such a different vibe than baseball. To watch people that are, amateurs or pros, doing some stuff that I could never dream of doing -- it was awesome to watch,” said Fairbanks, who took a photo with Ilardi after his ceremonial first pitch. “And you get to see, with the demo, just people of all levels that are out there. No one's mad at each other. It's just nothing but support from all levels. It was really fun to watch.”

Along with Ilardi, an Osprey, Fla., native who participated in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Nike SB athletes Jake Anderson, Sean Malto and Eric Koston took part in the demonstration. They were impressed by the unique setting for a skate park -- along with the Rays’ City Connect apparel, which was inspired by underground skateboarding culture.

“It's pretty cool. Bucket list, for sure, because I've never skated in a stadium, actually -- at least with permission,” Koston said, laughing. “But to actually have a skate park set up during a baseball game is really cool.”

Fans who bought the Skate Ticket Package could also purchase a meet-and-greet experience with the Nike SB athletes. A portion of all proceeds from the ticket package will go to support Boards for Bros, the non-profit organization affiliated with the Skatepark of Tampa that provides free skateboards and skateboard instruction to underserved communities around the world.

“The Rays let us build a skate park here at Tropicana Field, which is crazy and amazing,” said Michael Blanford, the executive director of Boards for Bros. “I'm a baseball fan. I'm a skateboard fan. Being able to do this, we’ve got Yandy Díaz, Pete Fairbanks watching us skate -- it doesn't get any better.

“The City Connect has been phenomenal for us. It's such a great concept for the Rays, and it's given us an opportunity to talk about what we do. And the Rays have given us a chance to celebrate skateboard history here in St. Pete and Tampa, the whole Tampa Bay area, and it's great for us to go talk about this with such a wide audience.”

Saturday’s demonstration certainly drew a wide audience, from young skateboarders to old, from amateurs to professionals. Teenage skaters raved about getting to skate alongside the pros they’d only previously seen in videos. The pros got to feel like kids as they put on baseball gloves and fielded balls during batting practice, with Ilardi making one catch that inspired cheers around the skate/ballpark.

“To see the Rays embracing the skateboarding culture here in Tampa with those City [Connect] jerseys, it's cool to see where skating has actually come and how far [it’s come],” Koston said. “You can be a fan of baseball. You can be a fan of skateboarding. You can be a fan of both. It's great to have these two collide. I think it's really cool.”