Rays Home Opener Boosts St. Pete Businesses

0:00The Tampa Bay Rays are back home at Tropicana Field in St. Pete, and local spots are buzzing with energy from the home opener on Monday. Businesses around the stadium had been hurting bad without the team, but now for traffic assurging, packing the streets before and after games. Owners at places like Zaytun restaurant took a 55% hit in sales when the Rays bounce last year and a half. They ran on skeleton crews, scraping by with specials and sales, but it was mostly misses on central avenue. Folks are thrilled spotting groups in Rays jerseys everywhere, bringing that fun community vibe. Even taverns that skip Mondays fired up for the opener, chefs calling it a game changer for the whole area. With the team settled back in, owners see a real boom coming for every shop near the trap. That packed energy on opening day feels like the light after a long dark stretch. Expect more winds on the field and off, as St. Pete rides this wave straight into the season. From your city, powered by AI, this is Tampa Bay News Today.