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The Tampa Bay Rays announced a new partnership with Coca-Cola Beverages Florida today.
Coke Florida will now be the Official Beverage Partner of the Rays, providing soft drinks, bottled water and other refreshments at Tropicana Field, replacing Pepsi as the main beverage provider. Details of the partnership were not released, but Coke Florida will take over beginning with the 2018 Season.
In addition to new beverage offerings at Tropicana Field, the new partnership will also have an impact in the local region.
The Tampa Bay Rays now joins 18 other MLB teams including the Red Sox, Orioles and Blue Jays that have partnerships with Coca-Cola.
As of right now, there are no announced changes to the current Tropicana Field name and the daily Pepsi “bottle races,“ nor was it clear what will be consumed by players in the dugout. Tropicana and Gatorade are both owned by PepsiCo.
There was also no comments regarding a future partnership with Coke Florida and the Rays’ recent announcement of a new stadium plan in Ybor City.