Lockout in place, Rays to start selling spring game tickets

ST. PETERSBURG — Though the opening of spring training could well be in jeopardy due to the owners-induced lockout, the Rays are joining other teams in putting tickets on sale for scheduled exhibition games.

The Rays are slated to open camp Feb. 15 in Port Charlotte, with the first of 15 home games at the Charlotte Sports Park set for Feb. 27 against the Orioles and four other weekend home games (March 5 and 13 vs. Phillies, March 20 vs. Braves, March 26 vs. Twins). The Rays are set to play their spring finale March 29 at Tropicana Field against the Phillies.

Single-game sales to the general public start at 10 a.m. Monday via raysbaseball.com and the MLB Ballpark app. Pre-sales for spring season-ticket holders and regular-season members will be held Thursday; another for subscribers to the Rays Insider newsletter is Friday; registration to be eligible is open until noon Wednesday at raysbaseball.com/newsletter.

Spring season tickets (starting at $299, including concession and merchandise discounts) as wells as three- and six-game mini packs and group tickets are available now; see raysbaseball.com/spring.

With the owners and players negotiating a labor agreement, the general consensus is they would need a deal in place within the next two weeks for camps to open on time. The regular season is scheduled to start March 31, with the Rays in Boston.

If scheduled spring games are not played, the Rays say they will either issue refunds or allow the funds to be applied to future games.

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