A small grease fire in the upper deck of Tropicana Field caused a smoky haze to fall over the playing field at the dome stadium five hours before the first pitch of the regular season opener between host Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox.
The smoke came out of a vent located below the second deck.
The Rays in a statement said the sprinklers were activated and the fire was extinguished, and the incident is not expected to impact game-day operations.
The St. Petersburg Fire Department responded to the fire, which did not stop the ground crew from preparing the field for pregame workouts.