Where are you staying when you'll be in the Port Charlotte area?

Gates open 2 hours prior to first pitch. Typically you can catch the end of the away teams batting practice for the first 45 minutes or so then around noon the grounds crew starts working on getting the field set up. 12:30-12:45 is when players start trickling out onto the field for pregame stretches and stuff. The Harley davidson dealer right next to the stadium offers 5 dollar parking, and traffic tends to suck if you don't get there early.

At the stadium the Philly cheese steaks are a big hit. There's also a tiki bar in left center that is pretty awesome. New this year, and I'm not sure if it's starting in spring or if it won't happen until the minor league season starts but a local brewery (Fat Point) will have their beer on tap at the stadium.

Places to eat very close to the stadium include Buffalo Wings and Rings which is a neat sports bar with great wings and a very decent beer selection. Many typical chain restaraunts can be found in port Charlotte. Head over to Punta Gorda and you have a few more local flavor type places, the crab shack on the Peace River is a neat place, which includes a great sushi bar as well. The River City Grill and Ice House pub in PG are spots that seem to be frequented by a few of the coaches and players. Thursday nights during spring training the hooters in port Charlotte typically hosts the Rays countdown to opening day radio show, a player and or coach typically are on site with Dave and Andy for the hour long show, check out the RaysRadio page on the Rays website or the Raysradio Twitter to find out who will be on if you plan on going.

More towards Englewood there's a nice little area on manasota key with three local restaurants, Flounders, White Elephant, and Lock and Key. Its a bit older crowd but it can be pretty fun this time of year on a weekend with all of the spring break traffic.