Rays winning, but attendance woes continue

The Tampa Bay Rays entered Sunday with the second best record among the 12 Major League Baseball teams hosting a Mother's Day match-up. But the Rays, who defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8-5, drew a Major League low 13,010 fans for the afternoon contest.

Ouch.

The Rays drew 5,625 fans less than the next lowest club, the Kansas City Royals. The San Diego Padres, who were 13-24 entering Sunday, drew 28,624 fans. The Seattle Mariners, who played during a 48 degree drizzle, drew 30,346 fans.

Even Saturday, when the Rays drew a more respectable 25,512 fans, the team had more fans than only two Major League clubs - the Royals and the Texas Rangers. The New York Mets, who played a doubleheader at Shea Stadium, drew more than 102,000 fans in total.

The Rays, despite the American League's third best record, now rank 13th out of 14th in paid attendance. Thank those Royals that the Rays are not last.

Comments

[Matt]

Hey knucklehead... IT WAS MOTHER'S DAY! How many people go to a baseball game on Mother's Day?!? Also consider the Angels have NEVER been a big draw, gas is near $4 a gallon, and the $10 parking for parties under four (Rays going "green" as in more green in their coffers) and you're not going to have a big crowd. Now calm down and stick to writing about the game!

[RayF]

Rediculous. Don't blame me. I was there. A professional sports team deserves better than this. They kept their end of the bargain by putting together a winning club and this is the thanks they get? Sad. Go Rays!

[Rich]

Hillsborough/Pinellas is loaded with people who love the baseball teams from the towns up north that they came from.

The natives don't watch baseball, they're all hovering around their kitchen sinks making meth.

Who's left to go to an indoor baseball game in a bad part of town? 13,010.

[James]

Remember that there's 80+ home games every year and many people simply see a plethra of opportunities to go to a game. Personally, I'm all in favor for a new stadium and will vote YES! when asked but it really blows that they have to build it in St. Pete. It sucks for people living in New Tampa and Brandon and it sucks for people living in Palm Harbour who have to fight the horrid US-19 traffic to get there. We need to build a new park closer to the middle of the Bay Area to get the 20,000 a night crowd that they deserve. People who can afford to go to more games consistantly just live too far away from The Trop. The Bradenton area and Southern Pinellas County has had 10 years of close proximity to the Rays and haven't shown an ability to produce a consistant showing of larger crowds. It's time to move the team to the center of the Bay Area. Btw, I live in Seminole and I too find it hard to be motivated to drive to St. Pete and watch baseball in that dump. Buy out the slumping WestShore Mall property and build a park on top of it. It already has plenty of parking and easy Interstate access. That would be the very best place for the Rays new stadium. Too bad greedy St. Pete won't allow the team to do what's best for them.

[James]

First of all if I didn't live 600 miles away I would have been there but I think the fans will come along soon. It takes more then 2 months to build up a fan base that suffered thru the first 10 years but of course with the Yankee's coming to town the place will be packed.

[Pete]

It's also important to remember that Little League is nearing an end and All-Stars are coming up, so there are a LOT of baseball fans stuck at Little League fields as many as five nights a week. When LL ends and school gets out, the stands will start filling up, I'm sure.

[Pete]

Matt....there are probably many good reasons why the Rays don't draw, but your arguments are not good. Wasn't it Mother's Day in New York, Washington D.C., Milwaukee, San Diego, and every other city that hosted a baseball game on Sunday? It's not purely a Florida holiday.

[Rays Fans]

Did you just move here or are you really that ignorant ? Compare this years attendance with last year at this time and you will find it has grown.
We (the fans)have been put through 10 years of humiliation so EXCUSE us if we are a little weary and jaded. To compare Tampa Bay to anywhere else is just nonsense. If the Rays keep winning you will see attendance grow. Let's see how many show up this week for New York, a bunch I bet. Troll elsewhere double a-ron.

[mumbles]

maybe they're waiting for the new open-air stadium on the bay

[Go Rays]

Everybody I talk to is excited by the Rays & the future!! I was at the game Sat can say without question the organization as a whole is going in the right direction. Keep up the good work!! Build the Stadium!!

[Scott]

In time, people will come. However, the first poster had some great points: it was Mother's Day, parking costs an arm and a leg, and gas to get to the stadium all adds up. It's a money crunch right now to attend. Reinstitute the free parking and you'll see more people attend the games.

[JB]

Sad, but true. The Fans just are not here to fill the place up night after night with 25-30,000 people. Plus I have heard from the people who did go that it was nice to get inside out of the HEAT!! so much for a new stadium.. that will be shot down.

[Ricky Ricardo]

James: That is the BEST idea I've heard yet! There is open land owned by private citizens and also owned by the county ALL OVER PINELLAS. Why can't this new stadium be built in a more centralized location? Here is something else to consider James, we DO NOT, no matter what they've tried to tell you, have the parking nor do we have the infrastructure to support all of you and your vehicles down town St. Pete. You'll be stuck in lines and lines of traffic every time you come down here for a game AND not only that, but you'll almost definately have to park at least 6-10 blocks away and walk to the stadium for each game. There simply isn't the parking here in downtown S.P. So, shoot! Someone please build somewhere else!

[Aaron Sharockman]

Rays Fans at 11:33 is right.

Attendance is up from last year. The team averaged 17,131 fans last year (last in the American League). So far this year, the Rays are averaging 18,565 fans (next to last in the American League).

But to say you cannot compare Tampa Bay to any other franchise just doesn't make sense. The lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, for instance, have averaged 600,000 more fans a year than the Rays. At $17 a ticket (average ticket price) that's $10.37-million more in annual revenue the Pirates have than the Rays.

[Cali S]

James: what has the City of Tampa done lately for the Rays? The City of St. Pete supports them, but in most nationally-televised games, the announcers refer to the Rays' home as "tampa". so shut up and call your mayor.

[Truth Be Told]

Has any of you even bothered to take a drive down the two or three main roads in and out of downtown St. Pete and tried to imagine what it's going to be like when there are thousands of cars trying to get in and out on the day or evening of a game? If not, for crying out loud, you should! There are only 1 or 2 roads downtown that are more than 2 lanes wide! There is NO OTHER CITY that hosts a major league baseball team that has the antequated inefficiency of the roads here in downtown St. Pete! Yes, if it's REALLY up to the people, the stadium will get voted down. Take a real good, hard look around and be honest with yourself while you do that. There are only a very few who want this stadium built on the waterfront, and there are alot of good reasons for it, dating back to the late 1980's.

The people who want it are either uninformed and selfish or they've fallen for the propaganda that has been fed to them about how it's going to miraculously help their failing businesses operate in the black! Just with the wave of their magic wands.

HA!

Go ahead and build it on the waterfront and see what happens in about 15-20 years. And while it's still coming out of your bank accounts 20 years from now, you can pat yourselves on the back for being complacent and uninformed. But heck! At least you'll be roasting in your nice big stadium with it's 13,000 people in attendance (more than half the stadium empty) cause once people realize how uncomfortable it is to sit out in 75% humidity for 3 or 4 hours while tossing back Bud Lights and passing out from being completely dehydrated, they won't be back more than twice.

[Jeff]

Duh!!! The Rays ownership spent 10 years driving fans away. Reallistically, how long do you think it will take to undo the damage? A few weeks? Get real! It took a Super Bowl and a Stanley cup to rev up attendance at the Bus and Lightening games. Like the Bucs before them, the Rays FIRST have to overcome the well earned roll of being the laughing stock of their entire sport. Logically it would be reasonable to assume that it would take 10 years of play that is as good as it was bad the past 10 years just to even things out, but no team has ever been that good 10 years in a row in the history of baseball! This would mean winning the Division title 9 of the next 10 years and the World Series most every year for a decade. No team has ever been that good and no team should have to be, but the Rays WERE THAT BAD and NO TEAM should ever have been for a solid decade. Pinela said it best: if they win, they will come (eventually). And, the distance argument is Bull!!! There are more Bucs season ticket holders in Pinellas than in Hillsborough! The Trop (and the proposed waterfront site) have better Interstate access than Ray-J or the Forum (although adequate waterfront parking would still has to materialize). And, we all know US 19 has been a nightmare (second worse Florida highway) for 40 YEARS! and needs to be fixed, period!!! Of course, the I-275 from downtown Tampa to the Bay is now worse that ever! So, much for the Westshore idea, James.

[John]

It was Mother's Day , lol.

I bet T.V. ratings of Rays games are skyrocketing this year.

[kristin]

we normally go to tons of games. this year however has been a little harder- moneys tight, gas is expensive. not exactly a short drive coming from sp. hill. On another note though: Go Rays! You guys are doing great! Keep it up!

[kristin]

we normally go to tons of games. this year however has been a little harder- moneys tight, gas is expensive. not exactly a short drive coming from sp. hill. On another note though: Go Rays! You guys are doing great! Keep it up!

[#1 Red Sox Fan]

Mmmm...Bud Light

[john]

face it,,baseball stinks,,me and hundreds of thousands of folks in the area would't cross the street for a free baseball game ,,much less drive and pay...take that crap somewhere else,,i'm going fishing

[Tim]

Most people who complain about Tropicana Field hardly go to the games anyway. They are just looking for excuses. I will give you the gas issue right now, but enough with the stadium excuse. Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are dumps compared to today’s stadiums, but people go there in droves. People will find a way to get to the games if they are still in the hunt after the All Star break. It is hard to get an area excited after having to deal with 10 years of futility and former owners that were only in it for the money.

[josh]

HAHAHA! $10 parking is an arm and a leg now? That hilarious. Why dont you try asking fans of other teams what they pay for parking and tickets? Without a doubt, seeing a Rays game may be the most affordable option in all of pro sports.

All of you who "plan on seeing a game sometime" or "wanted to gom but it was to expensive, blah blah blah" will have no one to blame but yourselves when this team leaves us. I'd hate to see it happen, but this new ownerships has done NOTHING but impress, and make good on their promises. Think they'll put up with another 2-3 years or lowest attendance in the Majors? Think again. Bye Bye Tampa Bay Rays, hello, San Antonio! I'll be p*ssed, but that wont stop me from supporting them.

[Brad]

The Rays are for real this year and anyone who doesn't see that is naive. It is in fact pretty sad that only 13,000+ showed up at Sunday's game. People in the Bay area need to support this team and I believe they gradually will as the Rays continue to improve and show that they can compete with the Red Sox and Yankees of the world. And as they get better, attendance will improve because the Bay area is full of front-running fans. Once people become true believers, they'lll show up whether the stadium is in Tampa or St. Pete.

[josh]

Actually, SanAn may not even be the first chocie. Look at this MLB districting map, found on Deadspin.com

http://deadspin.com/389263/a-little-baseball-fanbase-redistricting

I see a lot of areas there that may want a team, and be more than willing to support it. Salt Lake City? Oklahoma City? Sante Fe? Carson City? We all need to realize that this team is in DEFINITE DANGER of being moved if more fans do not support it.

And if you think you cant afford to go to a game, or are not willing to sacrifice anything to support your team, or even that you're doing your part, you need to read this article to see what true fans do for their team

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AnMskrFE7r7yPByLrNPxTFcRvLYF?slug=jo-mlbandrecession043008&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[Andy]

I watched some of the game yesterday on TV. I kept thinking of the people at the game. Honestly, they didn't look healthy enough to be in the heat for 3 - 4 hours. I hope they find a way to keep that place cool if they build the waterfront stadium. If they are in the wildcard hunt after the allstarbreak, you may see some people at the game.

[Andy]

I watched some of the game yesterday on TV. I kept thinking of the people at the game. Honestly, they didn't look healthy enough to be in the heat for 3 - 4 hours. I hope they find a way to keep that place cool if they build the waterfront stadium. If they are in the wildcard hunt after the allstarbreak, you may see some people at the game.

[ray]

Why pick on one day--a Mother's Day Sunday afternoon? There were over 25000 fans there on Saturday! Doesn't that say the fans are supporting the team. I do agree though that a stadium closer to the center of the bay (the Westshore mall idea is a good one) or out by I-4 and I-75 is MUCH better!

[Tim]

I think it's a pathetic reflection of this team's success, albeit recent. Any hint of this team winning was supposed to bring the fans in but it hasn't. A hot, Mother's Day Sunday is a great time to go the park; not keep them away as some suggested was the cause. TV ratings are up. I guess if people want to watch the Rays inside, they'll do it from home.

[Paul]

The Trop or a new waterfront stadium is fine in St. Pete long term. An improved regional public transit system would make it easier for people in North Pinellas and North and East Tampa to get to the stadium at a lower cost with additional convenience.

[johnny]

Seriously.
Why would I spend all that money for baseball?

[Bob]

The comments about the economy, gas prices and mothers day are all valid to a certain extent. The owners have put a very good entertaining product on the field so we can't continue to blame them.
The problem is the quality and LOCATION of the field. Sorry St Pete but that is, and will remain, the main problem. Any new facility needs to be in the gateway (Feather Sound) area in Pinellas or in the Westshore area of Hillsborough county so that fans from each county can reach it in a reasonable amount of time. Rick Dodge engineered this location years ago as a way of supporting and revitalizing downtown St Pete. That was his main focus not which location would be the best for the team and IT's FANS!
The current location virtually assures little season ticket sales in Polk, Pasco or cental or Eastern Hillsborough county. A new statium in downtown St Pete won't solve that problem!

[Patti]

Being a season ticket holder, I go to every home game. I'm from up north and have been to many ballparks around the country. Believe me, sitting in the 72 degree Trop, is wonderful, I've sat outside at all the water-front parks in the summer, and breeze or no breeze, IT'S HOT!!! If the new ballpark is built, I won't be there. I refuse to walk blocks to the ballpark, especially at night. Public Transportation is a laugh...who wants to wait for hours after a game to get to their car, then to sit in traffic trying to get to the interstate.
Regarding the attendance at the games, it takes time to build the fan-base back up. Give it time! Once school and little league are over, then families can come out for week-day games. Of course, the gas prices and parking fees are not helping the situation. OUR Rays are doing great, let's support them NOW. Don't jump on the band-wagon too late. They need to hear us in the stands, trust me, they hear it and they love it!

[RFN]

There are a lot of good points already made here and a lot that are non-sensical.

Central location - the excuse that fellow Tampa residents use as an excuse to not go to Tropicana Field. HELLO - its smack dab in the heart of the Bay Area. Central to Manatee, Sarasota, Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough. Its super easy to get to and whoever said it was in a bad neighborhood clearly hasn't been to a game since about 1999.

Tons of open space in Pinellas County? Are you kidding me? Its one of the five most densely populated Counties in the U.S. There's no open space in Pinellas that isn't already a park.

One or two streets into downtown St. Pete? WHAT? There's 2 interstate feeders, plus a bunch of easy to navigate surface streets. Head on over on a Friday or Sat to go to 121 or Banbu at Baywalk, Ceviche or Z Grille to eat then Push, Independent, The Bishop, Vintage, Rare Olive etc., etc to drink and you'll find big crowds who don't have any trouble navigating downtown St. Pete

The Rays attendance is up, though not as much as anyone would like. When the winning continues, there will be gains. And folks in Brandon will discover Crosstown/Gandy/4th Street/1st Ave N will get you to a game in less than 45 mins. But keep that on the DL!

[Yes to Stadium]

I have a question. How many people go down town for the forth of July fireworks or Ribfest? I am guessing about 50,000? I don't know. Nobody ever complains about not being able to park or finding parking. Wasn't there a 100,000 people at the race's downtown this year? No one ever complained about parking. Plus the businesses with parking garages make good money for those events.
Another thing, to say that going to a Ray's game is to expensive is nuts. Are you kidding me?
$9 for an upper deck ticket
$8 for a beer
$1 for a Hot dog on Friday night
You can bring your own peanuts and crackerjacks.
There are plenty of places to park around the trop that are $5.
As for building a Stadium in Tampa. I was wondering if anyone knows who owns most of the vacant property in Tampa? Well let me tell you, His name is George Steinbrenner! Do you think he is going to let his competition build in his neighborhood? I am guessing no!
As for the crazy traffic in st. pete. I have worked in Tampa and lived in st pete for the past 9 years, you have no clue what traffic is! It isn't that bad. I work by raymond james stadium and live near the trop. I leave work around 6pm monday thru friday game nights included and it takes me 30 mins to get to Lot 1 outside the trop. 15 of those mins are spent trying to make a left on to Del Mabry.
Now on to the new stadium that should be built! For the people that want more waterfront parks, there weren't many people on saturday hanging out in the waterfront parks you already have three blocks away! So that would be a waste.
I love the people that say that if they built the new stadium i would have to walk 6-10 blocks because the parking is so bad. I guessing that you are the people that need to walk 6-10 blocks or miles a day. That is pure laziness. 6-10 blocks! Are you kidding me? We wonder why there are so many kids that are out of shape! Its because there parents are lazy and can't walk 6 Blocks!
How about the people that are worried about expanding the land down by demons landing.
1. The manatees will find another place to hangout.
2. I don't think i ever see people hanging out on that seawall.
3. Do you people complain about the huge yatchs that park down there during the races?
4. The SEA GRASS! Is there any in that area? I know there are sharp rocks. I never saw any Sea Grass.
This new stadium on the waterfront in st pete is such a great idea. Think of the amount of jobs that will come from this. Building up those two sites. From what i heard the rays and the company that is going to be building the trop site would be hiring local company to do the construction.

[Eric]

Rays now have the talent here & on the way to be competitive in AL East for the next few years. The Trop will gain in attendance.

[Longtime reader]

If you had been at Saturday night's (May 10, 2008) winning game vs. the Angels, with Kazmir pitching 6 great innings, and had heard the excitement of 25,000 fans -- FOR THE ANGELS? Oh, no, FOR THE RAYS -- then you would be able to appreciate that good things are happening. For the team and its fans. We had a great, great time. And the Rays looked great.

[get-smart]

Yes to Stadium

1- Yes people complain about Ribfest,Indy Car Race, Christmas Tree lighting etc.

2- You are quoting current prices at the Trop.

3- People will use free street parking before paying $5 or $10 dollars.

4- George Steinbrenner just built a privately funded stadium in NY. There is also a new Mets stadium. NY City is strapped for hundreds of millions of dollars.

5- The Manatees already have a place to "hang out." I don't thing the Manatees consider it "hanging out," I'm sure they think of it more like their place to live.

Yes to Stadium, you have yet to come up with one reason to destroy the downtown waterfront not to mention spending one half a billion dollars on a new stadium. We already have a stadium. The Yankees will be in town this week ... forgetaboutit!

[Patti]

I am telling you that I will not walk more than a couple blocks in the hot sun. When you tip the scales at close to 300 lbs it takes A LOT of work to lug these thunder thighs down the street and I'm not going to do it outside! At least in the trop i can engulf a few italian sausages, dip-n-dots and popcorn tubs while in the concourse for a little snack before the game.

You expect me to walk around an outdoor concourse?

I'll move back up north where everything is better!

[Mr Objective]

I've read every response to this article to this point. Read the postings by RFN and Yes TO STADIUM. Those two postings are right on. I'm all for hearing both sides, but for crying out loud, the reasons and complaints people have for either a new stadium or attendance to this point are simply shot down by the examples posted by those two individules. I'd say the same if somebody has some valid arguments opposing these two subjects, but I have simply not seen or read it yet.
I promise you, if the Rays are within 5 games of a wild card spot in August, you'll see 25,000 nightly. TV ratings are up, so people are paying more attention to the team. Translating that into spending money to go see the team will take 2 more months of consistent winning before that happens daily.

[Paul]

The Trop or a new waterfront stadium is fine in St. Pete long term. An improved regional public transit system would make it easier for people in North Pinellas and North and East Tampa to get to the stadium at a lower cost with additional convenience.

[Chris Matthews]

I decided not to go because its more fun to shove a Rays win in a Yankees fan face than an Angels.

[mm]

You people are crazy! St. Pete is the only city in Pinellas witha major interstate. Where in hell are you going to put a stadium that will have better access to all othe surrounding areas? And what is this garbage about one or two streets? Grab a map before you spit out such ignorant comments. I live in Clearwater and can make it to the Trop in 30-35 minutes after work. Ask people from up north how long it takes to get to their stadiums. And whil you are at it, ask them how much they pay to park too. Driving to Tampa is no easier than driving to St. Pete from anywhere in Pinellas. In fact to get to St. Petersburg from Tampa is way easier than the opposite route. Keep making excuses why you won't come support your team but when they are CONSISTANTLY winning we will see what happens to the attendance.

[Joel]

I am a 7 year season ticket holder and this will be my LAST year doing so. Mr. Kault, your team signed a 30 year lease on the Trop. Do the honorable thing sir, and keep your part of the bargain. Our city has done its part. I nor my family will ever patronize a Rays game again until you drop this matter. Every other house on my street including my own has a red "no new stadium" sign in the yard. You have divided the residents of our city for the last time. There will be no new stadium on our precious waterfront, period. The voters have ALREADY spoken and voted to designate Al Lang as part of our park system. PERIOD. END of STORY. Take your 150 million and tear the roof off the Trop and replace it with a sail. Problem solved. And honestly, it doesn't sound like the smartest business plan sir, turning your customers against each other so you may get richer off all of our backs. Not going to happen in my lifetime, I guarantee it.

And for those of you who oppose this plan, the first and most important thing you can do is STOP PATRONIZING THE RAYS until they drop their plan to ruin our waterfront. And tell them so!!

One last note to those of you who support this idea. What are you going to say to us in 10 years when this thing is built, the Rays still can't bring in the crowds, and Ole' Kault & Company move the team to a different market, leaving us holding the bag with a giant, empty ballpark on our waterfront and MILLIONS in debt....we were NEVER a "big league" city, and we never will be. Most of us natives like it that way. If you don't like that fact, I'll be glad to give you directions out of our town.

[Peter]

I moved from St. Pete to Phx AZ. I'm well aware of all the "reasons"people give for not attendind Rays games.In the past the quality of the product was the most valid.Not this year however.I used to attend about 10 games a year...and although the Trop is not up to true major league standards I never felt the need for a shower after the expierience.Truth be told...the people in Tampa Bay are just lazy.The Trop may not be in the best location, but its not exactly in Dahrfur either.Here in Phoenix 20,000 is considered a weak crowd...Fans drive from all over to attend games and believe me, If you want to see world class traffic jams, we got em.Theres 4,000,000 people crammed in this county, but the games are still well attended, as well as the Suns, Coyotes,Cardinals and ASU.Sadly, in the Bay area, if it aint the Bucs it aint.Having lived there for 25 years I know.....Go Rays.

[George]

The fanbase was destroyed by previous ownership and 10 years of terrible baseball. It's going to take more than 6 weeks to win all the fans back. But if the winning keeps up attendance will steadily increase. Just be patient.

[Kennedy]

Aaron,
You are comparing the Pirates to the Rays, but Pittsburgh is a city with:

1. Over 100 more years of professional baseball then we have.
2. Public Transportation

I live in Central Pasco, so my round trip is 100 miles, which means $20 in gas before I buy the first ticket.

I am thrilled the team is doing better, but there are other hurdles are area must overcome to put a consistently high number of folks in the seats.

[Jeff Mac]

I love the comments about the hassles of driving from Tampa to Tropicana Field. I feel the same way about driving from St. Pete to Tampa - especially around the time the gates usually open (5:05 p.m.) at the Trop. A few weeks ago had to travel to T.I.A. and it took me 21 minutes to drive from the hump on the Howard Franklin Bridge to the the airport exit. During that same time frame is usually takes me between 12 to 15 minutes to get from my home in St. Pete Beach to any of the Trop parking lots. Check my ballot "no" for any stadium plans near Westshore Plaza or anywhere in Tampa.

[Keith]

Kennedy at 4:53 pm -- I grew up in Pittsburgh. There is abolutely no public transportation to the baseball park there. The Pirates have had 15 straight losing seasons, but draw an average of more than 20,000 fans a game. This is largely due to the experience that the new ballpark provides to fans and their families (I've been to several games there and agree with the national journalists who call it the best ballpark in baseball). St. Pete has a site on its waterfront that could provide just such an experience -- probably even a better one. It would be a great asset to the city (especially a city that is so dependent on tourism). BTW Joel at 4:01 pm -- you're nuts. There's been a ballpark on your "precious waterfront" for about 100 years. Get some perspective. The only people who benefit from turning Al Lang into a park are the few who live in Bayshore Towers and want a convenient place to walk their dogs. Building a stadium and redeveloping the Trop mean new tax revenues and jobs, jobs, jobs. These are more important than a convenient spot to walk your dog. Although I guess if you can afford a multi-million dollar waterfront condo you don't care about things like jobs and money for schools and firefighters like us working-class peons.

[Aaron Sharockman]

If anyone's still searching through this thread: Last night's attendance at the Trop was the lowest in the major leagues on Monday. The Rays drew a crowd of 13,932 against the Yankees, which prompted some reaction from manager Joe Maddon.

"It's a little disappointing right now," Maddon told the Times' Marc Topkin. "I think we're playing a pretty good brand of baseball. But I also believe it's still school, it's a Monday night, I get all that. I've been through that in other places. But I want the people to understand, our fan base, that it really does make a difference to us when they're out there and you hear, 'Let's go Rays,' as opposed to 'Let's go whomever'."

[Joel]

Keith, I'm amazed and shocked at your ignorance. What about the thousands of jobs and HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars (not to mention free word-of-mouth advertising) the city lost when your beloved Rays stole a 90+ year tradition from our fair city by taking away Spring Training? What about those millions of tourists who's money we depended on to help pay our teachers, police & firemen who now go elsewhere for their spring vacations because they can't come to St. Pete to see their home teams train in that beautiful 100 year old ballpark on the bay any longer? Those snowbirds spent an average of one week on our beaches, patronizing local business daily, spending their money here in St. Pete. Yes, what about that???? How do you compare that with 13,000 people per game driving to the Trop, watching the game and going home? Why are all the mom & pop motels on our beautiful beaches that brought character to our area now giving way to a canyon of high priced condos that you apparently despise, like myself? If they still had a CLIENT BASE that your RAYS stole from them, they'd be able to afford the increased taxes & insurance to keep the high rise condos at bay.

What about the city just yesterday in this newspaper telling event organizers of some of our most cherished yearly events like Blues Fest, RibFest, Taste of Pinellas, Mainsail Arts Festival, etc that they'll have to cough up more $$ to hold their events or leave town? This is because the city doesn't have the hotel/sales tax revenue it did before the Rays stole Spring Training, to continue to pay for services that support these events. These events that bring real culture, music & art to this city at little or no cost to residents are in jeapordy because why??? Because we've lost our biggest source of income; that being the almighty tourist dollar, which a huge percentage were snowbirds who followed their teams here for Spring Training. They're gone. If you don't beleive me, take a drive out to Mad Beach sometime and ask Rosie from the Bamboo Beer Garden who had to close last year after SIXTY PLUS YEARS IN BUSINESS, because all her regular customers (tourists) stopped coming to this area because we don't have spring training any more.

I'll accept an apology from you when you can no longer afford to live in this city because it's been turned into Boston Jr. and you can no longer see the beach through the wall of condos. This is your doing by supporting what is happening in this city. Bring back Spring Training and let the Rays move elsewhere. They've done quite enough damage.

[Dean P of downtown St Pete]

Joel, are you for real?

The loss of about 20 Spring Training games in a stadium that seats about 7,200 people equates to the loss of THOUSANDS of jobs and HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars? And we lost free word of mouth advertising from the exposure of Spring Training games?

But the 81 home games every year have less economic impact, somehow?

And the loss of Spring Training, which we actually had this past Spring, already caused businesses outside the city to close because of the tiny little impact from one month's worth of games, yet you think that the loss of the Major League club won't cause businesses to fail?

You cannot be taken seriously.