Silverman on a stadium (2006 style)

I'm doing research on a story about the Rays' stadium pursuit and came across this quote from team president Matt Silverman. It's from a Q&A with Baseball Prospectus from April 2006. I thought some folks might be interested in seeing it.

Q: Are there any plans to build a new stadium closer to Tampa? What is the team’s viability in its current facility?

A: The stadium is not a hindrance to creating a successful business. The empty seats are opportunities for us. We’re confident that once the marketplace latches on to our team and the players, that Tropicana Field will be full of energy and excitement. It’s a great place to watch a game. Will we be there 22 years from now, when the lease expires? Probably not. Between years five and 22, we will need to discuss an alternative, but for now we’re proud to have Tropicana Field as our home.

We put a lot of capital into the park - about $10-million -making it cleaner, more comfortable, bringing history in with the addition of the Ted Williams Museum. We built a club level on the first-base line, renovated the bathrooms, did a big cleanup job. We’re putting in a tank filled with live rays in right-center field that will be completed in July. The clubhouse has been renovated, we have new TVs throughout the concourse, and there’s also a new sound system.

We want to turn it into a real home-field advantage. We already have great speed, and the turf creates an advantage there. The white roof is something that our opponents may have trouble getting used to. When we get over 20,000 people here, it’s extremely loud. We’re urging people to come out and be the 10th Man. The more people that come, the more that can have an impact on the outcome of the game.

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Comments

[Scaramouche]

Wow, put the dredge to work and look what surfaces out of the stinking ooze. There's lots more where that came from, Aaron, and I hope you will treat us working stiffs to a selection from your file on a regular basis. Like the missing ESPN E60 on Kalt, and the article last year on the real nature of the carpetbaggers who own the franchise:

http://www.sptimes.com/2008/03/09/Southpinellas/The_tag_on_the_Trop__.shtml

And this one:

"The tag on the Trop: $233M and climbing
As the Rays bid for a new $450M home, it's worth looking at what the old, "$85M" one really cost."

May it please be the case that people are finally starting to see that rah-rah for the home team is categorically different from letting the freeloaders and carpetbaggers pick us clean.

[Clear Direction]

Aaron,

I'm Glad to hear that Mr. Silverman beleives "the Stadium is not a hindrance to creating a succsessful business".

Clearly it is also not a hinderance to creating a winning team!

I guess that means the reason we are discussing the prospect of a new stadium must be to maximise the Ray's profitability to a level above "successful".

I have no problem with a business wanting to be more profitable. my question is should public land or funding be used to do it?

I congratulate the team on their winning the AL East and the owners for making the Trop such a homefield advantage!

[Rick K]

Cracks me up that the ANTI's are still here.... and still missing the key points....

No one in baseball thinks the Trop is a viable home for a World Class franchise beyond five or so years from now.

Silverman is quoted in the article saying, "Between years five and 22, we will need to discuss an alternative, but for now we’re proud to have Tropicana Field as our home."

Nothing sneaky, unexpected, or unreasonable about the plan to build a new public stadium in partnership with the public.

P.S. Thank you Aaron for your outstanding work on this blog and so many stories connected with the topics discussed herein.

[Scaramouche]

Rick K is like a monster out of a Stephen King novel -- maybe "Kujo?" It's ... ALIVE!

[Clear Direction]

Rick K,

There is also nothing wrong with asking the public if they would like to spend their money to pay for that Stadium.

We all look forward to your support of the petition to change the City charter to give the citizens that right if the satadium is not on our waterfront!

As you have stated so often LET US VOTE!

[Scaramouche]

Clear,

No, no, no, silly.

We are assured by Rick K that the leaders that we have blindly elected to rule us have got experts on their staffs and on loan from the developer twins who will make unassailably correct, economically unimpeachable decisions, to spare us the bother of having opinions on how the tax dollars they can extract from us by the power of the state should be spent.

That's how it works NOW, isn't it, silly?