Another call to move the team

It's a beautiful day in Boston as the Rays head into their pivotal series with the Red Sox, and all of New England awaits news on Tom Brady's knee.

But first, another article on how the Tampa Bay area "doesn't deserve" the Rays based on low attendance.

This one is from a writer named Scott Jensen from a web site called DugoutCentral.com, and he suggests the team be relocated to  - here's a new twist on an old theme - Philadelphia.

An excerpt from his column, which is posted on foxsports.com:

"The problem is that Tampa is not a baseball town and never has been. It might take decades of good play from the Rays, with a smattering of teams like this year's, for the Rays to become a baseball town. And it's not fair to ask Rays' owner Stuart Sternberg to miss out on so much revenue for that long.

The Rays need to re-locate. That much is clear."

Comments

[Jason]

Charlotte has a much higher population than Tampa.

[harold]

Nice posting Boston fan.
Please ignore the morons and know that most of us appreciate a lucid,well thought out post such as your's and its okay to disagree but we dont have to be disagreeable.

[9equals8.com]

Beaner - Florida is called the sunshine state, you knucklehead...

Rays will stay put for a while. The business plan is way ahead of schedule for this team (performance of the product as well as revenues, merchandise sales, TV ratings, etc.), so they won't be moving soon. If they win in the playoffs this year and have a strong season (e.g. playoffs or at least in the penant race in Sept) next year and attendance does not respond at all (i.e. does not continue to grow from 2008), I will be more concerned. Remember that no one (not even ownership) planned for the team to be much above .500 until next year at the earliest. As of now, this is all media bluster. It's the only negative thing anyone can say about this team and this story, so of course they say it. Silly, really. Go Rays!!!

[Frank]

Ray F, yet again you prove what a douce you are

[Beaner]

The Rays aren't locked in to anything. Stadium leases can be bought out in a heartbeat. If MLB approves a move to say Las Vegas, and enough money is put up by the city to relocate, the Rays will be out of here so fast your head will spin.
Speeking of Las Vegas isn't it odd that the Rays are one of only a few major league teams that don't have their areas name on their away uni's. And how about that little yellow sun ray as opposed to a swimming ray, hmmmm you do the math.

[Ray F]

5 years???

They have a lease till 2027. Am I missing something?

[9equals8.com]

This silly conversation continues. It is much more about MLB and the media trying to find SOMETHING negative to say about the Rays incredible rise. I think the league/media, etc. is really worried that this small market team is going to be really good for a really long time, thus they need to be moved to a larger market so the media/MLB can profit more from this. A "dynasty" in Tampa Bay would be a "tragedy" for MLB. Not enough TV revenue, etc. to make them happy, so they have to hate on the Tampa Bay fans. Pretty typical, but not worth wasting a lot of breathe over. The Rays are locked into Tampa Bay for at least the next 5 years, so there will be time to grow the fan base and quiet the critics. Let's hope the Rays can break out of their slump tonight and leave Boston still in first place. Go Rays!

[Ray F]

Blah, blah, blah...

Worry about today... Today, the Rays call St. Petersburg their home.

Today, they are the Tampa Bay Rays. Tomorrow, they may not be, but today they are. I don't know what I'll be doing 5 years from now. Too many variables that I can't control are involved.

All we can do, as Rays fans, is cheer the team on and stand behind them while they have their home in our backyard.

I go to a small cuban restaurant down the street from my house about 3 or 4 times a month. They have huge portions and fair prices. They rarely have more than 1 or 2 people inside. I know they won't last too long. All I can do, is keep going there and getting the service I expect from them. If they're gone tomorrow, they're gone. I did what I could do.

[Sox fan]

Hi Amanda - I didn't catch your post before posting again.

Thanks! I've enjoyed reading your posts.

[Sox fan]

Hi Jimbo:

I have to respectfully disagree with one of your assumptions:

"They bring their deep-seeded loyalties here and want to see the Rays continue to play only because their team is playing them."

Not true. As I stated earlier...I am throwing down a lot of money on several tickets for my son's 13th birthday. They aren't playing the Sox that game and we will be rooting for the Rays. Most of our friends are from another state originally. Some are loyal to the Rays...some are 1st loyal to another team, then the Rays. But, all donate $ to the Trop at some point in the season...and many on dates they go to see the Rays. However, you are right. We do have deep-seeded loyalties to the Sox...that will not change. Certainly, the area is not only made up of MA and NY transplants. We are many, but do not make up the entire population of the area. I don't want the Rays to stay in Tampa, just so I can go see my Sox. Do I like going to the games...sure. I love baseball. But, I go visit MA several times a year and prefer to see the Sox at Fenway. I've only caught 2 Sox/Rays games in over 4 years here in Tampa. I usually go to the Trop when the Rays are playing someone else. I have no tickets to the upcoming series at the Trop. I was commenting as unbiased as I could based on some of the comments I was reading. I look at it in a different perspective than most of you...A baseball fan who comes from a hot baseball market...and sees the differences in the 2 areas/markets. The reason the attendance is not what they would like it to be is multifaceted. You can't blame it on just one thing. But, what they can't do is blame the fans. They have to draw fans. And I think they've done a good job this year drawing fans between the team playing well and concerts etc. But you can't expect it to happen in a year. The owners need to have a little patience. If in another year or two things haven't changed, then maybe they have an argument to move to team. I think it is a little premature, personally.

I actually think the Rays played pretty darn good last night...the Sox took advantage in the 1st inning, but after that neither team let runs in. It was a good battle.

[Amanda]

Sox Fan-
I agree with most of what you said, though not all. More important that what I agree with, though, is your tone. Thanks for showing us that not all Sox fans are a-holes. Olive branch officially accepted (by me, anyway).

[Jimbo]

I have to agree with Sox fan on the fact that he was respectful, though dead wrong. It's the whole "I want the stadium in my backyard to I can go to games only when the Sox are in town, but I'm moving soon, so the team can relocate after I leave" mentality. It's not just him, unfortunately, that feels that way.

The main problem is every single team in MLB (except the D-Backs) has anywhere from a 5 to 120 year jump on us building a fan base. No one wants to see that; they just wanna complain about why we can't pack the Trop. They bring their deep-seeded loyalties here and want to see the Rays continue to play only because their team is playing them. Cut the Rays some slack. It's not the location of the stadium (people travel 3+ hours to other stadiums across the country), it's not the economy/gas prices (that's happening everywhere, too), it's not the "other things to do" excuse (LA has just as many beaches as here, and have you ever been to Chicago?), it's the fact that, unless you were born in the last 11 years here, you're not used to having a baseball team to root for. And, unless you were born this year, you've never seen a winning team here from the Bay Area. So, it's taking a while to build up what everyone else has a huge head start on: a winning team.

Give them time; sure, people may say this season is a fluke and this will pass. But I bet they said the same thing about the Yankees after they went to the postseason 20 years after they were created, or the Phillies, whose old (unofficial, of course) catchphrase was "They may use Lifebuoy, but they still stink!" Yet, somehow, they have some of the most passionate, and strong, fan bases of all sports. This conversation will be moot in 10-20 years...so long as ownership doesn't cave in before then and just let it ride like the owners of those then-crappy teams before.

[Sox fan]

Hey Voice of Tampa Bay...I was very respectful with my comment. By I have a comment that someone of your character might understand. BITE ME YOU FRIGGEN LOSER!

[The Voice of Tampa Bay]

hey Sox fan .. do us all a favor and LEAVE IN PEACE
go put your little root(s) somewhere else

[Osama Obama]

I have a solution for change .... TAX THE RAYS ... TAX MLB ... TAX THE FANS ...TAX THE UHURUS ... well, skip that last part

[Sox fan - I come in peace]

For what it is worth, here is my take:

When we moved to FL over 4 years ago, my family and I noticed how big football is down here. Don't get me wrong, we love our football and our Patriots. But, you guys LOVE your football...especially college football (go UCF). We don't get into college football as much in the north. But you definitely don't take baseball as serious as we do (most of us need to be in a baseball addicts anonymous).

Why fans are not coming...my opinion
1) I think the economy has some to do with it. FL has faced the worst economic downturn than any other state.

2) I think some people resent them trying to get money out of tax payers to build a new stadium considering most people feel we are overtaxed to begin with - them onto us type thing.

3) you will always have transient community with people staying loyal to home teams (as much as you yell at us to support the hometeam...we will continue to support our beloved home teams that our moms and dads got us into many years ago). I will always be loyal to the Sox, but also have Rays shirts, hats, beads, bumper stickers on my cars and in my home. But they play the Sox...and I will root for the Sox. I don't see anything wrong with that at all. No bandwagoning here. I don't see myself living in the Tampa Bay area forever...I won't put down strong roots, because unfortunately the Tampa bay economy doesn't support strong roots.

4) location...yes, yes, yes. I live in Hernando county and it takes me 2 hours to get to the stadium. It would only take me an hour if it were placed in a more centralized location in the TAMBA BAY area. IMHO somewhere in the I-4 vicinity would be great. It is suppose to be a Tampa Bay team...so it should be centralized in Tampa Bay. On my son's 13th birthday, we will be in attendance at their last schedule home game. We bought a large quantity of tickets and will be there in Rays garb...beads and all. But, it is only our 2nd game this year, because of the vicinity.

5) give it some time - if they continue to play well, fans will come.

I agree with another poster that it isn't the fans responsibility to "make" a successful team. Like any other business...they have to create a product or service that people want or need. In NE the teams have become a tradition. The Patriots and Red Sox are right up there with Santa Clause and the Easter bunny. That only happens after years and years and generations after generations of fans. The team is young and they need time. Whether they've have the time here for that to happen, I don't know. It depends how much patience the owners have. But, they should never point fingers at the residents of Tampa Bay and say shame on you. That will just turn people off and make the "them onto us" stronger.

[Jimbo]

Stop speculating and start cheering...GO RAYS!!!

[Jimbo]

I still don't understand the point of this argument. It sounds to me like the only people calling for the dismantle of the Tampa Bay baseball club and either moved (or as someone suggested, contracted) are the fans of other teams. Who gives them the right to come in here and say "You don't deserve a team!" I'm both a Phillies phan and a Rays fan, and I see the value and the attention they bring to the Bay Area, on and off the field. St. Pete hasn't been talked about this much since the '96 riots, and this is a MUCH better light than that. People are slowly realizing that Tampa doesn't have a team - Tampa BAY has a team - and that team is located in a beautiful city by the "other" bay. This has been nothing but positive for St. Pete and the Area as a whole, but people are too busy pointing fingers to see that.

All they can see is some empty seats. There have been times in EVERY SINGLE FRANCHISE'S HISTORY that has had more than 50% empty seats, not just the Florida teams. The reason the Marlins don't sell out is twofold: 1.) It's a FOOTBALL STADIUM and anyone can tell you that the capacity to sellout and design of the field are horrible for baseball, and 2.) they dismantle the team every other year, completely unlike the Rays, BTW, but let's move past the Florida teams and look at two historical examples:

The then-Philadelphia A's were one of the best teams in baseball. They had a much better record than their cross-town rivals, the Phillies, ever could, and won 5 World Series, and went to 8, between 1905-1931. The Phils during that time went to only 1 (1915), and lost miserably to the Red Sox 4 games to 1. However, the A's moved to Kansas City (then to Oakland later on). You know why? Their attendance sunk. Now, is that to say the Rays deserve to move? Not at all, because the Phillies' attendance was never there, yet they still play there to this day. It's to say that attendance is all about perspective. If attendance is always low, then any gain is good.

Another example is the Brooklyn (now LA) Dodgers. Another storied franchise that won 4 pre-WS pennants (the equivalent to the WS ring before 1903), went to 9 World Series', and won 1 of them. Why did they move? They wanted the world's first sports-sized dome built for them. Does that mean the Rays should move because they don't get a new stadium? Not at all, but leaving one team in NY (not in the Bronx) forced people to go watch the Giants, and even though their attendance rose from the new fans, they still left in 1957, after winning the World Series themselves in 1954.

The point is, there is no rhyme or reason why an owner moves a team. They make excuses and they pick up and move. It's not attendance, it's not a place to play, it's not even revenue (I'm sure Philly provided much more money to the A's than KC did). It's whatever the owner decides to do when he/she gets the team.

Stu and Co. have made it clear they don't intend to move. If they hold to their word and don't leave, the attendance will most surely rise over the next few years. The stadium question will be resolved, either with their planned waterfront stadium, the rehabbed Trop, or something else, but there will be a resolution at some point. The seasons may not all be winning, but as more and more kids grow up Rays fans, they'll go to more games, and as they become adults, a new generation will cheer for the Boys from Tampa Bay. Do you think the Chicago Cubs, the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies, and the San Francisco Giants (the four oldest teams still around) had packed stadiums every single game for their first 10-15 years of existence, or have they had a little bit of time to work on expanding those fan bases compared to the Rays?

[bayray]

The RAYS do not play in Tampa. They are a TAMPA BAY AREA team, that plays in St. Pete.
As a fan from the very begining, I have had the opportunity to see the ownership of this team in the begining do everything possible to keep fans from supporting this team, and only in the past 2.5 years with the new ownership has this team become respectable. During thier first 7 years this teams ownership did just about everything it could to piss everyone off (fans, local gov. advertisers) and it worked! No one was going to see the lowly "Devil Rays" (worst name ever!?) You could go to most any game, and get a whole section to yourself.
The bay area has gone through this before.
At one time no one went to Bucs games, because ownership was only interested in how much money the owner could stuff in his pockets, during it's first 20 years. New owners came in, in the mid 90's and built a team and a relationship with the fans the brought us SUPER BOWL XXXVII.
Same story with the Hockey. Who thought Tampa Bay would own the Stanley Cup.
The Rays need to still do alot of repair work with the fans to get them to the games.
St. Pete. took a chance in the mid 80's and built it's stadium, with the hope of getting a team. It worked! Is the stadium in the right place? Not really. Is it the most fan friendly place to watch a game? Much better than it was.
The fans need to know that this is not a fluke. After being so bad, for so long, They have to prove them selves all over again.
The current ownership is working very hard in that regard, and it shows.
No one thought the RAYS would be this good this soon with the new owner, NO ONE! 500 was the goal when the season started, and as of today They still have one of the best records in baseball. 28 games over 500!
See Ya at the playoffs!
The RAYS play in St. Pete!

"The Bucs and Lightning are considered attendance successes by their respective leagues. Is it because the play in Tampa or at the right time of the year?"

Is your point that if they make baseball a winter sport then the rays will out draw the Red Sox? You are probably right, but you are making the case for moving/shutting down the Fla teams

[Sarasota Rays Fan]

I ask myself how can a Toronto Maple Leafs game outdraw a Toronto Blue Jay's game in the Tampa Bay Area, a game with postseason implications?

Has anyone considered the seasonal aspects of our areas population and incomes?

In Sarasota it is much closer to the Trop (35-40 minutes) than it is to The Times Forum but I see a lot more Sarasotan's at Hockey games.

The poulation down here more than doubles in the season and so does my income. It is easier for me to drop $150+ in February than August to attend a sporting event with the family. The Rays TV ratings are record setting indicating the interest is their.

Am I alone in wishing I could afford to go more often in the summertime than I do? Or is Tampa Bay actually a better Hockey market than a Baseball market. Hard to believe considering around 50-75 thousand spectators are actually attending baseball games throughout the Bay area everday in March.

The Bucs and Lightning are considered attendance successes by their respective leagues. Is it because the play in Tampa or at the right time of the year?

[Mike]

Proud of the Rays. They have put a great prduct on the field. However, there are only two sports seasons in this state.....Football season......and waiting for football seasons.

Teams will always struggle to win the big ones with limited fan support. Let them go where they are appreciated.

[Amanda]

It's a Business-
What's I'm hoping, though - and call me a hopeless optimist - is that this winning season will start to build that core fan base that the other teams with a long history built long ago. I just don't think we're being reasonable to expect a huge attendance leap when we don't have that core to draw from. Those other teams had decades to build up a base of fans. Some dropped off the bandwagon once they started losing, but were so fast to leap back on once there was another winning season. I think we'll have them, too, given enough time.
Could I be totally wrong, and baseball will never flourish here? Sure. But I just think it's too soon to throw in the towel.

[It's a business]

Amanda,

You keep explaining why Tampa will never be a good baseball town, and I agree. There is zero tradition there. I actually used to think/hope that a winner would awaken some deep-seeded want for baseball in the area. What with spring training and so many good high school programs and all. But the evidence is just overwhelmingly pointing toward this market not being able to support a team -- for whatever reason.

THe facts that the Rays have been worse than anyone else ever, and have not responded to a winner as much as other markets have, does somehow mean that some day suddenly everyone will wake up and like baseball.

[Amanda]

Beaner-
The catwalks are a structural element that we need to have to support the roof. We'd like them gone too, but as long as there is a roof they have to stay. A roofless stadium would be awesome in a lot of ways. I could even stand the heat. The real problem would be the thunderstorms that roll in around 5:00 most afternoons during the summer. Half our games would be rain-outs. A retractable roof? That would be ideal. We're working on that one. :)
As for the cowbells... you can say "real baseball fans don't bang on drums", or "real baseball fans don't sing Neil Diamond songs at the top of their lungs". Each team has their signature thing that other teams don't understand. This is ours.
As far as the cheerleaders, though, I totally agree with you. Cheerleaders have their place, but baseball isn't one of them.

[Beaner]

True baseball fans support their team regardless of where they are in the standings. The Pirates and Royals for example have been down for years but still have solid attendance numbers. The problem here in Tampa Bay is the Trop, it sucks. I'm sure many of you have been to ballparks around the country or even spring training games here in TB. It is a completely different enviorment, a baseball enviorment that you don't get with that God forsaken Tropicana Field, it's horrible. Build a real ballpark without catwalks and cheer leaders bouncing around on the roof of the dugouts and the fans will come. By the way, real baseball fans don't have cowbells....

[Amanda]

"It's a business"-
Oh, I know it doesn't refute your main point. I'm just saying you can't compare a football turnaround to a baseball one.
My thoughts, though - and this is just the opinion of one gal - are that there's a big difference between other teams who increased attendance in winning years and what is going on with the Rays. The difference is this: even though the Mets/Tigers/etc sucked for a while before, they hadn't ALWAYS been horrible. They had been good at one point, and during that time built an initial fan base. When they made their big turn-arounds, all they were doing was getting old fans, who were there in the 'good old days', to come back. In contrast, the Rays have never had 'good old days'. All our days have been bad. We've never had a chance to build that initial core fan base that comes with good years. So instead of getting old fans to come back, we have the much more difficult task of creating new fans, or converting those of other teams.
Just my thoughts.

[This is over]

Juan Salas, who suffers from epilepsy, suffered a seizure Monday at Fenway Park and was taken to a local hospital.

The Rays expect him to be fine, but he won't be available for at least tonight's game.

Are the Rays literally choking?

[Eric]

Dave,

Are you implying there is nothing to do in NY and Boston in the spring, summer, and fall but go to a ball game? Having lived down there for some time, I know this is a common theme on talk radio, btu come on. You may have a case about winter sports, but my god. The warm months up north are amazing. There is sooo much to do outdoors it's not even funny.

On what basis are you claming that people who are not going now will suddenly go next April and May? Goign now mean seeing a team in a pennant race. Going next spring could be a totally different scenario. They are winning NOW, there are tons of seats available, and people are not buying them.

[It's a business]

Amanda, you make a valid point, but it doesn't refute what I said. It's a business and Tampa Bay is demonstrating right now that it can not support a MLB team, no matter how successful it is.

The 1997 Marlins -- their first good team -- drew 2,364,387 people (5th of 14 NL Teams).

The 1995 Indians (the first year of their big turn-around) drew 2,842,745 fans (2nd of 14 AL teams)

The '06 Tigers (nearly worst to first) drew 2,595,937 (5th of 14)

i could go on. The fact is you can't find an example of a team that has struggled for years that suddenly gets good that still finishes last in their league in attendence (other than the Marlins in '03). The Rays are in uncharted territory here. The story all along was "put a winner on the field" and the fans will turn out, just like they did for the Bucs". Now that it's not happening the story is changing.

[Dave]

Mike said it all. You don't wipe out 10 years of losing in 1 year. In the rat infested areas like LA, NY and Boston they have plenty of people who have nothing else better to do than go to a ball game. Ticket prices will weed those crowds out too.

The Rays drew over 2,000,000 in their very 1st season - they will draw better next year and the year after if they keep the progress up. If they leave nobody will cry. There's your business.

[Dave]

Mike said it all. You don't wipe out 10 years of losing in 1 year. In the rat infested areas like LA, NY and Boston they have plenty of people who have nothing else better to do than go to a ball game. Ticket prices will weed those crowds out too.

The Rays drew over 2,000,000 in their very 1st season - they will draw better next year and the year after if they keep the progress up. If they leave nobody will cry. There's your business.

[eric]

All of these posts comparing attendence to other cities in the 90s, 80s, 70s and 60s (are you kidding me) are apples/oranges. Overall attendence in MLB is up 20-30 percent in recent years when comparred to the mid '90s and more than double when compared to 30 years ago. To say that the Yanks "only" drew 26K a game (it was actually 27 K) in '96 and conclude that the Rays drawing 21K in 2008 is somehow the same is just not accurate. Yanks were 7th in MLB attendence in 1996 with that 27 K a game.

[Amanda]

"It's a business"-
I understand what you're saying, but you can't really compare the attendance stats of the Bucs and the Rays. If 100,000 fans get excited about the Bucs and want to catch a game, they have 8 home games in which to do it. That's an average of an extra 12,500 people per game, if each person goes to one. If 100,000 people decide to catch a Rays game, those people are spread out over 81 games. One game per new fan, that's an average of 1200 new people per game.
See what I mean? Even if the Rays attracted the same number of new fans to each go to one game a season, it wouldn't make as much of an impact as it would at a football game.

[Eric]

"1. When the corporate season ticket base increases 8-9,000 next year,THIS WILL NOT BE AN ISSUE." -- Why will corporations suddenly buy tickets next year if they have not this year? Please cite a source for why you think this will happen. Even the Marlins had HUGE attendence spikes in their successful seasons.

"2.Red Barber was fired by the Yankees in 1966 when he commented on TV that there were only 500 fans in the seats at a Yankee game in September. check out the attendance fugres at She Stadium in the late 1970's when the Mets were the worst team in MLB. SO, EVEN NY HAS ATTENDANCE PROBLEMS WHEN THE TEAM IS A PERENNIAL LOSER."

You are making a false argument here and actually proving the other side's point. Of course winning causes fans to attend. The issue is that the Rays have had a phenominally successful season, and it's been a success literally since day 1, yet attendence is still horrible.

The 1960 yanks were a 70 win team. The Mets of the late '70s were even worse than that. The 2008 Rays are the best team in MLB (to date) and one of the best stories I've ever seen in sports. If ever a team should be drawing, it's this one. Sorry folks, but Tampa Bay is going to loose this team.

[it's a business]

The Bucs turned attendence around overnight. The Rays simply have not. If I were the Rays owner I'd be looking to leave immediately. It will be extremely embarassing if they play Boston in the playoffs to have 15K Boston fans in the place, but you KNOW that will happen. It has to. Boston fans are baseball fans. The Rays don't have more than 10K people who care

[duh]

lets see why florida doesnt support its baseball...the marlins build a winner and tear it apart every couple years because their owners want to clean house on the profit sharing. i cannot blame the miami local for not supporting the marlins because the previous owner and current owner are jokes. they tore the hearts out of miami twice and expect them to love the team...i'd tell them to pack sand... In tampa we had a joke of an owner for 9yrs who milked the area and never put a penny into the team. On top of that weve had a bad...scratch that a horrible team (often confused for a minor league team) for 10yrs and now finally we have a solid product. I hate to tell you this but you cant put out crap for 10yrs and expect everyone to come running to the ball park. but hey if they put together a couple seasons of solid play and keep their good players i can promise you the attendence will get better. FYI - One winning season out of 11 doesnt build a fan base when youve given the locals no reason to believe you care about baseball. and to say tampa isnt a baseball area is complete crap because this area has been a baseball area since the beginning of baseball back when it only had spring training teams to root for.

[Rodger]

I think Scott Jensen wishes he was a sports writer. see what happened with the bucs when they put a good team on the field year in and year out, there is a waiting list for season tickets. this is their best year and this is the best attendance year also. give the rays a chance to prove they arent a flash in the pan.

[RE]

Nome, Alaska needs a team....GO RAYS!! (and take the Bucs and Lightning with you )

[DIZ]

1. When the corporate season ticket base increases 8-9,000 next year,THIS WILL NOT BE AN ISSUE.

2.Red Barber was fired by the Yankees in 1966 when he commented on TV that there were only 500 fans in the seats at a Yankee game in September. check out the attendance fugres at She Stadium in the late 1970's when the Mets were the worst team in MLB. SO, EVEN NY HAS ATTENDANCE PROBLEMS WHEN THE TEAM IS A PERENNIAL LOSER.

[Matt]

The Bucs attendance lagged behind their success. Don't give me one and done years of success and expect to pack the stadium. Show a consistency of putting a winning product on the field and then the fans will turn out and support the Rays, just as they have the Bucs and the Bolts. Sports fans support consistent winners; Tampa Bay fans are no different!!

[Mike Creyton]

Hey Steve Oneal. How much money do you think the Super Bowl is going to dump into the Bay Area's economy in February? This is the 2nd Super Bowl in 8 years in the new stadium. That is one very tangible benefit to having pro teams here. You can go on and on. You sir, are ignorant.

[todd]

MOVE THE TEAM TO TAMPA and draw more fans from the Orlando, Lakeland, Plant city area, not to mention points up north like Ocala and Gainesville

Move the team closer to I-4 and I-75 and it will be a 50 minute drive from Orlando and see the numbers go up significantly.

[dave]

What a non-story. Are you reporting sporting news, or doing marketing for the Rays? It seems like the latter, and as another comment pointed out, it's a terrible strategy to try and "guilt" fans. If there was a better city for the Rays to play in, I'm sure MLB would have gone there in the first place. Portland? Norfolk? Las Vegas? A second team in Philadelphia? These are all laughable alternatives. The Steinbergs aren't that stupid. What hot air.

[Ray F]

It's a widely popular belief that MLB would contract teams from the league before moving a team.

The decision to add 2 teams (AZ & TB) in '96 wasn't very popular because it was thought that the talent pool would shrink.

If anything, they would axe the whole franchise.

I used to think they would move to Charlotte or Portland or maybe San Antonio, but I think MLB would can them.

[Alex]

Instead of building a new stadium, use the money to buy the team. Then you can do whatever you want with them.

[Palin's a Hypocrite]

If the Rays move to Tampa, attendance might even be worse. Just look at the Howard Franklin heading towards Tampa at 5pm, it's backed up passed the hump. Good luck finding anyone from St. Pete that would go to a 7pm game.

[Sarah]

I love the Rays and I absolutely do not want them to leave St. Pete. We are a busy, busy family and can't go to as many games as we'd like but we manage between 6 & 10 a season. We don't mind the Trop at all and everyone from the players to the concession staff are friendly and top-notch. Please, Rays, just stay put! PLEASE!

[Alex]

If the sad-sacks in Tampa can't get themselves accross the bridge to watch the team, why should we expect they'll do so for a stadium in Hillsborough?

It is ridiculous to ask for a half a billion dollar stadium in order to cut 10-15 minutes off your trip. If the Rays move, it will be to someplace far, far away.

[steve oneal]

I'd help them pack! I'm sick of all these pro teams, that make a profit by the way, telling us we must support them. They get taxpayer built stadiums and then suck all the revenue from even non team events. Tampa bay area is no better off with now than we were before we got any of these pro teams. None of them pay property taxes or bring anything back to the communities in the way of revenue that is even close to what it cost to build and maintain stadiums. Our politicians ought to be tarred and feathered for giving even 1 dime to these rich team owners. Does anyone really think that if all the cities said we are not going to subsidize you any longer, that they would quit playing sports? Heck no! They make too much money. They would just be forced to pay there own way.