Where are the fans at Rays games?

[olafberserker]

St. Pete/Pinellas should put 15,000 in the seat by themselves during a playoff run.  They don't and that's half the battle.  Location sucks for the rest of the fan base.  Economy is shaky.  School just started.  Maybe some of the buffet's extended the early bird specials.  I don't know.  It is a little sad that we can't get more people in the stands for games wtih playoff implications, but I've only been to 5 games (4 early on) and I plan on going to 3-4 more. 

[alldaway]

So are people coming around to the idea that the location isn't ideal?

The Bucs end up selling out because the stadium is more centrally located

Easier to go and leave from Ray Jay as well. 

[ufojoe]

I think attendance will show next year. The rays got successful extremely fast, maybe too fast. They had been perennial losers and an after thought in the bay area for 10 years. I just don't think you can expect such a young baseball town with no history of success to get the same kind of turnouts that towns rich in history like NY, BOS, hell even Pittsburgh, are getting. It would be nice of course. It will take a bit for people to warm up to the team. Merchandise sales and TV ratings are way up. Next season I think attendance will go way up as well

13,478 at Tuesday's game and 12,678 last night. I don't care how "young" a baseball town it is. That sucks.

Kazmir was on Rome yesterday and let me paraphrase what he said when Rome asked him about attendance.

Jim: Scott, how disheartening is it to be playing this well and have nobody turn out to watch you guys?

SK: It's very disheartening. My teammates and I were discussing it yesterday and we don't know what
to make of it. I mean, last night, it was so bad that you could practically hear crickets. We don't get it.
Hopefully they'll support us if and when we make the post season.

* * * * * * * * * *

This team will not last many more years in the Tampa Bay area if this kind of attendance keeps up.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/article787365.ece

ST. PETERSBURG - Never let it be said Tampa Bay crumbled under the pressure of a pennant race.

When the Angels came to town last week for a showdown between the two best teams in the American League, we yawned. When the Blue Jays showed up this week for a key division series, our pulse remained steady.

And, in a remarkable display of grace under pressure, we continue to stay away from Tropicana Field in droves.

If this is pennant fever, when did we get inoculated?

The Rays have been the worst-drawing team in major-league baseball for the past two weeks, which is a little embarrassing when the rest of the country keeps calling Tampa Bay the feel-good story of 2008.

Rest of story at link...

[ufojoe]

The location excuse is a joke at this point. With that team playing that well, it shouldn't matter if they were playing
in Bradenton. I have to drive over the bridge! Traffic is bad!

Face it. It's the people and not the team, stadium, distance or traffic.

Even if it was the worst stadium in MLB history, I'd still be going to games if I lived in Tampa. What the heck are
people waiting for?

[Biggs3535]

The location excuse is a joke at this point. With that team playing that well, it shouldn't matter if they were playing
in Bradenton. I have to drive over the bridge! Traffic is bad!

If you are talking about just Tampa, then yes, but the team has made an effort to pull more from Orlando and everywhere in between.  For those people, going through Tampa and then over the bridge into St. Pete really is a big deal.

If they were to move the new stadium location to a more centralized area, like the fairgrounds, where people from East I-4 area could get to the stadium without having to go through downtown Tampa and over the bridge into St. Pete, they would get a lot more support from those people they have been trying so hard to get.

[ufojoe]

I think moving the team to Orlando should be a serious consideration.

[JavaBuc]

I agree that St. Pete is a crap location for the team.   I had season tickets the first couple of years and I didn't go to every game only because it's a pain to drive all the way.    Had the games been in Tampa, I'd have attended every one of them.

The good thing though is that St. Pete has to pay tax money for the stadium. 

[olafberserker]

Jim: Scott, how disheartening is it to be playing this well and have nobody turn out to watch you guys?

SK: It's very disheartening. My teammates and I were discussing it yesterday and we don't know what
to make of it. I mean, last night, it was so bad that you could practically hear crickets. We don't get it.
Hopefully they'll support us if and when we make the post season.

Maybe Kaz should concentrate on getting out of the 5th inning before he starts questioning the fan support.

[olafberserker]

The location excuse is a joke at this point.

No it's not.  It's an hour one way for me to go to a game.  I'll do that occassionally, but I'm not doing it 40 times a year.  The joke is Pinellas County.  They wanted the team and now that can't put butts in the seats.  Call them out, but if you want support from the entire area, then put the team in a more central location.


Again 10 years of pathetic baseball equals a paltry 8,000 season ticket base.  Not going to get fans to walk up in droves every night.  Should be better.  Thought it would be.  But the Rays have a lot of nerve calling out the fans after the pathetic product that was put on the field for so long.

[ufojoe]

Wo cares what they did last year or for the last ten years? THIS YEAR, they are kicking butt and
have beat out the Evil Empire and are about to beat out the defending champions. 13,000 is
a joke. The Rays SHOULD be calling out the pathetic fans.

Poor fans have to drive an hour to the game? Poor babies!

Move to a larger city and you'll find fans driving anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours to support
their team. For me growing up, it was an hour without traffic. Usually an hour and half. So what?

Gotta love the excuses. Face it, Tampa's just not a big sports town.

[Morgan]

Hillsborough and Pinellas have a population of just over 2 mil. The economy is not good and kids back in school would be factors to look at. Here are some other numbers to consider.

Hills Co
Median Income $40,663
31.40% of households have kids
12.50% below poverty level

Pin Co
Median Income $37,111
22.10% of households have kids
10.00% below poverty level

Pissst.......you're not allowed to post about attendance on this board.

[ufojoe]

A breakdown on what Rays fans are doing on any game night...

[Morgan]

It is a shame the team doesn't get more local support, unless the Cubs, Red Sox, or Yankees are in the building.

Don't you and your main squeeze Olaf have this rule that the Rays can't take any transplant fans unless they've been fans since day one.  So these NYY, CHI, and Boston folks living in Tampa now are required to continue to support their old teams.

[Biggs3535]

Hillsborough and Pinellas have a population of just over 2 mil. The economy is not good and kids back in school would be factors to look at. Here are some other numbers to consider.

Hills Co
Median Income $40,663
31.40% of households have kids
12.50% below poverty level

Pin Co
Median Income $37,111
22.10% of households have kids
10.00% below poverty level

Pissst.......you're not allowed to post about attendance on this board.

RudeGuy actually had the sense to start a thread about it, and it is being discussed.  Imagine that.

You finally have someplace to post the attendance numbers for every game.

[Morgan]

I think moving the team to Orlando should be a serious consideration.

A baseball stadium near/next to RJS would be fine. Buy out all those cheap project-style housing along with the K-mart, Mons Venus, and Checker's Burgers  and build a stadium south of RJS. Perfect location for both TB and ST Pete.