MLB 2013

[JB]

The Rays will be fine onve they figure out a new location in or closer to Tampa. Their current location could not be worse.

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I guess that depends where you are coming from. You eliminate the beaches, manatee and Sarasota county by moving further north east.

Blame George S. for buying the land Vince was bidding on during expansion that Legends now resides on.

In the end they will always be a feeder program due to a faulty MLB system that rewards the top 5 markets and destroys others.

 

[StanTheCaddy]

Yankees are swing the bats well again tonight. Considering all the injuries to our lineup I've been pleasantly surprised by the production these last few games. Scoring 7 in a game started by Verlander on Sunday, 11 yesterday, now 7 runs through 4 innings today.

 

[Wake]

I guess that depends where you are coming from. You eliminate the beaches, manatee and Sarasota county by moving further north east.

Blame George S. for buying the land Vince was bidding on during expansion that Legends now resides on.

In the end they will always be a feeder program due to a faulty MLB system that rewards the top 5 markets and destroys others.

No one lives on the beaches, to think the current location is at all practical is crazy. I obviously don't recall the numbers exactly, but the number of people within 30 minutes of the park now is BY FAR the lowest in the league, move it to Tampa and it obviously still doesn't compare to the bigger markets, but it is much much better.

 

[JB]

No one lives on the beaches, to think the current location is at all practical is crazy. I obviously don't recall the numbers exactly, but the number of people within 30 minutes of the park now is BY FAR the lowest in the league, move it to Tampa and it obviously still doesn't compare to the bigger markets, but it is much much better.

Check the demographics on beach residents the last 5 years wake. Tampa residents have proven they will not support the team consistently enough to move it. It's a 30 minute drive for half of Tampa and they don't go. Most cities would love that.

People are quick to forget the amount of residents that Pinellas county has. Moving the team to Tampa completely eliminates Manatee and Sarasota Counties, but keeping it in St Pete means all are with in 45 minutes.

 

[Erky]

Check the demographics on beach residents the last 5 years wake. Tampa residents have proven they will not support the team consistently enough to move it. It's a 30 minute drive for half of Tampa and they don't go. Most cities would love that.

People are quick to forget the amount of residents that Pinellas county has. Moving the team to Tampa completely eliminates Manatee and Sarasota Counties, but keeping it in St Pete means all are with in 45 minutes.

This graph sums it all up quite nicely.

 

[JB]

Graph is not even close to accurate. Not even close. Perhaps the Hillsborough County residents, but no where near if you combine Pinellas, Manatee and Hillsborough and much of all 3 are with in 30 minutes.

 

[blugold]

The location of the Rays park has nothing to do with attendance figures.

The Buccaneers play in a stadium a few minutes from the air port. And their games are really well attended.

 

[Erky]

Graph is not even close to accurate. Not even close. Perhaps the Hillsborough County residents, but no where near if you combine Pinellas, Manatee and Hillsborough and much of all 3 are with in 30 minutes.

I don't know if they are accurate or not, but that graph is taken directly from the study commissioned by the City of St. Petersburg. I need to find the link.

 

[JB]

Heck, Clearwater alone (not including all the burbs such as Largo, Belleair, Seminole, St Pete, all beaches, etc) has 247,000 people. All with in 30 minutes. You mean to tell me that the rest of every area (including St pete and half of Tampa) that are with in 30 minutes only make up another 400,000? I know the graph and where it was done, and its not accurate.

Here is another stat. St Pete has around 130,000 households. Do you mean to tell me that every other area combined (the 14th largest market in the US) with in 30 minutes only has another 140,000? False.

 

[War Eagle]

The location of the Rays park has nothing to do with attendance figures.

The Buccaneers play in a stadium a few minutes from the air port. And their games are really well attended.

They are? They have been blacked out for years in the local market due to low attendance.

 

[Wake]

Getting to the Rays stadium from Hills is far from easy. Moving to a central location in Tampa allows all of hillsborough County to be within 30 minutes, as well as making it a very doable drive for Polk, Pasco, and Manatee is still not a stretch, while making it no harder for the small portion of Pinellas residents attend, then it currently is for Hillsborough fans.

It is SOOO much easier to go to a weekday Lightning game than it is to go to a Rays game. The Lightning are top 10 in attendance in a losing season when they have fired the coach, meanwhile the Rays can't get attendance when they are perennial contenders? You really don't think a huge part of that is the (horrible) location of the stadium.

 

[JB]

The location of the Rays park has nothing to do with attendance figures.

The Buccaneers play in a stadium a few minutes from the air port. And their games are really well attended.

You are right. Its used as a scape goat by the media for an area that is not going to support a sport that gives them no chance of the same long term success as other teams.

 

[blugold]

They are? They have been blacked out for years in the local market due to low attendance.

I should have included :bulgy-eyes:

 

[Wake]

The location of the Rays park has nothing to do with attendance figures.

The Buccaneers play in a stadium a few minutes from the air port. And their games are really well attended.

There was a waiting list for years for Bucs games when they were competitive, when the Glazers stopped spending money to buy a soccer team, the fans did too

 

[War Eagle]

I should have included :bulgy-eyes:

After I hit submit, I realized you were being sarcastic.

 

[Wake]

You are right. Its used as a scape goat by the media for an area that is not going to support a sport that gives them no chance of the same long term success as other teams.

Weak argument, they have been one of the best teams in the league for going on 6 years now, the Lightning have never had that kind of sustained success, yet they get better attendance numbers, for a sport very few local residents played growing up.

 

[blugold]

There was a waiting list for years for Bucs games when they were competitive, when the Glazers stopped spending money to buy a soccer team, the fans did too

Huge cop out.

A fan base worthy of having a team will support a team even in bad years.

 

[JB]

It is SOOO much easier to go to a weekday Lightning game than it is to go to a Rays game. The Lightning are top 10 in attendance in a losing season when they have fired the coach, meanwhile the Rays can't get attendance when they are perennial contenders? You really don't think a huge part of that is the (horrible) location of the stadium.

First off I disagree with this. Its easier for you because you are east of Tampa.
Second I strongly disagree with teh location of the stadium being the issue. MLB is flawed and the local market knows it. You can back a team that has the same chance as every other team (NHL and NFL).

We saw what happened when the Rays were winning and near the end of the season. Fans from Tampa had no problem making the drive and selling the place out. If the stadium was such an issue, why is it full every time the Yankees and Red Sox are in town?

 

[blugold]

After I hit submit, I realized you were being sarcastic.

I forgive. You're too cute to be mad at.

 

[JB]

There was a waiting list for years for Bucs games when they were competitive, when the Glazers stopped spending money to buy a soccer team, the fans did too

So based on that, shouldn't they move the stadium? To where fans will have easier access to it? Since it clearly cannot be the product or the team, it has to be location.

 

[JB]

FWIW,
Wake, check out what the Lightning attendance was when they played in St Pete. I guess location was not a huge issue back then either.

 

[Wake]

First off I disagree with this. Its easier for you because you are east of Tampa.
Second I strongly disagree with teh location of the stadium being the issue. MLB is flawed and the local market knows it. You can back a team that has the same chance as every other team (NHL and NFL).

We saw what happened when the Rays were winning and near the end of the season. Fans from Tampa had no problem making the drive and selling the place out. If the stadium was such an issue, why is it full every time the Yankees and Red Sox are in town?

It's easier from everywhere, it doesn't include going over a bridge with traffic, parking in the ghetto (or dealing with the traffic headache of their horrible designed stadium owned parking.). Do you really think from anywhere but the MOST western part of hillsborough county that it is easier to get to, park, and get back from the TRop than it is to the Ice Palace? From Tampa itself, North of Tampa, and East of Tampa, it is much easier to get to the Trop.

 

[Wake]

So based on that, shouldn't they move the stadium? To where fans will have easier access to it? Since it clearly cannot be the product or the team, it has to be location.

6

It does have to do with the product. The Bucs product sucks right now, the Rays product is excellent. I love going to the games, and would do so if it was in Tampa, but it is impossible to go to weekday games for the Rays, and it is a 5-6 hour affair for weekend games. Put it in tampa and weekday games are once again feasible, and weekend games are much easier.

 

[JB]

It's easier from everywhere, it doesn't include going over a bridge with traffic, parking in the ghetto (or dealing with the traffic headache of their horrible designed stadium owned parking.). Do you really think from anywhere but the MOST western part of hillsborough county that it is easier to get to, park, and get back from the TRop than it is to the Ice Palace? From Tampa itself, North of Tampa, and East of Tampa, it is much easier to get to the Trop.

Where do you think the Bucs stadium is? In countryclubville? You know hundreds of thousands that live in Pinellas and Manatee would still have to go over a bridge to get there right?
Why is it that the final four can put butts in teh seats?
Why is it that the NHL could fill the place (record NHL attendance)?
Why is it that the Yankees and Red Sox can fill the place?

Tampa fans are fickle and prove that with the Bucs as soon as they were not winning. MLB will not be successful in the area, especially in that division. Heck, half of MLB is a failure in attendance despite what the league wants you to think. The league is completely flawed. The stadium location has been the media scape goat for a decade because they are not allowed to blame the fans. Yet it is amazing, how these same areas have no issue making the drive when certain teams come to town. Until MLB wants to fix itself, half the teams in the league will struggle with attendance.

 

[Erky]

I don't think it's *just* the location. It is basically the worst and most depressing stadium in baseball, which is a lousy payoff once you get there. There are a lot of reasons for the poor attendance (tons of transplants (my gut tells me that is especially true in Pinellas), zero legacy fans/generations of fans, poor facilities, location). However, if we keep a team in the bay area, we would be foolish to keep them near downtown St. Pete.

We sell out against the Yankees and Red Sox because this area is full of Yankees and Red Sox fans.

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