Rays eliminate upper deck seating

[BrassBulls12]

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25683771/tampa-bay-rays-eliminate-upper-deck-seating-reduce-capacity-25000 

A few highlights from the article 

The Rays on Friday said they would add a premium seating section in the lower level but would no longer seat fans in the upper deck, which would reduce capacity at the stadium to approximately 25,000 to 26,000.

That would be about 10,000 seats smaller than capacity at any other stadium in the major leagues.

"These renovations mark our continued commitment to providing a first-rate fan experience at Tropicana Field," Rays president Matt Silverman said in a statement. "Together, in concert with the reduction in seating capacity, these investments will help create a more intimate, entertaining and appealing experience for our fans."

 

Ouch. 

[JTrue]

They forgot to mention the major impact this will have, driving up the price of tickets in the lower deck.

[BrassBulls12]

For sure, I wondered about that when it mentioned and increase in "premium" seating. Sounded more like the Rays are forcing people to buy more expensive tickets. 

[JTrue]

38 minutes ago, BrassBulls12 said:

For sure, I wondered about that when it mentioned and increase in "premium" seating. Sounded more like the Rays are forcing people to buy more expensive tickets. 

Yup. Same amount of people, you've just eliminated the tickets that cost less than $10.

[BrassBulls12]

3 minutes ago, JTrue said:

Yup. Same amount of people, you've just eliminated the tickets that cost less than $10.

I'm starting to wonder is Sternberg is taking the Rachel Phelps route. 

[JTrue]

2 minutes ago, BrassBulls12 said:

I'm starting to wonder is Sternberg is taking the Rachel Phelps route. 

The only way you're going to get a city to pony up $1 billion for a stadium anymore is by fleecing one without a professional team. After Miami, no one is going to be that dumb ever again. So if he isn't going to fund most of the financing, the Portland Rays are around the corner.

[BrassBulls12]

3 minutes ago, JTrue said:

The only way you're going to get a city to pony up $1 billion for a stadium anymore is by fleecing one without a professional team. After Miami, no one is going to be that dumb ever again. So if he isn't going to fund most of the financing, the Portland Rays are around the corner.

Very true, did you see that recent (might not that recent) comment from the previous Miami owner. pretty much bragging about what he did to the city? 

[chapelbull]

While closing the upper deck removes the least-expensive tickets from the Tropicana Field seating bowl, the cheapest price point will remain but be shifted to other sections of the stadium.

[Triple B]

1 hour ago, chapelbull said:

While closing the upper deck removes the least-expensive tickets from the Tropicana Field seating bowl, the cheapest price point will remain but be shifted to other sections of the stadium.

Unless I'm going blind, that's not from the link in the op ....

[chapelbull]

27 minutes ago, Triple B said:

Unless I'm going blind, that's not from the link in the op ....

https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/rays/2019/01/04/rays-close-the-upper-deck-at-tropicana-field-shrinking-baseballs-smallest-seating-capacity/

Sorry, I had tbo open and was reading the article at the same time I saw this thread and didn't even notice what the above link was actually to.  My bad