We better enjoy them while we got them ....

[Triple B]

This series could be the defining moment in ownership saying "Screw it" and seriously looking into relocating ...

[TB Bulls]

I think next season will be the real test as far as attendance.  We'll have to see if season ticket sales are strong before the worrying starts.

[Triple B]

I think next season will be the real test as far as attendance.  We'll have to see if season ticket sales are strong before the worrying starts.

I know that the following season is usually the true test but, ****, these last two crowds have been downright embarrassing, coupled with the attendance last week between, arguably, the two top teams in baseball .... Fay notwithstanding. It's got to be driving ownership a little nuts.

[BullsWinBucsWin]

I am out of excuses.  I know why I don't go to more games (been to 15-20 so far), but I just can't figure out why more people aren't going. 

I think I'm going to stick w/ the "you can't draw people from the Gulf of Mexico" theory that I've been sticking with for years now.  Really the only explanation that makes sense to me.

[D1DDY]

i dont get it either...  i've been good for about 5 games every year and wanted to go more this year but I can't even get my friends excited about it...

they almost need to blackout games on TV... its to easy to sit at home and watch the game

the bucs did it back in the day if the game wasn't sold out

[Bullpride08]

It's location, I can't stress it enough.  The problem isn't Pinellas per se, but downtown St. Petersburg is a remote location.  Around the downtown is affluent retirement communities and very poor areas which completely encompass downtown St. Pete.  There is little middle class, few families that can afford or care to visit a Rays game.  For people in Hillsborough in large neighborhoods in Tampa, like in Carrollwood/Northdale, New Tampa, or Brandon...the drive is about 50 minutes to over an hour or more to get to downtown St. Pete (not including traffic)...hell how about if your coming from the nice middle class to upper middle class Pinellas neighborhoods in Countryside, Tarpon Springs, Boot Ranch, or Trinity...it's about 40 minutes or more from those locations too.  And they are not getting the push from Bradenton and Sarasota which is another 40-50 minutes to get to downtown.

The Dome is extremely out there, and demographics wise there are very few people within a 5-10 mile grid in that area that could support the team in mass.  Of course I think a huge boost would come if it was located in Tampa, maybe near the fairgrounds, or near RayJay...but they could keep it in Pinellas by locating it around north 4th street, Carillion Parkway area, maybe around SR60.  

But for where it is right now the weekday hike for the average fan they're targeting is 50+ minutes, and that doesn't include traffic.  That's a tough sell, and the crazy drive kills everyone.

I mean just look at the stats...our last weekend series was with the Tigers at the beginning of the month.

The Friday game drew almost 29k, the Saturday game 37k, the Sunday game almost 34k, then Monday 17k!  I'll lay it down that we average over 30k again for the Friday thru Sunday match-up with the Orioles.  Another example is the Lightning, they averaged more fans than the Rays on weekdays even when they were in last place last year.  But within 15-20 minutes of downtown Tampa is a large contingent of fan support.

[Bullpride08]

i dont get it either...  i've been good for about 5 games every year and wanted to go more this year but I can't even get my friends excited about it...

they almost need to blackout games on TV... its to easy to sit at home and watch the game

the bucs did it back in the day if the game wasn't sold out

Really?  I've got tons of friends and family that are totally charged about it, but like me, they can only make games on the weekends because we live about 1hour+ away not including traffic.  No way I can take my young kids to that, even if we left after the 6th inning we're not home until 10:30-11AM on a school night.  It's just so darn far away, I honestly would make a concerted weekday effort if we're talking it was around the distance to Legends Field, or downtown Tampa, probably even Carillion area.

[Velcro]

It is amazing...

I've always subscribed to the "Win and they will come" mantra (and that it was tough to put together a winning team without revenue from fans... but the rays proved that wrong already)...

and now fans aren't showing up... very sad...

Maybe OKC will take the rays, and change the name to the 'tumble weed'.

[Velcro]

i dont get it either...  i've been good for about 5 games every year and wanted to go more this year but I can't even get my friends excited about it...

they almost need to blackout games on TV... its to easy to sit at home and watch the game

the bucs did it back in the day if the game wasn't sold out

Really?  I've got tons of friends and family that are totally charged about it, but like me, they can only make games on the weekends because we live about 1hour+ away not including traffic.  No way I can take my young kids to that, even if we left after the 6th inning we're not home until 10:30-11AM on a school night.  It's just so darn far away, I honestly would make a concerted weekday effort if we're talking it was around the distance to Legends Field, or downtown Tampa, probably even Carillion area.

Other teams don't seem to have this attendance issue when winning (other than the marlins and maybe minnesota), especially when they are in first place.

But i agree, the distance sucks, and that is certainly part of the problem.  But there is no excuse at all for 12000 fans for a first place team in the first year they really have a chance to make the playoffs, ever.  I wouldn't blame ownership for tossing in the towel.

[Bullpride08]

i dont get it either...  i've been good for about 5 games every year and wanted to go more this year but I can't even get my friends excited about it...

they almost need to blackout games on TV... its to easy to sit at home and watch the game

the bucs did it back in the day if the game wasn't sold out

Really?  I've got tons of friends and family that are totally charged about it, but like me, they can only make games on the weekends because we live about 1hour+ away not including traffic.  No way I can take my young kids to that, even if we left after the 6th inning we're not home until 10:30-11AM on a school night.  It's just so darn far away, I honestly would make a concerted weekday effort if we're talking it was around the distance to Legends Field, or downtown Tampa, probably even Carillion area.

Other teams don't seem to have this attendance issue when winning (other than the marlins and maybe minnesota), especially when they are in first place.

But i agree, the distance sucks, and that is certainly part of the problem.  But there is no excuse at all for 12000 fans for a first place team in the first year they really have a chance to make the playoffs, ever.  I wouldn't blame ownership for tossing in the towel.

true, but I really can't stress enough that this Dome could be in the worst possible location you could place it in the 5-7 county Bay Area.  It's is at the farthest distance possible from all the concentrations of demographics that would be likely to attend multiple games and get season tixs.

A great example of this is comparing attendance for weekends versus weekday.  The past few weekend series we've averaged well north of 32k, and that's with plenty of nights when we don't have concerts having 30k+, but the past few weekday events we're averaging around 17k.  Attendance doubles when people have time to go to the game.  I've been to five weekend games thus far.  I love it, but I've been going to that many or more each season for the past several years, hell really since they started.