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

[Matt]

you all sound like little women.

the rays arent going anywhere.

they are still one of the most profitable teams in the MLB and next year the TV contract is gonna be SICK!!!!

there are SOOO many ways to make money besides ticket sales.

[Bull Dozer]

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'.

I dont get it either, not only are the winning, they are winning in heroic fashion.  This is a great brand of baseball and I blame it on the fanbase way more than the location.  People on Long Island fight what would be the worst traffic tampa ever seen to go to Yankees games every night. (w/ guaranteed traffic, 1.5-2 hours)

Tampa people have never had an interest in the MLB as we can tell by attendance.  Baseball is a games you either love or cant understand.  Majority of thepeople here dont appreciate or understand the game.  You go to a major city baseball game and every pitch counts, i go to a rays game and it seems like every beer counts and the main question is when do you want to leave.

I glanced at the game last night and thought they were in toronto...sad sight.

And the subject of this thread is 100% right, enjoy them when you got them because next year you will mostly find yourselves in 3rd place.

I was talking with my buddy about playoffs tix this year and his response was like we will show up at game time and scalp them for about $30 a pop with no problem.  He is from tampa and if that is true, that is sad as well.

Not that I don't blame the fans because we've got to attend, but you're reference to New York, LA, Atlanta, Chicago, or Boston isn't fair either.  Sure people living on Long Island make the trek, but they've been doing it for 50-100 years and they've got to make the trek for any sporting event.  Whereas in Tampa people don't need to make the move, why drive literally 1.1hours to a game in downtown St. Petersburg, that means leaving the house at 5:30 to get to downtown St. Pete by a reasonable time.  That means leaving work around 4:45PM for me.  That lifestyle is engrained in those communities, in Tampa it's about the weekend, it's about getting there when you get there, it's about convenience.  People came out in droves in Tampa for the Lightning when they made their run.

When you pound on the Rays fans remember the moment they started this team they were cellar dwellers, and didn't make any real conscience effort to pull-out of it until the past two.  Hard to live on every pitch when you're usually the skunk.  I've was a Brewers fan growing up, switched to the Braves in the early 90's after TBS beat it in me finally. 

Again, concentrate on weekend attendance which has been hovering in the mid-30's, see what they do against Baltimore this weekend.  That will give you an idea of what would happen if this thing was done right and in the right location.

Good post.  Also to add, those major baseball cities NY, Boston, Chicago etc all have GREAT public transportation systems that make getting to the stadium a lot easier than here where its drive or bust.  

[Matt]

 Also to add, those major baseball cities NY, Boston, Chicago etc all have GREAT public transportation systems that make getting to the stadium a lot easier than here where its drive or bust.  

yep.  that is a HUGE factor.

[Bruce Blingstein]

you all sound like little women.

Does the St. Pete Times sound like little women for writing the articles about this?

This is undefendable, but go ahead and keep trying.

whats the saying "too far in the landfill to see the garbage"

[Bulls On Parade]

Convert the local fans of baseball teams that play up north into Rays fans and you will see a big jump in attendance.

It wouldn't matter if the Rays played in Tampa the fans would not show up since they will still cheer for the Red Sox and Yankees.

[Guest]

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

The lease at the Trop is IRONCLAD.  The lease has a term that prevents moving the team without City Council permission until 2027... not just they have to pay the lease, but St Pete could probably sue for additional damages due to the "economic impact"...

The Tampa Bay Rays won't be going anywhere... even if no one shows up to games.

From a 2001 article ..

ST. PETERSBURG -- Mayor Rick Baker sent a warning Wednesday after learning that a group of investors working to bring Major League Baseball to Washington, D.C., signed a confidentiality agreement to consider investing in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

In a letter to a partner of the Washington Baseball group, Baker wrote that the team is legally bound to play in St. Petersburg for years and that the city is not willing to let the team out of that deal.

"Under this agreement, which we will actively protect and enforce, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will be playing baseball in Tropicana Field through the year 2027, and hopefully beyond that date," Baker wrote to Stephen W. Porter, a partner in Washington Baseball. Baker attached copies of the relevant portions of the stadium use agreement.

...

The city's lease with the Rays prohibits the team from "any agreement or negotiations directly or indirectly for the use of any facility other than the dome for the home games of the franchise," and it allows the city to get an injunction to prevent that.

http://www.sptimes.com/News/071901/TampaBay/Mayor_tells_investors.shtml

[Matt]

Jim is like an encyclopedia. 

[Guest]

Jim is like an encyclopedia. 

About as reliable as Wikipedia... right most of the time, but sometimes I have bad info...  ;D  ;D   

[cmhatter]

if ownership wants to leave, they will find a way. the MLB may step in... those numbers are embarassing...

[813knight]

The Rays fans/community is running out of excuses. I just think Florida can't support MLB consistently. College football is king here and Pro Football is just once a week. It is embarrassing watching Sportcenter and instead of the actual highlights that talk in amazement of how bad the attendance is. I don't even think a ballpark in Tampa would help that much at this point and I previously thought that was the main issue. The funny thing is I listen to local sports talk radio sometimes and they continually downplay this big issue. I think that even weekend crowds are going to suffer now till a possible postseason some also b/c College Football season has started. If there is a Gator or Bull family in Tampa and their team is playing Saturday night, I doubt they are going to pick the Rays game instead and with a fairly small population compared to other metro areas it will be felt. The Nationals still average more than the Rays and they are a new franchise(old expos) and are horrible this year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

oh and the 2027 lease people...cmon...if the owner wants to move the team in 5 years....he'll move it....they always find a way and Major League Baseball would probably step in and support it...Selig has publicly showed displeasure w/ Tropicana Field already.