Only 10,000 fans show up for critical Rays/Rangers game
 

:facepalm:


Pathetic........how long can Tampa support this franchise?



http://www.inquisitr.com/954233/tamp...ainst-rangers/


The Tampa Bay Rays opened a critical three game series against the Texas Rangers Monday night at home. Fans showed up in pathetic numbers to support their possibly playoff bound team.

The Rays have always had attendance issues. Their ballpark, Tropicana Field, is an eyesore and the team consistently loses free agents to higher payroll clubs. Yet somehow, year after year, the Rays find a way to win.


Isn’t winning supposed to translate increased attendance? Apparently not. On Monday night the Rays beat the Rangers in a critical series opener 6-2. Only 10,724 fans showed up.

A few years ago attendance was so low during a playoff run the Rays gave out free tickets to fill up the stadium.

Since 2008, the Rays have been the to World Series and won the NL East twice. They’ve had a winning record every season and have always been one of the more exciting teams to watch. Over the same period the average attendance has been around 20,000. Tropicana Field holds 42,000 people.

The Tampa Bay Rays attendance was so pathetic Monday night they couldn’t even fill one-quarter of their ballpark. The team currently leads the wildcard standings by one game!

Sadly, the Rays attendance problem might be a result of Tropicana Field. Originally built for the San Francisco Giants in the early 90′s, the ballpark stayed dormant until the Rays first game in 1998.

Tropicana Field is widely considered one of the worst stadiums in all of baseball. It even rivals Oakland Coliseum, home of the Athletics. The A’s ballpark opened in 1966. Like Tampa Bay, Oakland barely averages 20,000 fans a game.

The Rays need a new ballpark. There have been discussion ongoing since 2007. So far nothing has come to fruition. The team’s current lease at Tropicana Field runs through 2027 and St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster insists the Rays have to play out the terms.

Do you think the Rays pathetic attendance numbers are because of Tropicana Field?

No Florida team should have professional sports. It should be in the Constitution.

even if they built a new stadium, knowone would go. they need a new city

Short of a stadium being in a state of disrepair to the point there are physical safety issues, I cannot imagine a building being the reason I do not attend games of a beloved team that produces a winning product.

Let me put it this way. I live roughly 45 minutes south of the Trop. 5 years ago I was making 100k and went to numerous games a year. Now I work 60 hours a week for less than 25% of what I made before because there is NO work in Florida for skilled carpenters which were the life blood of Fl for years.
A new stadium will help but it wont be sell outs every night. It also takes a generation of winning seasons to get a fan base, there are on what their fourth winning season in franchise history?
Fans here are no KC fans but their TV ratings for games are higher than ANY other team.

It's another one of those places where everybody who's got money is from somewhere else and roots for another team.

Well that stadium IS a shithole. This folks is why you don't sign an eleventy billion year lease. This should have never been a place for an expansion team.

I am not saying it isn't a shithole. But that in and of itself would not be enough to keep me from going.

This, exactly this.

Most fans down there are probably Yank or Beantown fans and probably just show up to those division games.

I wonder what a Royals/Rays game turnout looks like in Tampa.

Probably because they've been winning the wrong division all this time.

LMAO

It's not good, but I don't think we as Royals fans have any place to be mocking them about it. We only drew 15,000 in a pretty important game last night too. That's not much better.

Hey it was a nice day. People were at the beach or out on their boats.

I think I've found the problem. The stadium is 3,000 miles from Tampa.

Completely different circumstances.