OT: Bucs, Rays & Other Florida Sports Teams Thread

[T REX]

You're not telling me anything I don't already know. I know his end is going to be financed, Rex. But for all I know that $150 million he pledged out of pocket was already going to be financed. For all I know it is all he can currently afford to do. And how do we know he's not paying off other loans now? I'm never going to know the full story of his end. The man is 60. How much longer is he gonna work to pay off financing? But again I've watched shoestring budget teams compete for playoff spots for 10 years now and I've watched Tampa/St. Pete collectively refuse to support the team the whole time. I've watched Stu go from a saint and one of the best owners in all sports to a disgusting penny, pinching sinner over those 10 years because of it. And in those 10 years I've gone to that depressing tuna can of a ballpark and watched the seating shrink by the thousands and I've listened to the cavernous echoes of blow horns and cowbells and one idiot yelling "Tampa" and 8 people yelling back "Bay" and because of it I now no longer wonder why Stu might need help.

The team is dying Rex and it's not Stu's fault when Tampa and St. Pete both collectively scream "NO!!!" when we are so much a part of the problem

We used to go to a game a month. It's a pain in the rear to get there from Ballast Point. Have you seen Gandy lately? It's a nightmare. Here's a problem as well...fans need favorite players to identify with long term. You aren't going to build a fanbase by rotating guys in and out every year.

The sport is dying btw. The fans are getting older and older and no one is replacing them. MLB knows this, hence, the reason they are trying to speed up games.

"But this American tradition faces a serious problem: Baseball has the oldest fan base of any major sport, and there is a basic dissonance between the concentration and long attention span baseball demands and the habits of younger generations raised to expect action to be a click away.

Although it is difficult to make direct year-to-year comparisons because of the increase in viewing on digital devices, the trend over the past decade is clear in numerous studies, including the venerable Nielsen ratings. The average age of those who watch nationally televised Major League Baseball games rose from 52 years old in 2000 to 57 in 2016. (The average age of National Basketball Association viewers is around 42.) Asked in one survey whether they followed baseball or not, nearly two-thirds of those from 18 through 35 said no."

I apologize if my posts came off a little "rough". My bad.

 

[These Are The Days]

We used to go to a game a month. It's a pain in the rear to get there from Ballast Point. Have you seen Gandy lately? It's a nightmare. Here's a problem as well...fans need favorite players to identify with long term. You aren't going to build a fanbase by rotating guys in and out every year.

The sport is dying btw. The fans are getting older and older and no one is replacing them. MLB knows this, hence, the reason they are trying to speed up games.

"But this American tradition faces a serious problem: Baseball has the oldest fan base of any major sport, and there is a basic dissonance between the concentration and long attention span baseball demands and the habits of younger generations raised to expect action to be a click away.

Although it is difficult to make direct year-to-year comparisons because of the increase in viewing on digital devices, the trend over the past decade is clear in numerous studies, including the venerable Nielsen ratings. The average age of those who watch nationally televised Major League Baseball games rose from 52 years old in 2000 to 57 in 2016. (The average age of National Basketball Association viewers is around 42.) Asked in one survey whether they followed baseball or not, nearly two-thirds of those from 18 through 35 said no."

I apologize if my posts came off a little "rough". My bad.

It's beyond a mess nationwide and none worse than here. And "rough posts" ain't no big deal. I don't mind it when someone actually cares about what they're saying. It's indifference that I dislike

 

[T REX]

There you have it..Stu doesn't think Tampa will support 81 home games in the area. He's going to move the team at some point.

 

[Felonious Python]

We used to go to a game a month. It's a pain in the rear to get there from Ballast Point. Have you seen Gandy lately? It's a nightmare. Here's a problem as well...fans need favorite players to identify with long term. You aren't going to build a fanbase by rotating guys in and out every year.

The sport is dying btw. The fans are getting older and older and no one is replacing them. MLB knows this, hence, the reason they are trying to speed up games.

"But this American tradition faces a serious problem: Baseball has the oldest fan base of any major sport, and there is a basic dissonance between the concentration and long attention span baseball demands and the habits of younger generations raised to expect action to be a click away.

Although it is difficult to make direct year-to-year comparisons because of the increase in viewing on digital devices, the trend over the past decade is clear in numerous studies, including the venerable Nielsen ratings. The average age of those who watch nationally televised Major League Baseball games rose from 52 years old in 2000 to 57 in 2016. (The average age of National Basketball Association viewers is around 42.) Asked in one survey whether they followed baseball or not, nearly two-thirds of those from 18 through 35 said no."

I apologize if my posts came off a little "rough". My bad.

The length of the season is an issue I think. If millennials have proven anything, it's that they like to binge watch. Watching 162 long-ass games, including weekday afternoons, is a tough proposition. Forget about doubleheaders. Why get invested if you can't possibly see it all?

 

[T REX]

The length of the season is an issue I think. If millennials have proven anything, it's that they like to binge watch. Watching 162 long-ass games, including weekdays in the afternoon, is a tough proposition. Forget about doubleheaders. Why get invested if you can't possibly see it all?

Baseball is on life support here in Tampa. Stu will be moving the team...when not if. Look for attendance to plummet to ridiculous levels. He's trying to hold the area hostage and no one cares.

 

[LTIR Trickery]

Baseball is on life support here in Tampa. Stu will be moving the team...when not if. Look for attendance to plummet to ridiculous levels. He's trying to hold the area hostage and no one cares.

Good luck, he'll have to cough up a f***load of money to leave the area and break the lease. What does this mean?

Well, if he can pony up the pile of cash needed to break the lease and move the team it'll futher prove that he is completely full of shit and can partially finance his own stadium. He makes a killing off both television deals and revenue sharing. The new television deal actually pays enough yearly to both pay for the player salaries as well as front office salaries (and let me tell you, they pay employees absolute dogshit while making them work non-overtime (see: illegal) hours), so not only is he in the green on ticket revenues and revenue sharing, but concessions and everything else.

More New York trash coming to town and attempting to dictate terms because he wants more money.

 

[T REX]

Good luck, he'll have to cough up a ****load of money to leave the area and break the lease. What does this mean?

Well, if he can pony up the pile of cash needed to break the lease and move the team it'll futher prove that he is completely full of **** and can partially finance his own stadium. He makes a killing off both television deals and revenue sharing. The new television deal actually pays enough yearly to both pay for the player salaries as well as front office salaries (and let me tell you, they pay employees absolute dog**** while making them work non-overtime (see: illegal) hours), so not only is he in the green on ticket revenues and revenue sharing, but concessions and everything else.

More New York trash coming to town and attempting to dictate terms because he wants more money.

St. Pete mayor agrees to max $42m payment from Rays for leaving town early

 

[LTIR Trickery]

St. Pete mayor agrees to max $42m payment from Rays for leaving town early

This doesn't take into account breaching contract with regional sports networks, local business sponsors, concessions, maintenance, and more.

 

[T REX]

This doesn't take into account breaching contract with regional sports networks, local business sponsors, concessions, maintenance, and more.

I've been told that all of that money would be worked into a new deal at the relocating city so he won't lose a dime. The guy is a total scumbag mets fan. I never liked him and like him even less now.

 

[LTIR Trickery]

Thats a lot easier said than done in that case, and good luck with all of that, too. I don't think they know what the hell it would take to have the team in Montreal, especially with laws and legal requirements, immigration, etc.

 

[Hoek]

I'm gonna laugh when they move to Montreal and fail just as hard or worse over there. This is stupid as hell. So many better markets to go to and they're settling for one not much better than where they're at now.

 

[AllAbout813]

I pray St.Pete does not budge an inch and forces this team to play out the entirety of the contract through 2027. Have Stu suffer for another decade in that dump..and he will be 70 years old before he can finally move them. To say he has managed this whole situation poorly would be a severe understatement.

 

[T REX]

I pray St.Pete does not budge an inch and forces this team to play out the entirety of the contract through 2027. Have Stu suffer for another decade in that dump..and he will be 70 years old before he can finally move them. To say he has managed this whole situation poorly would be a severe understatement.

He can leave anytime as long as he pays off the lease and the penalty.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Hypothetical question, and I understand this will never ever happen. But would George Steinbrenner Field work if it could be expanded to 25,000 or so? Location wise?

 

[Hoek]

Location wise it would be good, but I don't believe it's expandable.

 

[CupsOverCash]

Listening to that presser yesterday was brutal. Clear as day they are gone.

 

[Felonious Python]

Location wise it would be good, but I don't believe it's expandable.

It would take some heavy renovations, basically rebuilding the whole thing, but looking at the site from Google Earth, I think it's doable. It's not in either downtown, which I'm concerned about. Given the number of games they play, convenience needs to be a major factor. Far fewer fans will drive out to the suburbs regularly than if they can just stay downtown after work or whatever and see a game. (Downtown also 'belongs' to everyone where the suburbs don't) You can't take an electric scooter to the stadium from your startup app company basically.

The first thing I worried about was the infrastructure, but since Raymond James Stadium is across the road, it already has wide enough roads and tons of parking.

I don't follow baseball so I don't know a reason why the Yankees would prefer the Rays in Tampa Bay over Montreal, but Steinbrenner Field is owned by the Yankees holding company that it could be like a St. Louis Blues - Chicago Blackhawks situation. STL got an NHL team over Baltimore because James Norris, part owner of the Hawks, owned the building STL would play in. (the travel also didn't hurt)
Baltimore could've been celebrating the Blues' Stanley Cup win, if not for the Blackhawks

 

[LightningStrikes]

Makes you appreciate Vinik even more.

 

[These Are The Days]

Steinbrenner isn't gonna work unless you tear the whole thing down and renovate directly at the site. You might have better luck taking down the four adjacent fields directly south of Raymond James and building there. Granted, I don't know if that's a park where kids play ball or anything else like that. But at any rate $800 million for a tiny ass stadium is absurd. Build an open air field already. Nearly every game with the exception of Sunday games is at night and its not like it rains every night. It's hotter than God knows what to do with until fall. If the Bucs can suck it up on the afternoons so can the Rays.

I try to be understanding because I have long maintained that Rays are in a bad ballpark in an area too underpopulated to support it and I try to be sympathetic if hundreds of millions of dollars being spent by an owner because it's a lot of money regardless of if you can finance it or it comes out of pocket. But this Montreal shit is making me mad. I cannot think of a thing that could possibly be worse than splitting time with another city. But if we lose the team so be it. We can and WILL build a new, better ballpark and we can and WILL be given an expansion team. We are a top 10 TV market or close to it. MLB can't afford to not have us.

If you're the only Chinese restaurant in town don't build it 45 minutes away from everyone and and there wondering "Wow does no one like Chinese?" Lol dude your food is fantastic! It's just that no one is gonna drive almost an hour out of the way for it. If the Rays go then the Trop is gone. Word to the wise -it's gonna be a bad idea to build a new ballpark there. It's not gonna succeed because it's nicer. It's not gonna succeed because St. Pete needs another 500,000 people

Edit: 11th biggest TV market. Ahead of Phoenix, Seattle and Detroit..... Yeah they can't afford to not have us

 

[T REX]

Steinbrenner isn't gonna work unless you tear the whole thing down and renovate directly at the site. You might have better luck taking down the four adjacent fields directly south of Raymond James and building there. Granted, I don't know if that's a park where kids play ball or anything else like that. But at any rate $800 million for a tiny ass stadium is absurd. Build an open air field already. Nearly every game with the exception of Sunday games is at night and its not like it rains every night. It's hotter than God knows what to do with until fall. If the Bucs can suck it up on the afternoons so can the Rays.

I try to be understanding because I have long maintained that Rays are in a bad ballpark in an area too underpopulated to support it and I try to be sympathetic if hundreds of millions of dollars being spent by an owner because it's a lot of money regardless of if you can finance it or it comes out of pocket. But this Montreal **** is making me mad. I cannot think of a thing that could possibly be worse than splitting time with another city. But if we lose the team so be it. We can and WILL build a new, better ballpark and we can and WILL be given an expansion team. We are a top 10 TV market or close to it. MLB can't afford to not have us.

If you're the only Chinese restaurant in town don't build it 45 minutes away from everyone and and there wondering "Wow does no one like Chinese?" Lol dude your food is fantastic! It's just that no one is gonna drive almost an hour out of the way for it. If the Rays go then the Trop is gone. Word to the wise -it's gonna be a bad idea to build a new ballpark there. It's not gonna succeed because it's nicer. It's not gonna succeed because St. Pete needs another 500,000 people

Edit: 11th biggest TV market. Ahead of Phoenix, Seattle and Detroit..... Yeah they can't afford to not have us

Mark it down...a publically funded baseball stadium will NEVER happen in this area. Ever. There is exactly zero support for it. There are way more people that would rather spend that money elsewhere improving the area vs the 20-30K that might fill it. Might.

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

I have just accepted baseball is dead here......

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

Mark it down...a publically funded baseball stadium will NEVER happen in this area. Ever. There is exactly zero support for it. There are way more people that would rather spend that money elsewhere improving the area vs the 20-30K that might fill it. Might.

Well after the disaster that is/was RayJ cant imagine why.

 

[Felonious Python]

Steinbrenner isn't gonna work unless you tear the whole thing down and renovate directly at the site. You might have better luck taking down the four adjacent fields directly south of Raymond James and building there. Granted, I don't know if that's a park where kids play ball or anything else like that. But at any rate $800 million for a tiny ass stadium is absurd. Build an open air field already. Nearly every game with the exception of Sunday games is at night and its not like it rains every night. It's hotter than God knows what to do with until fall. If the Bucs can suck it up on the afternoons so can the Rays.

I try to be understanding because I have long maintained that Rays are in a bad ballpark in an area too underpopulated to support it and I try to be sympathetic if hundreds of millions of dollars being spent by an owner because it's a lot of money regardless of if you can finance it or it comes out of pocket. But this Montreal **** is making me mad. I cannot think of a thing that could possibly be worse than splitting time with another city. But if we lose the team so be it. We can and WILL build a new, better ballpark and we can and WILL be given an expansion team. We are a top 10 TV market or close to it. MLB can't afford to not have us.

If you're the only Chinese restaurant in town don't build it 45 minutes away from everyone and and there wondering "Wow does no one like Chinese?" Lol dude your food is fantastic! It's just that no one is gonna drive almost an hour out of the way for it. If the Rays go then the Trop is gone. Word to the wise -it's gonna be a bad idea to build a new ballpark there. It's not gonna succeed because it's nicer. It's not gonna succeed because St. Pete needs another 500,000 people

Edit: 11th biggest TV market. Ahead of Phoenix, Seattle and Detroit..... Yeah they can't afford to not have us

The Bucs play like 8 games in the fall. The Rays would play 81 games in the spring and summer (and summer is also the rainy season). I don't think the fans would go for it. You might be able to have a waterside park and the sea breeze helps it out, but I don't know how many degrees that really is. My main frame of reference is Orlando, which I'll admit is a bit different from TB weather.

When Orlando City Soccer first started, the owners were new to Orlando and put the Lions home section on the side that gets all the sun, while the visiting fans get the shade. That was not the correct choice according to Orlando fans.

 

[T REX]

Well after the disaster that is/was RayJ cant imagine why.

Exactly, folks still feel swindled by the Glazers. Thank god for Vinik.

 

[Major4Boarding]

Makes you wonder if they did ANY due diligence on previous TB franchise owners and municipal partnerships.

pssst... don't be an asshole and you might get somewhere