Oakland A's and Tampa Bay Rays Potential Relocation Thread

[AndreRoy]

Tampa residents are not at all to blame for the Rays’ attendance issues. First of all the stadium is in the middle of nowhere in St. Pete and getting there from Tampa for a game requires sitting in some of the worst rush hour traffic in the country (not LA or DC Metro bad, but still really bad.) And with cheapskate owners who won’t ante up when it comes time to pay their players and who routinely bash their own fanbase when they aren’t demanding hundreds of millions of dollars from them, why would anyone do so?

The Lightning, on the other hand, have an owner who built a first class organization on and off the ice, who paid his own money to renovate the arena into one of the best in the league, and who rather than attacking the community has contributed to it with charity and youth programs, and as a result the Lightning have the longest sellout streak in the NHL and have been a top ten team in attendance for the past decade.

Tampa fans support teams that deserve their support. The Rays’ owners alienated Tampa residents years ago and at this point most of us couldn’t care less if they leave. Tampa is a hockey town and has been for some time.

 

[NextBigThing]

Tampa residents are not at all to blame for the Rays’ attendance issues. First of all the stadium is in the middle of nowhere in St. Pete and getting there from Tampa for a game requires sitting in some of the worst rush hour traffic in the country (not LA or DC Metro bad, but still really bad.) And with cheapskate owners who won’t ante up when it comes time to pay their players and who routinely bash their own fanbase when they aren’t demanding hundreds of millions of dollars from them, why would anyone do so?

The Lightning, on the other hand, have an owner who built a first class organization on and off the ice, who paid his own money to renovate the arena into one of the best in the league, and who rather than attacking the community has contributed to it with charity and youth programs, and as a result the Lightning have the longest sellout streak in the NHL and have been a top ten team in attendance for the past decade.

Tampa fans support teams that deserve their support. The Rays’ owners alienated Tampa residents years ago and at this point most of us couldn’t care less if they leave. Tampa is a hockey town and has been for some time.

False. Tampa does NOT have the longest active sellout streak.

 

[KevFu]

Tampa residents are not at all to blame for the Rays’ attendance issues. First of all the stadium is in the middle of nowhere in St. Pete and getting there from Tampa for a game requires sitting in some of the worst rush hour traffic in the country (not LA or DC Metro bad, but still really bad.) And with cheapskate owners who won’t ante up when it comes time to pay their players and who routinely bash their own fanbase when they aren’t demanding hundreds of millions of dollars from them, why would anyone do so?

I agree almost 100% with all of this -- maybe 98% but we're really close.

A). It's geography that's the problem. You can't build a ballpark smack-dab in the middle of the population for max accessibility.... because the "geographic center" of Tampa/St Pete is WATER.

B) MORE people WOULD suffer through the commute if the stadium wasn't an outdated "Cookie-Cutter" Stadium from the 1980s, and was a NICE BALLPARK. The Trop was DESIGNED in 1986, before the Camden Yards Retro Park revolution. It was outdated BEFORE the Rays existed.

C) Tampa is a low-revenue team that succeeds far beyond their resources; but their resources are so low because the old park doesn't have modern revenue streams like new stadiums. So while I wouldn't say you're wrong about the owners being cheapskates, they succeed by being ruthlessly efficient; which isn't very fan-friendly.

 

[BoatsandBolts]

I live 13 miles from the Trop (Clearwater), and it takes upwards of 45 minutes to get there during rush hour. I can't imagine anyone from Hillsborough or Pasco counties even attempting to make it to a weekday game. It is absolutely mind-boggling to me that they are even considering building a new ballpark on the same site. I agree with all of the statements from previous posters that lead to increased fan apathy for the Rays compared to other local sports franchises, but to me the #1 issue that can't be reconciled is that St. Pete is at the bottom of a peninsula. The metro area is bordered by water to the east, south and west, and the bridges all become chokepoints during peak commuting hours. It's the old real estate adage, "location, location, location."

St. Pete is an awesome city, and I'm not putting it down by any means, but it's the wrong place to put a major league sports franchise in a region whose transportation infrastructure is still struggling to catch up with its population. I don't see a new ballpark in St. Pete fixing any of these issues, and I'm not too thrilled our tax dollars are being proposed to put a band-aid on a bullet hole.

 

[Terrier]

Tampa residents are not at all to blame for the Rays’ attendance issues. First of all the stadium is in the middle of nowhere in St. Pete and getting there from Tampa for a game requires sitting in some of the worst rush hour traffic in the country (not LA or DC Metro bad, but still really bad.) And with cheapskate owners who won’t ante up when it comes time to pay their players and who routinely bash their own fanbase when they aren’t demanding hundreds of millions of dollars from them, why would anyone do so?

The Lightning, on the other hand, have an owner who built a first class organization on and off the ice, who paid his own money to renovate the arena into one of the best in the league, and who rather than attacking the community has contributed to it with charity and youth programs, and as a result the Lightning have the longest sellout streak in the NHL and have been a top ten team in attendance for the past decade.

Tampa fans support teams that deserve their support. The Rays’ owners alienated Tampa residents years ago and at this point most of us couldn’t care less if they leave. Tampa is a hockey town and has been for some time.

I attended the Frozen Four in Tampa three weeks ago and although my team, B.U., lost in the semis, I had a great time down there. Chatting with locals, they're glad the Rays are doing well, but it's definitely a hike getting to Tropicana Field. Amalie Arena is great, on the water, the hotels and the bars are nearby, you can take the trolley to Ybor City if you like. Tampa has hosted the Frozen Four three times for a reason.


Speaking of the A's:

A's fans chant 'Sell the team' to protest team's move to Las Vegas

Just 6,423 fans showed up for the Athletics' first home game since announcing a deal for land to build a ballpark in Las Vegas. Many chanted 'Sell the team!' and 'Stay in Oakland!'

www.dailymail.co.uk