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Think about it..........everyone has the giant scoreboard with the team logo, everyone has some kind of city or water view in the outfield, everyone has the same 40,000ish capacity, everyone has the same design for the stands.
I don't know, that kind of sounds like a selling point to me. So you can see the Inner Harbor, or the Philly skyline, or the Capitol, or the Golden Gate Bridge. It's not like they're all the same view, and as Krabs said, there are much worse things for a backdrop, including nothing at all (see Rogers Centre above, and the Metrodome, for example). They can't all be Fenways or Wrigleys.
Maybe the new stadium they build in Charlotte for the Rays (or whatever name they'll take on after they move there next year) will be more to your liking.
i haven't heard talk of a charlotte move - i do know that this past fall the rays proposed a potential design in an effort to get support for a stadium
If the Rays can't start drawing a crowd, there's really no incentive to stay in Tampa. I've heard they've begun reporting paid attendance now because actual attendance struggles to reach five digits. The team is playing too well to deserve this level of indifference from the "fans".
that doesn't necessarily mean they're moving - i've watched this soap opera for the past decade with the marlins and thankfully (finally) they got something done
tampa/st. pete isn't quite the market miami is - but during the exploration stage the marlins went through there aren't that many ready made alternatives
i love the design elements of the proposed stadium, but question if the location is St. Pete will ever be convenient enough the population center of that area to really draw
True enough, but why spend $450 million on a 34,000 seat ballpark that no one's going to visit? Granted, they're fantastic looking plans, but minor league teams draw better than the Rays sometimes. As it is now, with an exciting team on the field, they're still barely drawing 15,000 people. 34K is considered intimate by most stadium standards. The Rays will manage to make it look cavernous. One good season won't fill the seats for very long. It's not even doing it now. Not even 14,000 against the New York Yankees. Are you kidding me?
yeah - it is a real concern for sure and not an easy situation - i think the market could be viable, but they really need to make sure it's a smart location
also it's hard to establish a new fanbase in some of these emerging communities - i know we've struggled here in phoenix despite what has been a pretty successful franchise since inception - they had issues selling out the NLCS in a metro of over 5M
i don't know what the TV ratings are in TB or any other lead indicators - but if they do build a stadium it's a huge commitment and one that could easily blow up in their faces based on prior results
I've been to Safeco, Fenway, Wrigley, old Comiskey, old Busch, old Arlington, and the old Kingdome. It's been about 15 years since I was at Fenway, and there's been a bunch of modifications since then. Same thing is true about Wrigley (I was last there before the lights went in). I'm not sure how much the changes have altered them. The Kingdome wasn't a good stadium, but it was the first place I saw a major league game.
If the Rays can't start drawing a crowd, there's really no incentive to stay in Tampa. I've heard they've begun reporting paid attendance now because actual attendance struggles to reach five digits. The team is playing too well to deserve this level of indifference from the "fans".
They should move the team to the Philly area, or maybe somewhere like central NJ. Philly once had 2 teams, and I think central Jersey is populated enough to support a team better than Tampa. An AL East team here would do well, especially with the rivalries that would develop with the Red Sox and Yanks and all of their fans here.
Heck, I think the Rays would draw better in Scranton than they do in Tampa. AAA baseball in Scranton probably draws about the same crowds as the Rays.
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