Time for a New Stadium ? (Miami, Tampa: income, live in, vacation)

[crazynip]

Originally Posted by ferret111

Where could they even built it downtown? The old Central Park Village land is already accounted for. The only other place is that area just north of the Ice Palace

The City owns a portion of the land immediately North of the Ice Palace and to the East of the flour mill, that is where they would put it.

Traffic would be an absolute nightmare into the games. I work downtown.

[ferret111]

Originally Posted by crazynip

The City owns a portion of the land immediately North of the Ice Palace and to the East of the flour mill, that is where they would put it.

Traffic would be an absolute nightmare into the games. I work downtown.

Do you mean west of the flour mill? East of it is that small freight yard and then all the new Channelside towers.

I agree about traffic, though. At least they're building that Crosstown/I-4 connector.

[crazynip]

Originally Posted by ferret111

Do you mean west of the flour mill? East of it is that small freight yard and then all the new Channelside towers.

I agree about traffic, though. At least they're building that Crosstown/I-4 connector.

The rail yard is owned by the Expressway Authority, not the railroad or the flour mill.

It's assumed that they could coax the flour mill to close and sell that land.

[BBI]

Originally Posted by Kevin from Tampa

Have you ever made that drive? I can get to downtown Tampa in about 30 minutes. It's close to an hour to downtown St Pete.

It's ~20 minutes between the exits on 275 for downtown St. Pete and downtown Tampa. I make that drive all the time. That's not going to make or break whether you get a good night's sleep. And if games are well attended, it'll take longer to get from parking to the highway, so the real number is less than 20 minutes.

To the rest of your post, like I've responded twice now, I agree that there are better locations for the Rays, and I do think attendance could improve if the Rays played on the other side of the bay. I just don't buy the sleep argument.

[crazynip]

Originally Posted by BBI

It's ~20 minutes between the exits on 275 for downtown St. Pete and downtown Tampa. I make that drive all the time. That's not going to make or break whether you get a good night's sleep. And if games are well attended, it'll take longer to get from parking to the highway, so the real number is less than 20 minutes.

Not at the time when you need to drive to the trop for the typical 7pm start. You are fighting rush hour traffic crossing the bay at the same time.

[BBI]

Originally Posted by crazynip

Not at the time when you need to drive to the trop for the typical 7pm start. You are fighting rush hour traffic crossing the bay at the same time.

He was saying nobody from Wesley Chapel/New Tampa goes to midweek games because they'd get home too late, and that wouldn't be the case if the Rays played in downtown Tampa. By the time a midweek night game is over, you can easily do the highway time between the downtowns in 20 minutes.

Agree on your point though: driving from Wesley Chapel to the Trop during rush hour would suck. And it'd really suck if you're driving from work in Tampa to pick up the kids in Wesley Chapel and then to the Trop. I think easily getting to the game is a much, much bigger deal than getting home late -- you're going to get home late unless you live right near the stadium. Also, even if the Rays were in Tampa, the work-to-home-in-Wesley-Chapel-to-downtown-Tampa trip would still be pretty terrible. And, although rush hour in Tampa is rough, evening rush hour traffic on southbound 275 in Pinellas, including on the bridge, averages under the speed limit, but moves pretty well unless there's a wreck.

[Kevin from Tampa]

Originally Posted by BBI

It's ~20 minutes between the exits on 275 for downtown St. Pete and downtown Tampa. I make that drive all the time. That's not going to make or break whether you get a good night's sleep. And if games are well attended, it'll take longer to get from parking to the highway, so the real number is less than 20 minutes.

To the rest of your post, like I've responded twice now, I agree that there are better locations for the Rays, and I do think attendance could improve if the Rays played on the other side of the bay. I just don't buy the sleep argument.

I don't know how to say this any other way than this...I can make a Lightning game, no problem, on any given weekday.

A Rays game? No.

If you don't believe me, then I don't know what to say. There is no other way that I can say this other than that.

I have attended probably 5-6 Lightning games on weekdays over the last 5-6 years, and maybe 10-12 total. I have attended maybe 1 Rays game on a weekday, but have been to probably 30 Rays games overall. I just can't drive home, get my kids, drive to St Pete, and drive all the way back home, and feel like I'm treating my kids well.

It is NOT 20 minutes downtown to downtown. I have no idea where you are getting that. Heck, I just mapquested the directions from the ice palace to the dome, and that's more than 23 miles. Factor in traffic, etc...if you can make that in 20 minutes, more power to you. I can't.

[Soup Not See]

Originally Posted by leftee

I would personally like to see a stadium built near the I-4/I-75 interchange. You would draw not only the Tampa audience but the Orlando audience as well. Living in Orlando, I only go to a game on the weekends due to the commute and the time I would get home on a weeknight. But if I had only a 45-50 min drive, I'd be more inclined to go on a weeknight.

Wishful thinking, but I think the Rays would move before that ever happened.

How about this idea ? Put a stadium out Lakeland way or halfway between Tampa and Orlando and have both cities share some of the expense. This seems to work fine in Arlington TX although Dallas is bigger than Orlando or Tampa.

[crazynip]

Originally Posted by leftee

How about this idea ? Put a stadium out Lakeland way or halfway between Tampa and Orlando and have both cities share some of the expense. This seems to work fine in Arlington TX although Dallas is bigger than Orlando or Tampa.

That is a ridiculous suggestion.

[Soup Not See]

Originally Posted by crazynip

That is a ridiculous suggestion.

Really ? Please explain why if you would be so kind ...