Kansas City vs. Tampa (comparison, quality, Boston, cons)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The Wolfpack is known for making noise, a rather unusual distinction for generally non-demonstrative Kansas Citians. A few seasons back, there was a competition between the Chiefs and the Seahawks, another NFL team known for loud fans, to see who could record the highest decibel levels at their stadium. The Chiefs won the comeptition at Arrowhead.
According to figures on ESPN'S NFL website, the Chiefs have ranked among the top 10 NFL teams for season attendance since the 2013 season, and in the top five this past season, while the Buccaneers have ranked third or fourth from the bottom until the eason just concluded, when they even managed to top KC's fourth-place figure by one spot.
Royals season attendance has been among the bottom 10 for most of the past 10 seasons, though it soared to 10th place the year the team won the World Series, 2015. Since then, it has trended back downward to where it's in the bottom 10 again. But never has it been any less than three places above the Rays, which have finished dead last a few times in the early 2010s. (Figures also from ESPN.)
I think it safe to say that the Chiefs own the hearts of Kansas Citians, while the Royals have more fair-weather fans. But in both cases, the teams do better than their Tampa Bay counterparts.
Again, Tie overall, and maybe advantage Kansas City if fan interest and loyalty are tallied up.
Generally, I think Kansas City has better fans because it has a greater percentage of people who have lived there for generations, or at least came from nearby smaller towns and rural areas.
Not as transient.
Florida in general is known for snowbirds and retirees, which is why I think teams have a harder time drumming up a fan base.
Even though I like hockey significantly more than soccer, KC wins the sporting group easily.
Both Chiefs and Royals fans are equally dedicated, but decades of losing and mediocrity with one World Series blip takes its toll eventually.
The two teams roles were flipped back in the late 70's and 80's.
We also can't forget the college basketball scene in KC is very strong also.
But never has it been any less than three places above the Rays, which have finished dead last a few times in the early 2010s. (Figures also from ESPN.)
The sole reason the Rays attendance sucks, is because the stadium isn't actually in Tampa. It's not near the main population base. It's 25 miles away in heavy traffic to St. Petersburg. A stadium in Tampa, where a larger portion of the fan base is, would cause the Rays attendance to be more middle of the pack.
Would the Royals have the attendance they do now, if their stadium was located in let's say, Gardner Kansas, or Oak Grove Missouri. Because those two towns are approximately how far the Rays stadium is actually from Tampa. Placing it in St. Pete was essentially the worst thing the region could have done, and may actually eventually cost them a team (along with the fact the actual stadium is basically a warehouse).
The sole reason the Rays attendance sucks, is because the stadium isn't actually in Tampa. It's not near the main population base. It's 25 miles away in heavy traffic to St. Petersburg. A stadium in Tampa, where a larger portion of the fan base is, would cause the Rays attendance to be more middle of the pack.
Would the Royals have the attendance they do now, if their stadium was located in let's say, Gardner Kansas, or Oak Grove Missouri. Because those two towns are approximately how far the Rays stadium is actually from Tampa. Placing it in St. Pete was essentially the worst thing the region could have done, and may actually eventually cost them a team (along with the fact the actual stadium is basically a warehouse).
Actually, there are people in the Kansas City metro who think the Sports Complex is off in the middle of nowhere. I think it’s silly, but to be fair, a lot of Royals fans already drive 20 miles across town to games.
Even if they put the stadium off on those places you mentioned, Kansas City has no traffic to speak of so their attendance figures wouldn’t change much due to distance or traffic.
If those are the sort of things hindering TB fans from showing up, I can’t be convinced their fan base is very enthusiastic.
The sole reason the Rays attendance sucks, is because the stadium isn't actually in Tampa. It's not near the main population base. It's 25 miles away in heavy traffic to St. Petersburg. A stadium in Tampa, where a larger portion of the fan base is, would cause the Rays attendance to be more middle of the pack.
Would the Royals have the attendance they do now, if their stadium was located in let's say, Gardner Kansas, or Oak Grove Missouri. Because those two towns are approximately how far the Rays stadium is actually from Tampa. Placing it in St. Pete was essentially the worst thing the region could have done, and may actually eventually cost them a team (along with the fact the actual stadium is basically a warehouse).
That's ridiculous. Comparing downtown St Pete to the tiny exurbs of Gardner or Oak Grove? Pinellas County alone has a million people. Now I would agree that the Rays play in a terrible stadium and in a location not all that accessible to a lot of the metro. If they were in Tampa, they would likely lose a lot of the St Pete side fans. I do think they would probably draw more fans in a new stadium on the Tampa side of the metro, but I don't think the Rays would ever be out of the bottom ten in the MLB in attendance. Same for the Royals, see below.
However, the Rays have had some really good teams and they still don't see much of an attendance increase. I think if KC had a team that made the playoffs as often as the Rays have, they would be up closer to the middle of the pack instead of in the bottom 1/3. They may be fair weather, but at least they show up to some degree when the team does do well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sub
Actually, there are people in the Kansas City metro who think the Sports Complex is off in the middle of nowhere. I think it’s silly, but to be fair, a lot of Royals fans already drive 20 miles across town to games.
Even if they put the stadium off on those places you mentioned, Kansas City has no traffic to speak of so their attendance figures wouldn’t change much due to distance or traffic.
If those are the sort of things hindering TB fans from showing up, I can’t be convinced their fan base is very enthusiastic.
I'm a huge Royals fan. I have been gong to games since the 80s and had season tickets back when they were losing 100 games a year regularly. Yet during those years we also followed the Royals to over 15 ballparks and saw them in spring training in FL and AZ. So, when we drove up to NYC and saw them win the world series in 2015, it was really annoying when people would call us bandwagon fans. They had no idea.
Having said that, I would not call KC Royals fans great. They are really good at sitting at home and voting for all star players though! Royals attendance generally sucks as they are consistently in the bottom ten teams or even bottom three. They did well (actually average for MLB) in 2015 and 2016 when they cracked 30k a game but the fans left after 2016 about as fast as they came in 2015.
I have always wondered if a downtown park would help, but I don't think so. People in KC are about as vocally against a downtown park as they were against a new airport terminal. Change doesn't come easy in KC. I love the Royals, but always wished they would draw better. I guess they have just lost too many games for too many years to really develop a dedicated fanbase. And KC is just kind of a small city to have an MLB team. But then again, look at Milwaukee or St Louis for an example of how a small market can really support a team.
Even with smaller crowds, I still think KC has one of the best MLB atmospheres in the league. The fans that do show up are some of best in baseball and I have been to games in all MLB parks except the new ones in Miami and Atlanta.
Tampa has had the Rays, Lightning, and Buccaneers all make the finals of their respective leagues this year. Has that ever happened anywhere in the history of US sports.
The year the Phillies won their first World Series by beating the Kansas City Royals in that team's first Series appearance. (I think it was also the first time the Phils made the series, for people in Philly were still talking about the heartbreaking 1964 swoon that kept that team out.) For the previous four years, the Royals owned the American League Western Division, and like clockwork each fall, they would lose to the New York Yankees in the league championship series. 1980 was their breakthrough, and after making it to the Series that year, the team went into decline, sort of like the 2015 World Champions did.
There is no region of the Tampa Bay Area equivalent to Johnson County, Kansas, which is a geographically expansive area of safe, upscale suburban/exurban development with highly rated and regarded public schools, a strong family orientation and a large corporate employer base. And personally, I would rather listen to Lower Midwestern accents all day long than New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts accents.
There is no region of the Tampa Bay Area equivalent to Johnson County, Kansas...
An argument can be made that's actually a plus for the Tampa Bay area, meaning it's less economically segregated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East
And personally, I would rather listen to Lower Midwestern accents all day long then New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts accents.
Tampa actually doesn't get many East Coast Transplants. They largely migrate to the east side of peninsula, in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. In fact, a significant number of the transplants in Tampa come from the Midwest (cities like Detroit).
There is no region of the Tampa Bay Area equivalent to Johnson County, Kansas, which is a geographically expansive area of safe, upscale suburban/exurban development with highly rated and regarded public schools, a strong family orientation and a large corporate employer base. And personally, I would rather listen to Lower Midwestern accents all day long than New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts accents.
There aren't any (or very few) in Tampa. Maybe you are thinking of South Florida.
There is no region of the Tampa Bay Area equivalent to Johnson County, Kansas, which is a geographically expansive area of safe, upscale suburban/exurban development with highly rated and regarded public schools, a strong family orientation and a large corporate employer base. And personally, I would rather listen to Lower Midwestern accents all day long than New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts accents.
So Tampa doesn't have a county in another state who's only goal for the past 30-40 years has been to freeload off of KC,MO and syphon every single bit of economic activity out of the city into their county and state for their short term gain no matter the cost? All while hiding behind a state line and profiting off institutional racism and its resulting white flight?
In that case KC. Tampa wins.
Do you have any idea how much damage Johnson County has done to KC's ability to compete on a national scale? Johnson County hurt the entire metro area in the long run. It's no coincidence that KC became mostly irrelevant once Johnson County figured out they had a gold mine next door to syphon from and call it "growth". Every city has dealt with suburban sprawl. Few have had an actual fierce and destructive competitor right in their own metro though.
Most cities have nice suburbs. I wouldn't wish a Johnson County type "neighbor" on any city though.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
