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I've gone to a lot of games at STP and often leave in the 8th inning to beat the traffic (and the game is already pretty much decided). I've never felt in danger around the stadium or in downtown STP area where I park. Many stadiums in the league are built near poorer parts of the city. I feel there's always enough police in the area of the Trop to have someone to assist me if I run into trouble.
The Bucs stadium really torqued people off....we all voted for the CIT, largely because it was tied to education and parks, but also largely to keep the Bucs. I was ok with that, just like I'm ok with building a stadium for the Rays. HOWEVER...where Hillsborough County messed up with the Bucs stadium was in how they structured the contract. The Bucs/Glazers got WAY too much control and money out of the stadium. Damn near every cent that thing generates goes to the Bucs, even for non-Buc events. USF games? Most money that isn't contractually obligated to USF goes to the Bucs. Tractor pull? Stadium fees and much of the concessions go to the Bucs. Bowl games? Ditto. If the Glazers ever sell the Bucs, every dime of profit goes in their pockets.
If/when Tampa builds a Rays stadium, they need to protect themselves better and not just bend over and take it in the rear. Have riders in the contract that specify that if the team is sold, a certain percentage of the profit goes toward relief for the bond debt on the stadium Retain some control over revenues. Learn your lesson
And downtown Tampa is not scary at night, no more scary than places downtown Cleveland or the area where Baltimore's stadium us.
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.
Rays fans better hope they don't have a couple down years in a row which will mean no one shows up to games. They will likely end up moving if that happens.
I don't pay admin/handling fees because I buy at the gate (not the day of the game).
Thanks for the info on what you are allowed to bring in. That's pretty cool, would save my family some decent coin.
The cheapest tickets I found in August on the weekend were $17 without fees. I would really like to find these $9 tickets on the weekend or a Friday evening.
I would definitely attend more games at $9/a pop and being able to bring in my own snacks and drinks for the kiddos.
Everyone here is missing the most fundamental point...LOCATION.
That study done last year by the ABC group looked at 5 potential spots for a new stadium, including the current location of the Trop. The goal was to find the location that had the most people within a 30 minute drive. The current location of the Trop had the least, and it wasn't even close. And a fair number of those were from south St Pete, one of the poorest areas in the region.
I can tell you this...I live in Wesley Chapel ... I can't make it to those with my kids. I have to get up for work the next day. ... You ever notice how attendace spikes on the weekend? It's because all the Tampa people can MAKE THOSE GAMES and not have to get up early the next day.
Let's not play the "it's such a far drive" card. Downtown St. Pete is 20 minutes of highway time from downtown Tampa. And if games were actually well attended, it'd take an additional 20 minutes to get out of the parking lot. To put it another way, the study you cite found that the Trop is a whopping 10 minutes away from an acceptable location (the north end of St. Pete), in terms of population within 30 a minute drive. If you go to a weeknight game, you probably won't get as much sleep as you're used to -- this is a problem everywhere.
All that said, I do think there would be generally better turnout if there were easy public transportation options to games for significant portion of the bay area's population. Tampa's the only place that's possible. And most folks in the bay area say they live in Tampa, so, presumably, they would better identify with the team if it were actually in Tampa. But who knows what affect that would have; particularly in this economy. After all, the Bucs games were all blacked out...
The bigger issue is that so many folks here are transplants and/or fans of the teams that play spring ball here. And a potential move is problematic because the municipalities in the bay area can't afford to pay for a new stadium right now, let alone to both pay for a new stadium and break a lease with 16 years left on it (which would be required if the Rays leave Pinellas).
Let's not play the "it's such a far drive" card. Downtown St. Pete is 20 minutes of highway time from downtown Tampa. And if games were actually well attended, it'd take an additional 20 minutes to get out of the parking lot. To put it another way, the study you cite found that the Trop is a whopping 10 minutes away from an acceptable location (the north end of St. Pete), in terms of population within 30 a minute drive. If you go to a weeknight game, you probably won't get as much sleep as you're used to -- this is a problem everywhere.
All that said, I do think there would be generally better turnout if there were easy public transportation options to games for significant portion of the bay area's population. Tampa's the only place that's possible. And most folks in the bay area say they live in Tampa, so, presumably, they would better identify with the team if it were actually in Tampa. But who knows what affect that would have; particularly in this economy. After all, the Bucs games were all blacked out...
The bigger issue is that so many folks here are transplants and/or fans of the teams that play spring ball here. And a potential move is problematic because the municipalities in the bay area can't afford to pay for a new stadium right now, let alone to both pay for a new stadium and break a lease with 16 years left on it (which would be required if the Rays leave Pinellas).
How can the location card NOT be played? It's hard to dispute a study that was objectively done. Here are the results...downtown Tampa is the place that has the most people within a 30 minute drive, and beats out downtown St Pete by a large margin.
GATEWAY AREA
Population within 30-minute drive: 1,645,107 in 2013; 2,186,612 in 2035
Households with income greater than $75,000: 182,304
Dollars spent on entertainment: $2.21 billion
Attended Rays game in last 12 months: 275,068
Firms with more than 10 employees within 30 minutes: 16,274
WEST SHORE AREA
Population within 30-minute drive: 1,727,070 in 2013; 2,795,898 in 2035
Households with income greater than $75,000: 191,849
Dollars spent on entertainment: $2.23 billion
Attended Rays game in last 12 months: 250,820
Firms with more than 10 employees within 30 minutes: 17,707
DOWNTOWN TAMPA AREA
Population within 30-minute drive: 1,810,376 in 2013; 2,265,168 in 2035
Households with income greater than $75,000: 200,206
Dollars spent on entertainment: $2.32 billion
Attended Rays game in last 12 months: 247,237
Firms with more than 10 employees within 30 minutes: 16,100
FLORIDA STATE FAIRGROUNDS AREA
Population within 30-minute drive: 1,619,725 in 2013; 2,197,280 in 2035
Households with income greater than $75,000: 174,880
Dollars spent on entertainment: $1.99 billion
Attended Rays game in last 12 months: 173,606
Firms with more than 10 employees within 30 minutes: 12,577
TROPICANA FIELD
Population within 30-minute drive: 1,181,714 in 2013; 1,543,047 in 2035
Households with income greater than $75,000: 123,032
Dollars spent on entertainment: $1.55 billion
Attended Rays game in last 12 months: 217,756
Firms with more than 10 employees within 30 minutes: 12,747
How can the location card NOT be played? It's hard to dispute a study that was objectively done. Here are the results...downtown Tampa is the place that has the most people within a 30 minute drive, and beats out downtown St Pete by a large margin.
GATEWAY AREA
Population within 30-minute drive: 1,645,107 in 2013; 2,186,612 in 2035
Households with income greater than $75,000: 182,304
Dollars spent on entertainment: $2.21 billion
Attended Rays game in last 12 months: 275,068
Firms with more than 10 employees within 30 minutes: 16,274
WEST SHORE AREA
Population within 30-minute drive: 1,727,070 in 2013; 2,795,898 in 2035
Households with income greater than $75,000: 191,849
Dollars spent on entertainment: $2.23 billion
Attended Rays game in last 12 months: 250,820
Firms with more than 10 employees within 30 minutes: 17,707
DOWNTOWN TAMPA AREA
Population within 30-minute drive: 1,810,376 in 2013; 2,265,168 in 2035
Households with income greater than $75,000: 200,206
Dollars spent on entertainment: $2.32 billion
Attended Rays game in last 12 months: 247,237
Firms with more than 10 employees within 30 minutes: 16,100
FLORIDA STATE FAIRGROUNDS AREA
Population within 30-minute drive: 1,619,725 in 2013; 2,197,280 in 2035
Households with income greater than $75,000: 174,880
Dollars spent on entertainment: $1.99 billion
Attended Rays game in last 12 months: 173,606
Firms with more than 10 employees within 30 minutes: 12,577
TROPICANA FIELD
Population within 30-minute drive: 1,181,714 in 2013; 1,543,047 in 2035
Households with income greater than $75,000: 123,032
Dollars spent on entertainment: $1.55 billion
Attended Rays game in last 12 months: 217,756
Firms with more than 10 employees within 30 minutes: 12,747
I'd like to see a study that expanded that radius to a 60 minute drive as there a lot of people like myself that would drive an hour to see a ballgame.
Do you really think a stadium in downtown Tampa (the supposedly "ideal" location) will draw sellout crowds? I personally do not think so for the reasons i already listed:
This region (Tampa Bay) is full of people who are either transient, root for other teams, or can't really afford to go to games, pay a lot for stadium food, etc.
The economy in this area is REALLY BAD (much worse than talked about or written about) and most people are jobless or struggling to hang onto jobs and going to a ballgame is the LAST thing on their minds. [Of course, none of this applies to LA, DC, NYC mlb markets, where there is no recession and business/sports is relatively booming. But the Tampa Bay econ is very different.] It will take a while for the TB econ to turn around. A LONG while. People who are struggling in this horrific economy will have zero appetite for a new stadium. ZERO.
More people are staying home. Period. This is the same reason why the movie theaters are empty, bookstores are closing, all entertainment/retail is hurting. You can shop and/or be entertained very comfortably and cheaply AT HOME without leaving your couch.
I'd like to see whether the Miami ballpark sells out before investing in a downtown Tampa stadium; if Miami is successful, let us remember that Miami is not Tampa, and Tampa does not have the affluence/population that Miami has.
Florida is not Boston, Chicago, New York, etc. I don't wanna see Tampa Bay lose its cred by not having a baseball team, but Florida is not really a state that supports pro sports teams very well.
Do you really think a stadium in downtown Tampa (the supposedly "ideal" location) will draw sellout crowds? I personally do not think so for the reasons i already listed:
This region (Tampa Bay) is full of people who are either transient, root for other teams, or can't really afford to go to games, pay a lot for stadium food, etc.
The economy in this area is REALLY BAD (much worse than talked about or written about) and most people are jobless or struggling to hang onto jobs and going to a ballgame is the LAST thing on their minds. [Of course, none of this applies to LA, DC, NYC mlb markets, where there is no recession and business/sports is relatively booming. But the Tampa Bay econ is very different.] It will take a while for the TB econ to turn around. A LONG while. People who are struggling in this horrific economy will have zero appetite for a new stadium. ZERO.
More people are staying home. Period. This is the same reason why the movie theaters are empty, bookstores are closing, all entertainment/retail is hurting. You can shop and/or be entertained very comfortably and cheaply AT HOME without leaving your couch.
I'd like to see whether the Miami ballpark sells out before investing in a downtown Tampa stadium; if Miami is successful, let us remember that Miami is not Tampa, and Tampa does not have the affluence/population that Miami has.
Florida is not Boston, Chicago, New York, etc. I don't wanna see Tampa Bay lose its cred by not having a baseball team, but Florida is not really a state that supports pro sports teams very well.
Best analysis that I've seen on the subject......
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