Will a new park really make a big difference?
Too many transplanted fans in the area, IMO.
Will a new park really make a big difference?
Too many transplanted fans in the area, IMO.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
We'll see. For the longest time, fans have complained that the issue is location. The new ballpark is basically in the same location in St Pete. The facility will be nicer, but somehow I don't think the facility is what is preventing fans from showing up for playoff games...Originally Posted by moonslav59
Also, I'm not sure the transplanted fan issue matters much. The Tampa Bay Lightning have been towards the top of attendance, but are in Tampa and not St. Pete. Florida Panthers are towards the bottom because they are in Ft Lauderdale/Sunrise and not Miami. Miami Heat are a top 5 draw in the NBA. The Marlins don't draw because they have just been a hopeless franchise for a long, long time. Their various ownership groups have shows that they don't care about fans and have treated that fanbase the way the Sox fanbase was treated since 2019. Star players are dumped ASAP. Big time players are never on their radar. It's just churn and burn for their farm and hope to get lightning in a bottle like in 2003. Once that happens, let all the tradable assets go.
The Houston area has a lot of transplants, and I know many who only go to games when their team is playing. One friend was a Phillies fan, who now is an Astros fan.
I think it is hard to get an older generation, who followed other teams for their whole lives to switch to being ardent Rays fans. The "older" population is much bigger in FLA, too, than most areas.
I just don't think they have enough people looking to root for the local baseball team in the area, no matter how nice the stadium is, of even if it's a 5 minute walk away from their house.
I would not go to any non Sox Astros game, if the park was nextdoor.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Rays viewership is about league average per tv ratings. The fanbase is there.
Tampa's Hillsborough County is only 15% 65 or older, which is even less than a typical New England demographic. The county I live in is 32%.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/busine...nited%20States.
They were 9th, last year, in most people moving to the city:
https://www.pods.com/blog/moving-trends
Last edited by moonslav59; 10-06-2023 at 10:12 AM.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Yeah, everyone is moving to Florida. This is not really news? Tampa already has a local fanbase that is younger (per demographics) and watches the games (per tv ratings).
I didn't say it was news. I didn't even try to hint is was something we don't already know. It's been going on for a long time.
I just said TB has a large transplant population that skews the numbers, since many will never become Rays fans or ardent ones.
You said they have a low senior population. I presented numbers that indicate another opinion on that point. Now, you change the debate.
I'm not disputing the TV ratings.
I guess Tampa has a bunch of old and young people and not many middle agers. The point I'm making is the fanbase is smaller than normal due to so many never having a chance at becoming a Rays fan, because they already love the Yanks, Red Sox and ___.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Meh. I've semi-adopted teams near where I was living: the Kansas Royals, the Baltimore Orioles, the Washington Senators and Nationals, and the Philadelphia Phillies. I've also seen pro football games in person, Div I basketball at Madison Square Garden and collegiate sports of all kinds (lacrosse, tennis, squash, football, basketball, soccer, etc). I even went to the World Cup in DC.
And it's my opinion that the best sport to watch in person is MLB--except at Fenway Park, where the sight lines were always abysmal and the seats expensive.
As for the Rays, I read that roughly 3 million people live within roughly an hour's drive of the Trop, which I think is a horrible ballpark. So it makes sense to build a good ballpark where the Trop is.
Don't be shocked when they barely sell more tickets at the new place.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
I won't be.
Kershaw lasted .1 innings while giving up 6 runs. Now it's 9-0 Diamondbacks in the 2d.
Braves also lost, 3-0, to the Phillies. And the Orioles 3-2 to Rangers. Astros are the only home team in the Division Series who won the first game.
I know that some people are rooting for the Orioles because they haven’t won in forever and it’s a “cool story” but fuck the Orioles. Go Rangers!
Kershaw has a career regular season ERA of 2.48 and a career postseason ERA of 4.49.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
Braves big hitters looked a little tired in yesterday's game.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
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