Stadium News

Here is the latest – more on the source later. First, my thoughts.

Until we get some free agent news to talk about, we have to take the stories as they come in. No story is more frustrating to me than the continual struggle the Rays have related to their lease agreement in Tropicana Field. It is the lasting legacy of the former ownership regime that they stuck this franchise in the stadium until 2027 – easily the worst lease in Florida and that is saying a lot these days. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Trop, once I get there for a few reasons:

• The roof – weather sucks in this area in the summer so counting on 72 degrees for every game is nice
• Free parking if you carpool – meanwhile, I have to pay $20 to have my family park and join me for UCF tailgates
• The fact we can bring our own food in the park (now about the beer…..)
• Very affordable seating

My biggest problem, as is for a lot of fans in the market, is getting there. It is a 2 hour ordeal for me from my driveway in east Orlando to my favorite parking spot near Tropicana Field (it’s a secret). That 2 hour ordeal is on the weekends when the war on I-4 and the malfunction junction of I-4 and 275 are not as clogged up as they are during weekdays. It has taken me as long at 3.5 hours to make a weeknight game due to the traffic – and that was taking 75 to the Gandy to get across the bay on a Friday. So, yes, for selfish reasons, I want the Rays to play in a new convertible stadium on the east side of Tampa Bay. I do not think I am alone in my decision based on the attendance for most games that do not involved Boston or the Evil Empire either. Yes, the Rays have raised attendance 35% over the last two years but anyone who has lived in this area knows how finicky fans are here.  After all, it was the winning and not Tropicana Field that helped bring fans to the games in 2008 and 2009 – the same fans that stayed away in droves once the newness of the Devil Rays wore off. Credit to Stu Sternberg and crew – Tropicana Field is vastly more friend friendly and aesthetically pleasing than it was before he took over but given the product on the field as well as the facelift the stadium has received to date, I believe the club has done everything they can to polish the turd of a stadium. The St. Pete Council likes t point out the Rays have raised attendance 35% since 2007 but the Rays were one of 11 teams that failed to have at least two million fans show up last season joining the Royals, Marlins, Nationals, Pirates, Orioles, Reds, Blue Jays, Indians, Athletics, and Padres. The one thing all of thsoe teams have in common, save the Marlins, is losing. For the other markets, the product on the field is the driver for the attendance as the Reds and Padres, despite newer parks, have had a 15%+ drop in attendance over the last two seasons. The 35% increase the Rays have enjoyed is not due to the stadium upgrades but the talent upgrades to the roster so to argue that Tropicana Field is anything but a minor part of the math is dishonest.

I get to do a lot of traveling for day job that has afforded me the opportunity to visit a lot of major league ballparks and the only stadium I’d take Tropicana Field over is that disaster down in Broward County and even that is going to be history in the recent future. It reminds me of people who said the Orlando Magic did not need a new arena because Amway Arena was just fine. I’d challenge those fans to go visit the Toyota Center in Houston or the MCI Center in Washington DC and then come back and tell me Amway Arena is fine. I think once the fans get into the new arena next year, they will realize what they’ve been missing all of these years.

What could the Rays gain with a ne stadium – on the east side of the bay?

• Easier access for those of us in Orlando a – a market the Rays have not successfully penetrated in the entire existence of the franchise. How bad is it? The Orlando Sentinel does not even have a Rays beat writer and solely relies upon AP feeds for Rays news.
• Better access for the east side fans from greater Tampa Bay that don’t want to fight the bridges over the bay to get to games.
• A better surrounding area. Ferg’s is the best sportsbar I have ever been too around a stadium, but is is a sole oasis in a desert dry of other sources of pre and post-game entertainment. Go to Wrigleyville, Boston, or Denver and see what it is like to have an after-party out in the streets. By the way, Ferg’s celebrates their 17th birthday this Wednesday night with a huge party – wish I could make it over to join in the fun.
• The ability to enjoy baseball the way it was meant to be played – outdoor and on grass. Fieldturf is a huge improvement over the old concrete turf from yesteryear, but it still is not as easy on the players as natural grass. Additionally, there are some nice weather days early and late in the season where it would be nice to play under the stars.
• Better seating. Tropicana Field does not have very pleasant sight lines and the seats are not set up to face the infield where most of the action takes place.
• New stadium dollars gets you increased attendance, better sponsorship, and even the chance of drawing an all-star game. There is no way Tropicana Field is ever going to host an all-star game.
• The current projections say in order to bring Tropicana Field up to major league standards, it would cost anywhere from $200,000,000 to $450,000,000. Personally that sounds like a number pulled out of someone’s ass due to the 125% variance in that figure. I agree that it would be an expensive facelift but if the ABC Coalition wants to be taken more seriously by the public, they have to nail down a firm figure or tell us that 200m is for X, 325m gets you Y, and 450m gets you Z.  If you want Z, find the little bit more to build a new yard.

Those are just my thoughts on the stadium news, but if you want to keep abreast of all the news to formulate your own opinion, you have a few options. I added a new site to the blogroll over to left, The Shadow of the Stadium, which is run by Noah Pransky of 10connectnews.com. Noah is my favorite source for stadium updates which he links to on Twitter as he publishes new stories. Besides his blog, this site at 10connects.com tracks all of the stories in one location.  Noah is the man to follow for stadium news; add him to your follow list on Twitter or his sites to your bookmark lists.