What is going on with the Ray's fan support?

[Trackmaster]

They drew 14,000 last night. That stinks, but there have been plenty of OPACY crowds of 14,000 or less on April weekday games in the past.

The Rays' fan base isn't very good, and from what I've been told, the stadium is in a very inconvenient spot to travel to during the evening rush hour. I'm not very sympathetic to that excuse, but I've heard it often.

But I mean that's during a 14 season losing streak. Give the Orioles 5 straight winning seasons and a WS appearance and let's see what kind of crowds we draw. I think that almost any franchise would be drawing at least 2.5 million with five straight winning seasons and a WS appearance.

Another thing that I thought of is that there is no precedant for baseball in Tampa Bay. For cities like Cleveland, Baltimore, and Houston, they had long established franchises before they got their football back. So everybody in the town who cared about baseball in TB would have already had a team that hey had picked out.

And in regards to the stadium, somebody on here was saying that it wasn't bad in person. I could see that, the only dome that I've ever been to is the Sky Dome, and it was a nice experience, but domes look like total crap on TV. It's nice having a body of water or the city skyline as a backdrop (or in our case the warehouse).

[sfosfan]

They drew 14,000 last night. That stinks, but there have been plenty of OPACY crowds of 14,000 or less on April weekday games in the past.

The Rays' fan base isn't very good, and from what I've been told, the stadium is in a very inconvenient spot to travel to during the evening rush hour. I'm not very sympathetic to that excuse, but I've heard it often.

Those teams weren't nearly as good as the Rays, and I believe the Dodgers play in another inconvenient spot (well, anything in LA is tough to drive to).

Only thing that makes sense is that the state of Florida's fan base is not good for local teams since most people came from elsewhere. But given that theory, I'm wondering if all the seasoned former New Yorkers go see the Yankees when they play? If not, then I'm completely at a loss. The Rays deserve so much better.

[Trackmaster]

It's funny that people use the excuse "Why would you want to go 'fill in the blank sporting event' when you have the beach 20 minutes from you" but that doesn't explain why the Yankees, Giants, NY Rangers, and Knicks have such great attendance when you have Broadway, the art museums, Central Park, and all of the nightclubs and culture in NY.

[Can_of_corn]

Those teams weren't nearly as good as the Rays, and I believe the Dodgers play in another inconvenient spot (well, anything in LA is tough to drive to).

Only thing that makes sense is that the state of Florida's fan base is not good for local teams since most people came from elsewhere. But given that theory, I'm wondering if all the seasoned former New Yorkers go see the Yankees when they play? If not, then I'm completely at a loss. The Rays deserve so much better.

Yankees are a draw wherever they play.

[lovetoaster]

Only thing that makes sense is that the state of Florida's fan base is not good for local teams since most people came from elsewhere. But given that theory, I'm wondering if all the seasoned former New Yorkers go see the Yankees when they play? If not, then I'm completely at a loss. The Rays deserve so much better.

I went to a Rays-Red Sox game on a Friday night and there were a lot more people there than any other game I have ever been to at the Trop. It was probably three-quarters full (that's a lot for them), and most of them were wearing Sox gear and holding up signs trying to get on NESN. But the Rays won on a walk-off homer, so the majority of the people in the stands went home upset.

We were staying in Tampa and left pretty early and still missed the first inning or two because of traffic. That was a lesson learned.

[Baltoravensrule]

They drew 14,000 last night. That stinks, but there have been plenty of OPACY crowds of 14,000 or less on April weekday games in the past.

The Rays' fan base isn't very good, and from what I've been told, the stadium is in a very inconvenient spot to travel to during the evening rush hour. I'm not very sympathetic to that excuse, but I've heard it often.

The thing is the whole state of Florida is full of pro teams that don't draw well. Jaguars, Dolphins, Bucs, Rays, Marlins, Heat pre-LeBron and Panthers all have a history of not drawing well. The Magic seem to do well since there isn't much else to do in Orlando for locals (Disney World and Universal get old believe me, I lived there) but every other pro team struggles.

Sure OPACY hasn't been drawing well in the past 8 years but the at least Baltimoreans pack M&T week in and week out.

[Dr. Unk]

They drew 14,000 last night. That stinks, but there have been plenty of OPACY crowds of 14,000 or less on April weekday games in the past.

The Rays' fan base isn't very good, and from what I've been told, the stadium is in a very inconvenient spot to travel to during the evening rush hour. I'm not very sympathetic to that excuse, but I've heard it often.

I would believe this more if it said 14. The place was empty.

[DrungoHazewood]

It's funny that people use the excuse "Why would you want to go 'fill in the blank sporting event' when you have the beach 20 minutes from you" but that doesn't explain why the Yankees, Giants, NY Rangers, and Knicks have such great attendance when you have Broadway, the art museums, Central Park, and all of the nightclubs and culture in NY.

Probably because it's easier to find 50k people to go to a ballgame when you have like 15 million people within a 20-mile radius. There's still 14,950,000 people to go to the theater.

OPACY's capacity is literally 7.5% of the population of the city of Baltimore, and still a fair chunk of the metro area.

[Grt 2BA FL Gator]

The Bucs can't sell out 8 home games a year, what chance do the Rays have?

Back in the late 1990's, early 2000's, the Bucs had a waiting list for season tickets of 100,000 people. As a Bucs fan, although we've been OK over the past ten years, the teams have been largely disappointing/uninspiring. I think if the Bucs have a legit team once again [not just preseason hype or a guaranteed one and done in the playoffs with Jeff Garcia/Chris Simms as your QB (thank you Jon Gruden)] then fans will most certainly come out. They have proven that in the past.

As far as the Rays go, that stadium is piss poor. The Rays had one of the better T.V. viewership ratings of any MLB team (5th best in 2010) and had another good year last year as far as that goes.

http://www.draysbay.com/2012/10/8/3473250/tampa-bay-rays-tv-ratings-historical-2012

So there ARE fans. Will they consistently attend games, even if a new stadium is built? The Marlins would have provided a little bit of a standard had they been competitive last year.

[BamaOsFan]

Why build an indoor stadium for baseball in Tampa, FLORIDA? Makes no sense in the first place.

[Can_of_corn]

Back in the late 1990's, early 2000's, the Bucs had a waiting list for season tickets of 100,000 people..

In the early '90s they had tickets advertised on grocery bags at Kash n' Karry. Even the football only draws when they are actively winning.

[jeffstonefan]

I was there Tuesday for Opening Day. The ballpark didn't even fill up until the 3rd or 4th inning...for OPENING DAY. Aside from the cowbells that the fans clang throughout the game it's not as bad of a ballpark and baseball experience as it appears to be on TV.

[Saintbird]

Why build an indoor stadium for baseball in Tampa, FLORIDA? Makes no sense in the first place.

Because it rains so often here during the summer. Believe me when I say the attendance would be MUCH worse if the fans had to worry about rain delays every game. The dome (or at least a convertible roofed stadium like Miami has) is necessary for Florida summers.

The poor attendance is the result of poor stadium location and, primarily, the amount of people who would prefer to go to a college sporting event over a professional one in Florida.

[UMDTerrapins]

[ThisIsOurHouse]

Wow, that's not too soon. That is just plain not right...