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[Cannon Shell]

I have a hard time believing that the announcement management made a few weeks ago that they would be reducing payroll next year doesn't play a role as well. Even if you are planning on doing so, why throw cold water on a great season?

[Rudeboyelvis]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

I have a hard time believing that the announcement management made a few weeks ago that they would be reducing payroll next year doesn't play a role as well. Even if you are planning on doing so, why throw cold water on a great season?

They're in a bad situation - they want to get out of their lease, but have no where to go. The current lease doesn't expire until 2025, and the city (St. Petersburg) has been resolute in their stance that they will not break the lease unless they relocate to a stadium site within city limits - unfortunately there is absolutely funding - public, private or otherwise available to move out Tropicana Field, and really no better location in St. Pete.

The Tampa mayor, Pam Iorio, has made it perfectly clear that not one dime of city tax money will go to supporting a new stadium in Tampa, and very little private equity is available to do so in the area's current financial straits, even if they could break the lease.

They have some of the highest television ratings of any team in MLB and I can tell you that practically everyone I know follows the team religiously, they just don't go because the location blows (absolutely nothing around the place save for one sports bar, zero public transportation, horrible neighborhood, etc.), and the economy is complete sh1t.


The last study done indicated that, of the demographic population that would attend games regularly in the Tampa Bay area, 19% live within 30 minutes of the dome. That is the worst in MLB. By comparison, Seattle is second worst at 42%.

With all of that against them, they still out draw 5 other teams in the AL:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/te...D/attend.shtml

So it's patently unfair to blame fans for not attending, and it is equally unfair to assume the area doesn't support Major League Baseball.

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. The popular opinion is that St. Pete will have no choice but to break the lease, and then to integrate a new ball park in Tampa with the Obama Train - 66 billion of stimulus cash to build a high speed rail from Orlando to Tampa - the trip is estimated to take 25 minutes, the station can be built into the park ala the new Twins stadium, and opens up the team up to 3 million+ more potential new market fans and visitors from the Orlando attractions, not to mention they would quadruple their demographic draw locally.

Problem is finding someone to take a billion dollar gamble that the train will actually get built and operate as advertised, that the fans will come, and that they'll ever see a profit....