Despite being limited by payroll, the Rays have had success on the field. They’ve won four AL East titles and two pennants and have clinched four wild card berths. Despite this success, the Tampa Bay area could care less, judging by their home game attendance. Given how the area has treated them, they should move after their lease is up. Tampa Bay doesn’t deserve a Major League Baseball team.
In the people’s defense, the Rays have one of the worst ballparks in baseball. It’s not easy to get to the ballpark. On top of that, the Rays don’t even play in the city of Tampa Bay. However, given how successful the Rays have been, they should have more support from the Tampa Bay area. The Rays are constantly at the bottom of the league when it comes to attendance. People in other Major League cities make the long, difficult rides to go see their teams all the time. Why should the people of the Tampa Bay area be able to use that excuse?
Every season the Tropicana Dome looks empty, and you can hear the cheers from opposing fans. When the Yankees come to town, the Tropicana Dome becomes “Yankee Stadium South.” You would never know that this is a successfully operated franchise on the field. Even during the COVID-19 limited season, the emptiness looked normal. It might’ve qualified as social distancing.
The most appalling thing about the Rays is they can’t even sell out playoff games. Typically, when October baseball is in town, everybody from the new fans to the fair-weather ones is in attendance. This includes people who haven’t even seen the team play all year. It makes me wonder if Rays fans even exist.
I have seen fans of other teams who have been more supportive and played in worse stadiums. For example, the Oakland Athletics have needed a new stadium for many years. However, until recent years the Athletics didn’t draw too badly at the gate in some seasons. They also were able to sell out during playoff games.
Another example would be the Rogers Center in Toronto. That stadium is very outdated and, at the very least, needs a facelift. However, the Blue Jays know how to draw a season with two to three million people to the ballpark. Toronto also sells out playoff games, and their fans can be very loud during them, judging by how they were this postseason.
While Rays owner Stu Sternberg has been trying to get a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area, he hasn’t been successful. One reason for the lack of traction on getting a new stadium is the people’s lack of attendance at the games. City officials don’t want to make the same mistake Miami made with building Loan Depot Field and nobody showing up. With how these people in Tampa treat the Rays, the city has probable cause for concern.
If people in the Tampa Bay area are going to treat their team like this, I suggest the Rays move. I can guarantee a place like Nashville, Tennessee, will be glad to have them. Nashville has been trying since the 1990s to bring Major League Baseball to the stadium. I am also sure that they’ll have fans at their ballpark. They’ll even have a fan base, something that doesn’t exist in the Tampa area. Major League Baseball has made mistakes before in granting cities expansion franchises, and Tampa Bay was one of them.
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