Archive for the 'Attendance' Category

Oct 10

In Letter To Fans, Sternberg Says Team Is Committed To Finding Solutions

Attendance, Stuart Sternberg 39 Comments »

Rays owner Stuart Sternberg made comments in the locker room following the Rays elimination from the playoffs in which he suggested that the Rays are being held back by the lack of ticket sales, and indicated that if things don’t improve, the team would either move or be contracted.

Today, Sternberg addressed those comments and the ensuing criticisms in an email sent to season ticket holders (thanks to those of you that forwarded the letter).

In the letter, which can be read below, Sternberg doesn’t back down from his comments, saying it would be “disingenuous” to suggest everything is fine with the team. However, he does want it known that he is not complaining or blaming the fans.

Sternberg adds that the organization is “committed to doing all that [they] can to find solutions.”

We can quibble over whether the Rays are truly doing everything they can. But the lack of effort by the Rays to open any dialogue whatsoever with the city of St. Pete on the stadium issue seems to contradict this notion. At least that is the appearance on the surface.

As fans, we just want to know that Rays want to stay in the area. The rest is just details. But when there is no dialogue between the two sides, and the only word we hear on the issue all season  is “vaporize,” it is hard for us to be in an understanding mood. Read the rest of this entry »

Oct 08

Rays Had Higher Local TV Ratings In First Round Than Rangers And Diamondbacks

Attendance, Research is your friend 9 Comments »

When Maury Brown wrote his piece earier this week saying Rays fans don’t deserve the team, two of his biggest criticisms were that nobody was watching on television (even though he didn’t know where Rays ranked in Major League Baseball in local TV ratings) and that nobody was jumping on the bandwagon during the exciting end-of-the-season run.

Well, a report in The Dallas Morning News suggests otherwise. While the exact ratings aren’t given, Barry Horn reports that the Rays drew a higher local TV rating during the series than the Rangers.

Of the eight hometown markets involved in the AL Division Series and NLDS, D-FW ranked seventh through the four games it took the Rangers to eliminate the Rays. Only Phoenix’s interest in the Arizona Diamondbacks kept the Rangers from the basement.

So we should expect a story from Brown criticizing Rangers and Diamondbacks fans in 3…2…1…GO!

*looks at watch puzzled*

Nothing?

Oct 05

With Corpse Still Warm, Sternberg Blames Loss On Attendance, Suggests Team Could “Vaporize”

Attendance, Stuart Sternberg 115 Comments »

*Deep Breath*

The last couple of days were a whirlwind for the Rays and their fans. In the span of about 24 hours, the team went from tied 1-1 with the Rangers and coming home, to eliminated from the playoffs. And while we knew Stuart Sternberg and Mayor Bill Foster were tabling their discussion of a new stadium until after the season, we didn’t think that meant five minutes after the final out…

“I am frustrated this year…We’ve replicated last year [on the field] and our attendance numbers were down 15 percent and our ratings were down. The rubber has got to meet the road at some point here…This is untenable as a model going forward…When I came in here in ’05 and ’06, I saw the stars, and I was confident that we could put a winning product on the field — and I was told by you guys and others that all we needed was a winning team…Well, we won. We won. We won. And we won. And it didn’t do it.”

He’s frustrated. That is understandable. Still, it seems like a strange time to point that out after selling more than 63,000 tickets to a pair of afternoon games on short notice. After all, it is not like fans were making plans to attend playoff games two weeks ago.

But then Sternberg took it a step further. He suggests that the Rays might have done better in the playoffs if attendance was better…

“When you’re sitting here at this point and you lost by a run, you know another X dollars might have changed things…Three or five million wouldn’t have changed things necessarily but 15 to 30 might have. That’s where we were. And for the foreseeable future that’s what we’ve got.”

We can all have that same discussion we always have about whether or not the Rays are really making money, and whether or not Sternberg should be spending more money. We are not sure that is important right now.

Rather, this all just sounds like typical Read the rest of this entry »

Sep 27

Here Come The Attendance Jokes, And We Love It!

Attendance 27 Comments »

Did you hear the joke about how four fans walked into The Trop to watch a Rays game and nobody else was there! Oh, that one kills us every time! Or how about the joke about the Rays latest giveaway promotion: a foul ball for every fan! That one always makes us ell-oh-ell.

According to a large portion of the national media, there were about 12 people at The Trop last night to watch the Rays beat the Yankees and grab a share of the Wild Card lead.

And all we can do is yawn.

Rays attendance is bad. No doubt about it. And if you ask Read the rest of this entry »

Sep 23

The Continued Struggle for the Soul of the Florida Sports Fan

Attendance, Fans do silly things, Feed your mind, Minor League Affiliates, New York Yankees, Season Ticket Sales, Statistical projection, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa vs St Pete, The Trop, Things that make us giddy, Things that shine a little less, TV Ratings, We are mad as hell, We need more Cowbell, Your thoughts please 12 Comments »

Jordi Scrubbings is back with his take on Rays attendance…

Last year, I wrote an article for this site entitled “The Battle for the Passion of the Florida Sports Fan”. In that article, I explored how the Rays were at the short end of a fight to get attention in a rapidly expanding Florida sports scene.

This year I have continued to track attendance and viewing trends. I have saved almost every post I can find from this site, other Rays sites, Bucs sites, Florida Minor League Baseball sites, and anywhere else that talks about the comings and goings of Florida sports fans.

Before I begin to dissect the year in attendance trends, I first want to share an interesting tidbit I recently discovered.

Did you know that in 2010 the Rays drew 95% of the combined attendance total of the Bulls, Gators, Hurricanes, and Seminoles last year?

Attendance of every 2010 home game of Florida State University, University of Florida, University of Miami, University of Central Florida, and the University of South Florida at their respective stadiums was 2,087,026. This number excludes only UF’s bowl game in Tampa and the UF vs. Georgia game in Jacksonville, as they were not true “home” games.

According to Baseball-Reference, the 2010 Rays drew 1,864,999 people to Tropicana Field in 2010. And another 112,854 during the playoffs. That’s 1,977,853 people and a 95% correlation. Which means almost the same amount of people that went to Rays games last year went to see a game at one of the five major college football programs in Florida.

There is no doubt Florida is still a college football state.

A lot of people would point to the above statistic and say it should be Exhibit A why the Rays should move from Florida – they can’t possibly compete in the Florida sports culture landscape. Baseball will regarded as a novelty especially as the University of South Florida grows in popularity and prominence and Florida State gets back on track, loses to Oklahoma withstanding.

I, of course, disagree.

Last year I argued that there was an oversaturation of Read the rest of this entry »

Sep 13

Sternberg Wants To Keep Band Together, Calls Friedman His “Partner”

Andrew Friedman, Attendance, Joe Maddon, Payroll, Stuart Sternberg 5 Comments »

Stuart Sternberg made the trip to Camden Yards last night where he partook in some Boog’s BBQ (for a few minutes we thought he said “booze” which left us puzzled). He also held court with the media and spoke about this “wonderfully improbable” season, and some other off-the-field topics.

But among the numerous quotes, there was one that caught our attention (more highlights below; via Marc Topkin)…

On Andrew Friedman’s future:

“Andrew is a partner here, he’s a partner of mine. And he treats this organization even better than I possibly can. There’s nothing to report on [possibility he will become a GM with Cubs or Astros]… We’ve been at it now, it’ll be six years, and it doesn’t feel like six years, and I would think we would keep the band together another six years.”

The attendance and payrolls quotes below are really nothing new. But maybe the most telling quote was Sternberg calling Friedman a “partner.”

Does World B. Friedman have equity in the team? He is not listed among the Rays twenty partners. If not, is Sternberg suggesting that Friedman will have equity in the team in the future?

Sternberg is a very Read the rest of this entry »

Sep 09

Rays Attendance Is Down 20% From 2010, Now Last In MLB

Attendance 19 Comments »

The Rays attendance is an old story. It is a tired story. We have heard all of the excuses. And we have heard all of the jokes. But what we didn’t realize was that is could actually get worse.

With just nine home dates left, the Rays are now dead last in Major League attendance, averaging just 18,374 tickets sold per game.

Of course, six of the remaining home games are against Red Sox and Yankees, so the Rays are not likely to finish the season last. But there aren’t enough Yankees and Red Sox fans in the area buying tickets to hide just how bad attendance has been this season.

After 72 games a year ago, the Rays were averaging 22,919 per game. That is a one-season drop of 19.8 percent.

The Rays are also on pace to sell just 1.49 million tickets this season. That would be their lowest mark since 2007 when attendance was 1.39 million. That year, the Rays lost 96 games.

Sep 01

Fields of Solace

Attendance, Fans do silly things, Feed your mind, FML, Gettin Lucky, It Gets Better, It was the devil all along, Karma is a bitch, Movie metaphors, Out of our comfort zone 15 Comments »

Our correspondent Jordi Scrubbings is back with his latest take on all things Rays…

This year has been one of the toughest I have ever faced. I’ve been laid off twice, gotten in a car accident, had several emotional disputes (you can call them fights) with a member of the opposite sex, and was even in the hospital for a few days. 2011 has not been easy.

But baseball, the Rays, and Tropicana Field have been there for me through it all.

I know that sounds very James Earl Jones-ish of me. Remember his classic scene in Field of Dreams where he says that the one constant through the annuals of America has been baseball? While that might not be 100% true for America – I doubt baseball was there for Washington, Franklin, and Adams – it is definitely true for me. When I walk into Tropicana Field, I forget everything going on in my life. The only thing happening is baseball. From the first pitch to the last.

Baseball is the perfect remedy for a disrupted mind.

By it’s very nature baseball has a calming effect. It has a way of slowly swallowing you into the story of the game. It builds at a leisurely pace, as rarely is a game decided in the first inning. As the game progress, every move, every at-bat, and every pitch becomes increasingly more important and as the game spins its tale, the outside world increasingly loses relevance.

And with the Rays penchant for close, low scoring games, every game carries an intensity that envelops those who want to be swept away.

At worst, the Rays lose and I walk out of Tropicana Field in the same malaise as when I walked in. No baseball loss can compare to real life losses. Even the worst blown save pales in comparison to human tragedy. At least I was out of the house and my mind was occupied on something else, however briefly.

But if they win, if the Rays pull magic out of their hat, win in dramatic fashion, or if I see a piece of baseball history, then I can walk out of Tropicana Field with a smile, awash with the temporary euphoria of victory. Baseball has saved me once again from the drama of reality. It has provided me happiness without the headache of a hangover or the consequences of other chemicals.

It doesn’t matter whether or not I go Read the rest of this entry »

Aug 10

The Guilt of Not Going

11 Questions, Attendance, Cheap is as cheap does, Cutting the Fat, Exagerated headline, Fans do silly things, Jordi Scrubbings, Kool Aid, Meta-laziness, My Baseball Bias, No Excuses Tour, Options, The Trop, Things that shine a little less, Too early to open a beer?, Tweetup, We need more Cowbell, Where we're going, Your thoughts please 15 Comments »

Our correspondent Jordi Scrubbings is back with another take on all things Rays….

I’ll admit, when reported attendance numbers are below 15,000 at Tropicana Field, I feel kinda guilty. I feel guilty because I think I could make a difference. It’s the same guilt I feel during an election when there is a candidate I support but I don’t bother to get out and vote. And then that candidate doesn’t win. Was it because of me? Or was it because of hundreds of other people like me who figured someone else would carry the burden of voting?

Although the worst a candidate can do is raise my taxes, approve or disapprove of transportation measures, cancel programs, stifle the economy, or generally cause the social fabric of the world around me to fall apart, for some reason I am more concerned about an empty seat at Tropicana Field that my tuckus could have sat in.

I wonder if I am the only one. Am I the only person who thinks if the team moves it would be partially my fault for not supporting them to the utmost of my ability?

I am a huge baseball fan. The fact that I am writing here is evidence enough that I am a huge Rays fan. So why aren’t I at every game contributing my +1 to the attendance total?

First and foremost, I am a partial season ticket holder. I go to Read the rest of this entry »

Jul 30

Rays Minor League Teams Outpace Rays In Attendance

Attendance 7 Comments »

Doug Milhoan of Rays Prospects provided an update on attendance thoughout the organization. And while looking at the numbers, we noticed an interesting little quirk. Notice how the Rays attendance compares to the minor league system as a whole…

Now, we don’t want to make too big a deal out of this. But it is interesting that despite almost identical capacity, the minor league teams draw 1,300 more fans on average.

And it is even a little ironic considering the perception that the Rays are more interested in having a talented minor league system than a talented big league roster.

Previous Entries Next Entries