MLB Stadium Saga: Oakland/Tampa Bay/Southside

[TBGKon]

13 hours ago, marlinfan said:

I last went to Tropicana Field in 2010ish. It looks like the bastard child of a stadium, warehouse, and an early 90s cut-rate office building if it were possible for them to procreate. The main rotunda meant to evoke Ebbets Field looks more like something you see in a dying mall. Different areas of the concourse had their own “character” which ranged from sterile concrete to drop ceilings to Joe DiMaggio in comic book form. The trimmings on the scoreboard reminded me of a cheap baseball-theme carnival funhouse. The lights inside are low so you have a constant glare. The turf looked poorly maintained and had a weird shine. I think they still had the orange leaf gradient on the walls/catwalks which evoked Rainforest Cafe.

 

The banners in the rafters and the museum were cool though. We set in right field a few rows in front of former Marlins GM Larry Beinfest and his kids. The Marlins infield dropped an infield pop-up and when we turned around he did that thing where he knew you were looking at him but didn’t want to make eye contact.

If I give Stu Sternberg credit for something, he invests money into the Trop to upgrade the amenities.  Since your visit theyve done the folllwoing:

 

- Replaced the turf at least 3 times (twice in the past 2-3 years) and the new surface for 2019 really seems like a good match.

- Added LED stadium lighting in 2019, with colored uplighting and better standard lights.

- Created a full almost-360 concourse within view of the field, the only blocked section is immediately behind the plate.

- Got rid of the batters eye restaurant, and opened up the walls to make it a social space in CF.

- New for 2019, the Left Field ledge with 4-top table seating.

[Cosmic]

16 minutes ago, Survival79 said:

 

It'll be interesting to see what Sternberg has to say today. Hopefully, someone will remind him of his promise.

 

May 2007: Principal owner Stuart Sternberg clarified comments in a The New York Times story, saying there is no deadline for a new ballpark and he will stick to his promise to never demand one. When Sternberg took over the team in October 2005 he pledged he would never demand a new stadium, and Tuesday he reiterated that promise. "Absolutely,'' he said. "I was extra clear a year and a half ago, and nothing has changed.''

 

never adverb

nev·er | \ ˈne-vər \

Definition of never

1: not ever : at no time

2: not in any degree : not under any condition

You're focusing on the wrong parts. "never demand ONE" "never demand A new stadium"... If he demands two, and he maybe gets one, well now that's a horse of a different color.

[Sport]

I can't remember where I saw this so it could be way off and take this as you will, but I read somewhere about a study they did that I think was about Chicago Fire and I think they said that for every mile you're outside the central point of a city you cost yourself 500 would-be attenders per game. If true, and that rings sound to me, imagine the stadium is on the other side of a huge bridge, surrounded by water, has no public transportation access, and also it sucks. 

 

I spontaneously go to Reds games all the time. So do lots of other people. Such an outing is basically impossible for a lot of folks in the Tampa Bay metro. Imagine you're a parent who works downtown and gets some free tickets to that night's Rays game. You're going to leave your office at 5, you drove to work because it's Tampa and you have to drive so you drive your car to your home in some northern burb, sit in rush hour traffic, pick up your kids, drive to the stadium because there's no public transportation so you have to drive. Now you're going back through rush hour the other way, through the city, across a bridge, etc. You're looking at 90 minutes from your desk to your house and to the front gate, if you're lucky. Good luck even seeing the first pitch. Most people would just politely decline the tickets and watch the game from the comfort of their couch. 

 

Their problem is bad location made worse by the stadium not being a desirable place to visit. End of story. 

 

[rmc523]

17 hours ago, Magic Dynasty said:

The interest is definitely there. The Rays consistently get high TV ratings, and I always see a bunch of people with Rays shirts or hats on.

 

I'd say it's a mix of terrible location, terrible stadium in general, and (for most of their history) terrible team. Many still think of the Rays as a bottom of the table team, one not worth paying as much as they charge to see - even in seasons like this, where they aren't bad.

 

Eh, they've been pretty consistently good for the last 11 years.

 

Hmm.  Now that I look up the numbers I guess before last year, they did have a 4 year run of roughly .500 baseball.  But of the remaining 7 years, 6 of them were 90 wins or more, and the one that wasn't was 84 wins.

[JayMac]

19 hours ago, AstroBull21 said:

Press conference Tuesday the 25th at 1pm eastern about the Rays.  Assumingly to clear the air about this Montreal stuff.

"We're not doing the Montreal thing." End of press conference.

[dfwabel]

Live feed

https://www.abcactionnews.com/live3

[Gothamite]

This is absolutely amazing.

 

 

[Gothamite]

As is this.

 

[dfwabel]

They're acting like this is a "trade mission" to get Montreal visitors

[TBGKon]

14 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

As is this.

 

To be fair, the Tampa Bay Times is behind a paywall now (as of a few months ago) after a few articles, so alot of locals have given up on their sites unless they're a subscriber already.

[dfwabel]

Nice of a local restauranteur to break up the Q&A by kissing Sternberg's a$$.

[Gothamite]

26 minutes ago, AstroBull21 said:

To be fair, the Tampa Bay Times is behind a paywall now (as of a few months ago) after a few articles, so alot of locals have given up on their sites unless they're a subscriber already.

 

Maybe.  But that’s from their YouTube feed, which is free. 

[Survival79]

Quote

One reporter asked what Sternberg thought about the fans in the Tampa Bay area who would want the team all to their own. "All to their own just isn't gonna be an option going forward," Sternberg replied.

 

“I don't see it happening in St. Petersburg and would be hard-pressed to see it working in Tampa as well given what I know," Sternberg said.

 

[IceCap]

 

[rmc523]

Highlights from the press conference:

 

Basically they haven't talked to either city, they don't have financing, they don't have a name, they want two new open air ballparks from two cities when they can't get money from one for a single park, but Manfred and the owners gave them permission to explore this.

 

He seemed pretty adamant that there's no 'plan B' of keeping the team in Tampa for a full season - not in St. Pete, not in Ybor, or Tampa Bay.

 

He said a renovation/expansion of "Al Lang Stadium" is a possibility for the new Tampa park.

 

He claims it won't be a prolonged exit from Tampa, but I just don't see this working or being a viable thing.

[Wings]

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

As is this.

 

 

That'll be the average attendance at Rays home games going forward.

[Survival79]

6 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

He said a renovation/expansion of "Al Lang Stadium" is a possibility

 

[chrysleraspen08]

18 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

He said a renovation/expansion of "Al Lang Stadium" is a possibility for the new Tampa park.

 

I'm the furthest thing from an expert on this, but I don't think that would work as a major league park, unless they're going to spend the money (probably at least 200-300 million) to only play there for 5 years because they're contractually obligated. The stadium only seats around 7,500 and is situated between 2 large roads and a concert hall. Even if they were to expand it, I can't see them being able to fit more than 20,000 seats there, which is well below MLB standards.

 

EDIT: Even after looking at renovation photos I'm still skeptical of this move. Considering those renovations are soccer, those are going to be some crappy sightlines. Like Exhibition Stadium outfield level bad.

[rmc523]

8 minutes ago, Survival79 said:

 

 

That looks like a "roofed" concept.

 

7 minutes ago, chrysleraspen08 said:

 

I'm the furthest thing from an expert on this, but I don't think that would work as a major league park, unless they're going to spend the money (probably at least 200-300 million) to only play there for 5 years because they're contractually obligated. The stadium only seats around 7,500 and is situated between 2 large roads and a concert hall. Even if they were to expand it, I can't see them being able to fit more than 20,000 seats there, which is well below MLB standards.

 

I agree.  I looked it up on maps, and I don't see how they even can expand it.  He talked about 30,000 fans watching the team, I don't see how that's possible short of closing off streets, and even then it seems iffy at best.

 

 

 

[GDAWG]

I saw Sternberg's nose grow many times in that press conference.