DG_ThenNowForever Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 33 minutes ago, See Red said: Don't know how anybody can look at the Lightning and not realize that if you gave the Rays a stadium that wasn't a pain in the dick to get to and an owner that was halfway likeable, people would show up. Counterpoint: it's the playoffs. Tampa isn't a baseball market. If it were, people would show up for the playoffs. 3 Quote 1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said: and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridleylash Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 11 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said: Counterpoint: it's the playoffs. Tampa isn't a baseball market. If it were, people would show up for the playoffs. Counter-counterpoint: that successful season sure as hell didn't help the Senators' attendance in the 2017 playoffs, and Ottawa's about as traditional a hockey market as one could expect. When a team consistently ends up rebuilding after getting close, it's naturally understandable fans wouldn't necessarily be flocking to the stands, especially with how many of them the owner's probably pissed off by this point with all of his antics. Combine those two factors with an decrepit and out of the way arena and attendance is bound to suffer for most teams. "Terrible owner, decrepit arena located way out of the way and low record of consistent success causing dwindling attendance" are the three key ingredients that caused the Expos to move out of La Belle Province, and consensus generally is that Montréal is still a viable baseball market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
See Red Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 43 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said: Counterpoint: it's the playoffs. Tampa isn't a baseball market. If it were, people would show up for the playoffs. If I were dying and my only chance of survival was getting life saving treatment on the other side of that bridge on a Thursday night, I'd have to think about it. They have the lowest population within 30 minutes of the stadium in the league and the team that has the second lowest has 2x as many people. There's also, as you can imagine, a direct correlation between that and attendance. Particularly weeknight attendance. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMU Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 14 hours ago, Ridleylash said: And a team in the midst of trying to pull off one of the most blatant relocation ploys in recent memory playing in one of the worst ballparks in the MLB. At the end of the day, this is pretty decent for a team that's both as historically unsuccessful as the Rays have tended to be and are in the midst of trying to fulfil a loudly-broadcasted and massively-unpopular dual city setup. Plus, MLB attendance going down across the board doesn't help matters, either; even markets like NY are seeing declining numbers, so it's really a baseball problem in general. That's not a valid excuse. This is a team that has made the playoffs 50% of the time since 2008 and has two World Series berths in the most competitive division in the sport (and is on a three-year postseason streak). You can blame the location but you can't blame the team's success when they're being outdrawn constantly by the dregs of the league. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waffles Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 The Wall Street Journal has a good piece (paywalled) summarizing where things stand right now with the Montreal/Tampa snowbird scenario. It even has a logo mashup as awkward as the arraignment it describes: And here's are the key paragraphs: Quote Now the Rays are approaching a crossroads. Their lease at Tropicana Field expires after 2027, meaning they are running out of time to set a course for their future. It has led to a bizarre juxtaposition: a juggernaut baseball team dominating the competition, while its executives desperately try to convince the community to let it spend its summers in Canada. “We’re not missing by a few thousand people a night. We’re less than half from where we need to be with an absolutely incredible team,” Auld said in his speech. “The sister city plan deserves a chance to be heard by open minds.” The idea, as the Rays envision it, would require the construction of two relatively small open-air stadiums, one in Montreal and the other either in Tampa or St. Petersburg. Combined, they would cost less than the $1 billion-plus a retractable roof stadium in Florida would run. The Rays would spend spring training and the first few months of the season in the Tampa Bay area, before jetting up to Montreal when the Florida weather becomes unmanageable, like classic snowbirds. The two cities would alternate hosting postseason appearances. Montreal’s former MLB franchise, the Expos, relocated to Washington and became the Nationals in 2005 after years of dismal attendance. (No word on whether a Tampa Bay/Montreal team would be called the ExRays.) And SportsNet has this interesting speculation: Quote My gut reaction? The Rays will be a Montreal-based team — full-time, not shared — by 2027 after extricating themselves from their lease at the Trop. They won’t play in the American League East, though: rather, the Rays will be a National League team as a peace offering to the Blue Jays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCall Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 1 hour ago, Waffles said: The Wall Street Journal has a good piece (paywalled) summarizing where things stand right now with the Montreal/Tampa snowbird scenario. It even has a logo mashup as awkward as the arraignment it describes: And here's are the key paragraphs: And SportsNet has this interesting speculation: If they were to move to the NL East, who would switch to the AL East? Miami? Still the same travel for the rest of the division, maybe even farther. Quote https://dribbble.com/MakaioCall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalieboy82 Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 1 hour ago, McCall said: If they were to move to the NL East, who would switch to the AL East? Miami? Still the same travel for the rest of the division, maybe even farther. now we can have this if that happens: 4 Quote so long and thanks for all the fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Comet Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 If Texas can handle two teams in the same league, then Canada can do the same. Would actually be nice to see a regular north of the border rivalry. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBTV Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Washington or Miami make the most sense to move. Nobody cares about the Marlins so it would be break-even for the AL East (expect they'd get a bad team to beat on) and Washington hasn't really developed any rivalries in the NL East and I doubt the other teams are realizing any money that's in line with its market size, so unless Baltimore would object (which is likely) they could go. Quote "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 5 hours ago, Waffles said: And SportsNet has this interesting speculation: "As the owners of the Blue Jays, we expect a peace offering to the Blue Jays." They're right, though, the Expos should be an NL team. Given the telecom duopoly that Canada is under, it only makes sense to have one league per national network (TSN would surely run the Expos coast-to-coast-to-coast). And yes, the Marlins should be the ones to switch. 52 minutes ago, Red Comet said: If Texas can handle two teams in the same league, then Canada can do the same. Would actually be nice to see a regular north of the border rivalry. Both Texas teams in the same league sucks too! 4 Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 21 hours ago, Ridleylash said: consensus generally is that Montréal is still a viable baseball market. No it's not. 5 Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAD! Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 If the Rays do move from Tampa Bay to Montreal, I hope that they retain Wade Boggs and Don Zimmer's retired numbers and the Habs to negotiate a trade for Youppi! Quote I saw, I came, I left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDAWG Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Unless Jeff Vinik buys the team, they are as good as gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueYankee26 Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Tampa Bay Rays consider state help for proposed Ybor City stadium site https://www.wfla.com/sports/rays/tampa-bay-rays-consider-state-help-for-proposed-ybor-city-stadium-site/ So it is Ybor or Montreal... Quote trueyankee26.wordpress.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont care Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 29 minutes ago, TrueYankee26 said: Tampa Bay Rays consider state help for proposed Ybor City stadium site https://www.wfla.com/sports/rays/tampa-bay-rays-consider-state-help-for-proposed-ybor-city-stadium-site/ So it is Ybor or Montreal... They are playing both to try to get a stadium in either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBTV Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 1 hour ago, TrueYankee26 said: Tampa Bay Rays consider state help for proposed Ybor City stadium site https://www.wfla.com/sports/rays/tampa-bay-rays-consider-state-help-for-proposed-ybor-city-stadium-site/ So it is Ybor or Montreal... I watched the video, and the fan interviewed at the end did seem to confirm the inconvenient location issue that some here have been mentioning. While I don't know if there's any evidence it would succeed in Ybor City, I'm certainly more willing to accept that it hasn't been given the fair chance I maybe thought it had been. One thing I don't understand, is how the split-city plan calls for two small stadiums. That doesn't make sense, unless they're conceding that very few people will come even if it's centrally located. Playing half the games in one city doesn't mean that the stadium only has to support half the people. I don't really understand the logic - if it's all financially based, wouldn't having more people in there increase revenue? And if they don't think more people would come, why are they even considering this, rather than looking elsewhere (maybe there is no elsewhere?) 8 Quote "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDAWG Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Tampa Bay Rays: "We are still going with the Dual cities/dual stadiums plan with full support of MLB" Rob Manfred: "We support the Rays plan of playing in two cities and two stadiums" MLBPA: "Yeah, we don't think so. " 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sec19Row53 Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 3 hours ago, BBTV said: I watched the video, and the fan interviewed at the end did seem to confirm the inconvenient location issue that some here have been mentioning. While I don't know if there's any evidence it would succeed in Ybor City, I'm certainly more willing to accept that it hasn't been given the fair chance I maybe thought it had been. One thing I don't understand, is how the split-city plan calls for two small stadiums. That doesn't make sense, unless they're conceding that very few people will come even if it's centrally located. Playing half the games in one city doesn't mean that the stadium only has to support half the people. I don't really understand the logic - if it's all financially based, wouldn't having more people in there increase revenue? And if they don't think more people would come, why are they even considering this, rather than looking elsewhere (maybe there is no elsewhere?) As soon as one gets approved the other is deep sixed and the stadium magically gets larger because they're only building one. 1 Quote It's where I sit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBTV Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 3 hours ago, GDAWG said: MLBPA: "Yeah, we don't think so. " Does the PA have a say in franchise relocations? Quote "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sky1324 Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 25 minutes ago, BBTV said: Does the PA have a say in franchise relocations? I wouldn't think so, but they may have a say in forcing players to split time between two cities. 2 Quote the user formerly known as cdclt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.