MLB Stadium Saga: Oakland/Tampa Bay/Southside

[GDAWG]

 

[FiddySicks]

13 hours ago, VampyrRabbit said:

Those fans deserve better than the indigity of the Republic being rebranded as Sacramento CA/City/SC/FC/United in ten or so years time and part owned by a Leicester City striker.

 

Sacramento missing out on top level soccer because of ownership and the lead investor pulling out is a travesty, and if it were my hometown team, I would be absolutely furious over how it all went down.

Yes, absolutely. And I can say with confidence that there isn’t anyone here who feels that frustration more personally than I do. That bid falling apart sort of changed the course of my life in ways I’m still trying to bounce back from. The shenanigans that happened surrounding that entire thing are infuriating, but they were self created problems. Sac Republic got what it deserved, and I can say that because I was smack dab in the middle of the whole thing. So many people want to put the entirety of the blame on Ron Burkle while ignoring the bigger, more glaring problem, which is the current ownership group who allowed this whole mess to happen in the first place. 
 

9 hours ago, WestCoastBias said:

I hope the A's stay in Oakland and Sacramento finally gets in the MLS just to see all your guys heads explode. 

 

This is what you don’t seem to understand. I would love nothing more than for both of those things to come to fruition. But there’s a sad reality surrounding both issues that some people simply refuse to ignore. The reality is that both ownership groups are incapable of getting what they want/need in order to get their respective projects done. They’ve both been operating in bad faith with the hopes that someone else picks up the tab on their debts, and both are now realizing that isn’t going to happen. 

[McCall]

8 hours ago, who do you think said:

I'm rooting for A's/Rays contraction, because that would make many more heads explode and I still haven't heard a single valid reason as to why either of these glorified farm teams playing to empty stadiums should or will continue to exist in a league declining in popularity. Just BS like "muh player association" or "they can just move them to [NBA roll call city]!" even though both teams have had two decades to make such a move and haven't because nobody's interested. Or talking about that 10 minute freeway drive on 275 across Tampa Bay as if there's landmines in the pavement and they would totally fill the house if they were in Tampa so people wouldn't have to make that treacherous journey.

 

Also lol lmao at Sacramento "missing out" on MLS. That's like me missing out on a Jayson Tatum themed bag of Ruffles. Who cares.

The Rays are an on-field, winning, year in year out, contending franchise. Their lack of attendance has everything to do with market/stadium viability, or lack thereof, and not the on-field product. Contracting a successful on-field team makes no sense when, in this situation, relocating them to a viable market would make more sense and actually be ideal, as they would start out with a good team rather than having to build from scratch as an expansion franchise. And possibly relocating to just Tampa could possibly have the same effect.

[tp49]

3 hours ago, FiddySicks said:

Yes, absolutely. And I can say with confidence that there isn’t anyone here who feels that frustration more personally than I do. That bid falling apart sort of changed the course of my life in ways I’m still trying to bounce back from. The shenanigans that happened surrounding that entire thing are infuriating, but they were self created problems. Sac Republic got what it deserved, and I can say that because I was smack dab in the middle of the whole thing. So many people want to put the entirety of the blame on Ron Burkle while ignoring the bigger, more glaring problem, which is the current ownership group who allowed this whole mess to happen in the first place. 
 

 

This is what you don’t seem to understand. I would love nothing more than for both of those things to come to fruition. But there’s a sad reality surrounding both issues that some people simply refuse to ignore. The reality is that both ownership groups are incapable of getting what they want/need in order to get their respective projects done. They’ve both been operating in bad faith with the hopes that someone else picks up the tab on their debts, and both are now realizing that isn’t going to happen. 

You and I feel the same way about this when it comes to the Republic.  Then again we've talked about it enough over the years.  The other thing people forget about Burkle beyond what the current ownership did is that it was Meg Whitman before that.  I had the card with the stadium rendering from the street party (remember that) framed and it's on the wall in my office.  All that said I'll be in the stands on June 3 when they come here just as I was last September when they played in the Lamar Hunt Cup final.

 

As for Oakland, if the city leaders really wanted the A's there the stadium issues would have been resolved twenty years ago.  That they haven't, and in the meantime, new buildings went up in San Francisco (Chase Center), San Diego (Petco Park), Sacramento (G1C) and Los Angeles (BMO Stadium) tells me it's more about the City of Oakland than it does about anything else. 

[GDAWG]

1 hour ago, tp49 said:

You and I feel the same way about this when it comes to the Republic.  Then again we've talked about it enough over the years.  The other thing people forget about Burkle beyond what the current ownership did is that it was Meg Whitman before that.  I had the card with the stadium rendering from the street party (remember that) framed and it's on the wall in my office.  All that said I'll be in the stands on June 3 when they come here just as I was last September when they played in the Lamar Hunt Cup final.

 

As for Oakland, if the city leaders really wanted the A's there the stadium issues would have been resolved twenty years ago.  That they haven't, and in the meantime, new buildings went up in San Francisco (Chase Center), San Diego (Petco Park), Sacramento (G1C) and Los Angeles (BMO Stadium) tells me it's more about the City of Oakland than it does about anything else. 

 

Inglewood as well with SoFi Stadium and the Clippers new Basketball arena, the Intuit Dome

[VampyrRabbit]

4 hours ago, McCall said:

The Rays are an on-field, winning, year in year out, contending franchise. Their lack of attendance has everything to do with market/stadium viability, or lack thereof, and not the on-field product. Contracting a successful on-field team makes no sense when, in this situation, relocating them to a viable market would make more sense and actually be ideal, as they would start out with a good team rather than having to build from scratch as an expansion franchise. And possibly relocating to just Tampa could possibly have the same effect.

If the Rays manage to get an indoor stadium that is actually an attractive place to watch a game in or near Ybor City, then drawing 30,000+ is more than doable. 

 

[The_Admiral]

20 hours ago, who do you think said:

a Jayson Tatum themed bag of Ruffles. 

 

Betcha can't eat just one while lying prostrate on the floor

[who do you think]

12 hours ago, McCall said:

The Rays are an on-field, winning, year in year out, contending franchise. Their lack of attendance has everything to do with market/stadium viability, or lack thereof, and not the on-field product. Contracting a successful on-field team makes no sense when, in this situation, relocating them to a viable market would make more sense and actually be ideal, as they would start out with a good team rather than having to build from scratch as an expansion franchise. And possibly relocating to just Tampa could possibly have the same effect.

 

One problem: nobody cares.

[McCall]

11 minutes ago, who do you think said:

 

One problem: nobody cares.

So you do care?

[who do you think]

5 minutes ago, McCall said:

I know you don't.

 

Lucky for them, your opinion is irrelevant (and lacking in logic, at that).

 

They've had 20+ years to scoot off to Orlando, Portland, Nashville, San Antonio, and every other winter sport roll call city. Why haven't they? Could it be because nobody cares and nobody wants them?

 

(don't even try the "muh lease" argument)

[McCall]

6 minutes ago, who do you think said:

 

They've had 20+ years to scoot off to Orlando, Portland, Nashville, San Antonio, and every other winter sport roll call city. Why haven't they? Could it be because nobody cares and nobody wants them?

 

(don't even try the "muh lease" argument)

It's called a "stadium lease", genius. Not to mention building a stadium in a new city.

 

You really shouldn't comment on things you don't understand.

[who do you think]

5 minutes ago, McCall said:

It's called a "stadium lease", genius. Not to mention building a stadium in a new city.

 

You really shouldn't comment on things you don't understand.

 

So they would have already relocated to a place where they weren't the 6th most popular major league baseball team in their own market, but building a stadium somewhere is like really hard and stuff. Awesome. They have to continue to exist, though!

[McCall]

16 minutes ago, who do you think said:

 

So they would have already relocated to a place where they weren't the 6th most popular major league baseball team in their own market, but building a stadium somewhere is like really hard and stuff. Awesome. They have to continue to exist, though!

Wow. How convenient that you ignored the first part where I mentioned their stadium lease. You know, at Tropicana Field? In St. Petersburg? Where they've played for the last 25 years?

 

I hope for your sake that you are simply a troll and don't actually believe everything you say.

[who do you think]

8 minutes ago, McCall said:

Wow. How convenient that you ignored the first part where I mentioned their stadium lease. You know, at Tropicana Field? In St. Petersburg? Where they've played for the last 25 years?

 

I hope for your sake that you are simply a troll and don't actually believe everything you say.

 

Because nobody - in pro sports or otherwise - has ever weaseled their way out of a lease before. 555comeonnow

[TBGKon]

On 2/25/2023 at 2:18 AM, who do you think said:

Or talking about that 10 minute freeway drive on 275 across Tampa Bay as if there's landmines in the pavement and they would totally fill the house if they were in Tampa so people wouldn't have to make that treacherous journey.

You really must not live in the Tampa Bay area.  That "10 minute freeway drive on 275 across Tampa Bay" is more like 30-40 minumum during peak drive time in the evening.

[TBGKon]

On 2/25/2023 at 3:22 PM, VampyrRabbit said:

If the Rays manage to get an indoor stadium that is actually an attractive place to watch a game in or near Ybor City, then drawing 30,000+ is more than doable. 

 

30k would be great, but in an 81-home game season probably isn't feasible.  Averaging 20-25k would probably seem more likely.

[who do you think]

1 hour ago, TBGKon said:

You really must not live in the Tampa Bay area.  That "10 minute freeway drive on 275 across Tampa Bay" is more like 30-40 minumum during peak drive time in the evening.

 

Yes I do live here, and no it does not take 30 minutes to get across the damn bridge, unless all the tires flew off somebody's car for no reason and shut down a lane.

 

Once you get into Pinellas? Yeah, it gums up. Guess what, large metropolitan areas have traffic, and it tends to collect on freeways. Life's a :censored:. People can and do get to weeknight Boston sports games, with regularity, in droves, coming from bum:censored: New Hampshire and pillshacks in Worcester, in worse driving conditions. So I don't want to hear it. Rays fans and Coyotes fans are the only ones crying like pregnant teenagers at the prospect of a 40 minute drive and how unfair it is and how you're not allowed to judge them for not wanting to do it. At some point, you just can't be bothered to go to the games and are an apathetic fan base. Sorry.

 

Also someone please tell me why putting the stadium in Tampa, and flip-flopping the traffic pattern and putting everyone in Pinellas County on the wrong side of that treacherous 40 minute drive across that really scary, crowded bridge that's apparently made of lava and used dildos, is the solution to the Rays' attendance problems. Oh wait, you can't.

[TBGKon]

2 minutes ago, who do you think said:

Also someone please tell me why putting the stadium in Tampa and putting everyone in Pinellas County on the wrong side of that treacherous 40 minute drive, across that really scary, crowded bridge that's apparently made of lava and used dildos, is the solution to the Rays' attendance problems. Oh wait, you can't.

Going by what you're saying, I think you might live in Pinellas and have a little bias.  Let me show some examples for the masses.  Both of these maps come from here https://www.draysbay.com/2011/6/24/2242433/draysbays-stadium-proposal-part-1.

 

This is an article from 2011, but the information is still valid today in my option.  The first map below is the current Tropicana Field location.  Red circle is 5 mile radius, and the blue circle is a 10 mile radius.  2/3, if not 3/4 of the circle is water.

 

Look how much of that area is water?  Guess what, pretty sure fish, turtles, and dolphins don't go to baseball games.

 

Below is a map of the same distanced circles, but centered at downtown Tampa.  Yes, about 1/4 of the area is water, the rest is swelling with populated areas.

 

 

10 miles in this area is 30-35 minutes driving, which moving to a center around Tampa would increase the potential population that could make a decision to go to a home game.

[who do you think]

6 minutes ago, TBGKon said:

Going by what you're saying, I think you might live in Pinellas and have a little bias.  Let me show some examples for the masses.  Both of these maps come from here https://www.draysbay.com/2011/6/24/2242433/draysbays-stadium-proposal-part-1.

 

This is an article from 2011, but the information is still valid today in my option.  The first map below is the current Tropicana Field location.  Red circle is 5 mile radius, and the blue circle is a 10 mile radius.  2/3, if not 3/4 of the circle is water. [snip]

 

A: As a wise man once said, "one problem: nobody cares" (about the Rays, that is)

 

B: Oracle Park is playing the world's largest violin.

[McCall]

1 minute ago, who do you think said:

 

A: As a wise man once said, "one problem: nobody cares" (about the Rays, that is)

 

B: Oracle Park is playing the world's largest violin.

Thanks for confirming our hypothesis that you are nothing more than a troll.