MLB Stadium Saga: Oakland/Tampa Bay/Southside

[SFGiants58]

Thanks to the magic of the Wayback Machine, I rediscovered this clip!

 

 

That Dennis McDonnell guy is really on the money when describing The Trop. There's also that emphasis on baseball and the amazing St. Petersburg from the "Florida Suncoast Dome reveal" video, which time has proven an inaccurate assessment of the market.

[Olmec]

Just throwing my 2c in as a Tampa local who roots for local teams and left my former fandoms behind:

1. Getting to St. Pete sucks from where I live, so it doesn't make a difference to me whether it's the regular season or a playoff game. It takes very specific circumstances for me to venture out there. With that being said, I went to a single game this season...specific circumstances were actually exceeded.
2. All this talk about splitting time between Tampa and Montreal turns me off. I simply can't support that with my "hard-earned cash."
3. I treat sporting events as a way to socialize these days. I don't follow stats/standings like I used to when I was younger and had more time for random bs. Before the world went to :censored:, I was pretty much attending every weekday Lightning home game with friend/co-workers because the arena is 15 min from where I live and everyone in this group enjoys hockey. It's also easy to support a winning team. This same group doesn't care as much about spending their Sunday afternoons at a stadium and I'm perfectly okay with that so we don't go to Bucs games even when the tix are free.
4. If the Rays moved to the other side of the Bay, stopped talking all this Montreal nonsense, and kept the public contribution for a new stadium to a minimum, I would 100% become a season ticket holder simply because it would give me another thing to do during weekdays even if they started sucking again.

[GhostOfNormMacdonald]

On 10/9/2021 at 6:30 PM, Digby said:

The obvious answer is that it was a huge mistake to colonize Florida from the jump.

The acquisition of Florida puts John Quincy Adams solidly in the bottom 5 presidents

[B-Rich]

On 10/18/2021 at 11:52 AM, SFGiants58 said:

Thanks to the magic of the Wayback Machine, I rediscovered this clip!

 

 

"If you build it, they will come"

 

Places this worked:

1. Milwaukee (Milwaukee County Stadium)

2. Minnesota (Metropolitan Stadium)

3. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome)

4. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena)

5. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field)

6. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome)

7. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with spec-built Pyramid serving as a temporary home, but  they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team).

8. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center)

9. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena)

10. Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena)

 

Places this didn't work:

1.  San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise)

2.  Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet)

3. Quebec City (Videotron Centre)

[SFGiants58]

9 minutes ago, B-Rich said:

 

"If you build it, they will come"

 

Places this worked:

1. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome)

2. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena)

3. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field)

4. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome)

5. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with The Pyramid as a temporary home, but  they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team).

6. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center)

7. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena)

 

Places this didn't work:

1. San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise)

2.  Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet)

 

Don't forget Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota!

[Camden Crazy]

15 minutes ago, B-Rich said:

 

"If you build it, they will come"

 

Places this worked:

1. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome)

2. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena)

3. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field)

4. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome)

5. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with The Pyramid as a temporary home, but  they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team).

6. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center)

7. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena)

 

Places this didn't work:

1. San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise)

2.  Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet)

Probably have to add Quebec City’s new arena to the list as well.

[LMU]

Lost in the double city plan...

 

Free agents who signed in Tampa probably factored in the lack of state income tax.  Good luck telling them that they're suddenly going to be handed a hefty bill from the Canadian Revenue Agency every year.

[DustDevil61]

On 10/9/2021 at 1:34 PM, 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?)

If anything, going by the split-city schedule (and having the subsequent half-schedule in Tampa Bay and Montreal) suggests to me that, if anything, more Exporay fans would attend games in Tampa Bay and Montreal than they would if the team committed to one of the cities.

[dont care]

12 minutes ago, DustDevil61 said:

If anything, going by the split-city schedule (and having the subsequent half-schedule in Tampa Bay and Montreal) suggests to me that, if anything, more Exporay fans would attend games in Tampa Bay and Montreal than they would if the team committed to one of the cities.

How do you come to that conclusion when rays fans are up in arms about it?

[McCall]

56 minutes ago, B-Rich said:

 

"If you build it, they will come"

 

Places this worked:

1. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome)

2. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena)

3. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field)

4. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome)

5. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with The Pyramid as a temporary home, but  they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team).

6. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center)

7. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena)

 

Places this didn't work:

1. San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise)

2.  Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet)

It worked in Las Vegas with T-Mobile Arena.

 

And although it hasn't landed a major league-level team yet, the T-Mobile Center in KC has done very well without a major tennant.

[TBGKon]

50 minutes ago, LMU said:

Lost in the double city plan...

 

Free agents who signed in Tampa probably factored in the lack of state income tax.  Good luck telling them that they're suddenly going to be handed a hefty bill from the Canadian Revenue Agency every year.

I never thought about this until now, this will be a big point of contention for players.

[B-Rich]

2 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

Don't forget Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota!

Good point.  Updated and added.

 

1 hour ago, McCall said:

It worked in Las Vegas with T-Mobile Arena.

 

And although it hasn't landed a major league-level team yet, the T-Mobile Center in KC has done very well without a major tennant.

Las Vegas is another good one I forgot. Updated and added to the list.

 

I have heard the same about T-Mobile  Center doing so well in terms of concerts and events that they aren't really LOOKING for a major league tenant, but especially in light of the last year and a half  of the COVID situation I wonder how well they are really doing, and still think they would LOVE a big league hockey or b-ball franchise there... maybe the  Kansas City Tornadoes or Kansas City Twisters?

 

2 hours ago, Camden Crazy said:

Probably have to add Quebec City’s new arena to the list as well.

Hmm... didn't realize  it has been there since 2015.  Good point.  Updating/added  that to list #2. 

[Crabcake]

6 hours ago, GhostOfNormMacdonald said:

The acquisition of Florida puts John Quincy Adams solidly in the bottom 5 presidents

I don't know if it'll be in my signature, or my member title, but I have to find a way to immortalize this post.

[GDAWG]

9 hours ago, GhostOfNormMacdonald said:

The acquisition of Florida puts John Quincy Adams solidly in the bottom 5 presidents

 

He wasn't already?

[spartacat_12]

23 hours ago, B-Rich said:

 

"If you build it, they will come"

 

Places this worked:

1. Minnesota (Metropolitan Stadium)

2. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome)

3. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena)

4. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field)

5. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome)

6. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with The Pyramid as a temporary home, but  they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team).

7. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center)

8. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena)

9. Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena)

 

Places this didn't work:

1. San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise)

2.  Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet)

3. Quebec City (Videotron Centre)

 

It also worked for Winnipeg getting the Jets back. Canada Life Centre was built for the AHL, but they made sure it was made to NHL standards just in case they got the chance to bring in another team.

[OnWis97]

Was Milwaukee County Stadium built for the Braves or was it more of a Metropolitan Stadium situation?

[The_Admiral]

It was built to attract a baseball team and to accommodate the Packers, who I think were playing their Milwaukee games at State Fair Park prior to that. 

[Red Comet]

On 10/18/2021 at 5:01 PM, B-Rich said:

I have heard the same about T-Mobile  Center doing so well in terms of concerts and events that they aren't really LOOKING for a major league tenant, but especially in light of the last year and a half  of the COVID situation I wonder how well they are really doing, and still think they would LOVE a big league hockey or b-ball franchise there... maybe the  Kansas City Tornadoes or Kansas City Twisters? 

Chief of Kansas City Patrick Mahomes wants an NBA team here. As for the name, my personal view of any tornado-themed name for a KC-based team is that it’s as lazy as a team that formerly had a Native mascot choosing a bird of prey as a new name.

[GDAWG]

 

[Gothamite]

On 10/18/2021 at 3:10 PM, B-Rich said:

 

"If you build it, they will come"

 

Places this worked:

1. Minnesota (Metropolitan Stadium)

2. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome)

3. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena)

4. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field)

5. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome)

6. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with The Pyramid as a temporary home, but  they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team).

7. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center)

8. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena)

9. Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena)

 

Places this didn't work:

1. San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise)

2.  Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet)

3. Quebec City (Videotron Centre)

you forgot Milwaukee - the OG.