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MLB Stadium Saga: Oakland/Tampa Bay/Southside


So_Fla

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How about Buffalo? I've read an article a while ago that Buffalo was seeking an MLB team around 25 years ago, and they used the successes of the Bisons as proof. But MLB decided that they city was "too small of a market," and elected to give new franchises to Miami and Denver, instead (the eventual Marlins and Rockies).

Why can't Buffalo be an option for the Rays today? I don't exactly have detail on the Bisons today, but it would certainly help travel arrangements for the AL East teams.

Is this a serious post?

I swear, people just look at cities that have other major teams, and just automatically assume that they're big flourishing cities.

There are a lot of cities that if the leagues were starting up today, wouldn't have teams. Nothing against those cities, but the economic climate was different back in the day before some industries either left town or other things happened to cause them to lose population and affluence. Buffalo seems to do a fine job supporting the Bills and Sabers (at least when they're good) but there's no way it's a candidate for another team. If we were starting from scratch, the Bills probably wouldn't even be there.

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"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."

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I've always heard that Buffalo was talked about for expansion back in the 80's and our AAA ballpark is supposed to be expandable, but just no. We might be able to fill a stadium maybe, but I don't think the corporate money is there in any fashion. I'd wager that we're one of the worst markets for big corporate headquarters. We're almost always the #3 US market for Stanley Cup Finals behind the two teams that are actually in it, and I think we do well in NFL Playoff ratings after the Bills pack it in. I don't think we even register on the baseball ratings and I rarely hear anyone talk baseball around here; if so, only the big, big stories.

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I've always heard that Buffalo was talked about for expansion back in the 80's and our AAA ballpark is supposed to be expandable, but just no. We might be able to fill a stadium maybe, but I don't think the corporate money is there in any fashion. I'd wager that we're one of the worst markets for big corporate headquarters. We're almost always the #3 US market for Stanley Cup Finals behind the two teams that are actually in it, and I think we do well in NFL Playoff ratings after the Bills pack it in. I don't think we even register on the baseball ratings and I rarely hear anyone talk baseball around here; if so, only the big, big stories.

The Atlantic Cities wrote a great story on the MLB and Buffalo last July.

As both Coca-Cola Park, along with the Colorado Springs stadium opened in 1988, they are now tied for being the fifth oldest park(s) in AAA baseball.

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I've always heard that Buffalo was talked about for expansion back in the 80's and our AAA ballpark is supposed to be expandable, but just no. We might be able to fill a stadium maybe, but I don't think the corporate money is there in any fashion. I'd wager that we're one of the worst markets for big corporate headquarters. We're almost always the #3 US market for Stanley Cup Finals behind the two teams that are actually in it, and I think we do well in NFL Playoff ratings after the Bills pack it in. I don't think we even register on the baseball ratings and I rarely hear anyone talk baseball around here; if so, only the big, big stories.

The Atlantic Cities wrote a great story on the MLB and Buffalo last July.

As both Coca-Cola Park, along with the Colorado Springs stadium opened in 1988, they are now tied for being the fifth oldest park(s) in AAA baseball.

That's kinda scary; I didn't realize parks had sprung up like that for minor league teams. While looking at stadium ages, I discovered that Buffalo's is also the biggest stadium in AAA with a lead over the next ballpark of almost 20%. That was a really cool article for a Buffalonian like me who only knew whispers of that whole deal. It's a good place to watch a game. My only complaint is that the outfield looks out onto a tangled mess of highway, on- and off-ramps, and ugly property... if the stadium were rotated 180 degrees, it would look out right into the heart of the city.

Looking towards the outfield:

80u2348.png

And compare that to the view behind home plate:

bhp2334569.png

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Yikes. I didn't want to use this year's attendance to back up my statement, but this situation isn't going to clean up.

So, you didn't want to use relevant facts to back up something you said. Makes sense.

Well the relevant facts are these:

1. Marlins Park is 1 year old

2. Loria cannot sell the team until 2015 without giving a chunk of it back to the city of Miami.

I don't think that Loria is even leasing the stadium... I cannot find any information on lease terms for the stadium. In either case, Loria is pocketing literally every dollar than comes into the park. It's not as if he's going to get a sweeter deal anywhere else. The Marlins are staying put for the foreseeable future.

He's leasing the stadium and keeping every dollar it generates. He pays rent on the stadium, rent on the parking garage, and into an account that makes improvements to the stadium.

It's on Miami Dade County's website. You can google miami dade baseball stadium agreement.

http://www.miamidade.gov/internalservices/ballpark-resolutions.asp

1997 | 2003

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I've always heard that Buffalo was talked about for expansion back in the 80's and our AAA ballpark is supposed to be expandable, but just no. We might be able to fill a stadium maybe, but I don't think the corporate money is there in any fashion. I'd wager that we're one of the worst markets for big corporate headquarters. We're almost always the #3 US market for Stanley Cup Finals behind the two teams that are actually in it, and I think we do well in NFL Playoff ratings after the Bills pack it in. I don't think we even register on the baseball ratings and I rarely hear anyone talk baseball around here; if so, only the big, big stories.

The Atlantic Cities wrote a great story on the MLB and Buffalo last July.

As both Coca-Cola Park, along with the Colorado Springs stadium opened in 1988, they are now tied for being the fifth oldest park(s) in AAA baseball.

That's kinda scary; I didn't realize parks had sprung up like that for minor league teams. While looking at stadium ages, I discovered that Buffalo's is also the biggest stadium in AAA with a lead over the next ballpark of almost 20%. That was a really cool article for a Buffalonian like me who only knew whispers of that whole deal. It's a good place to watch a game. My only complaint is that the outfield looks out onto a tangled mess of highway, on- and off-ramps, and ugly property... if the stadium were rotated 180 degrees, it would look out right into the heart of the city.

Looking towards the outfield:

80u2348.png

And compare that to the view behind home plate:

bhp2334569.png

I love Coca Cola Field too, but I agree the outfield view kinda sucks. Home plate facing the city would be 100x better.

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Selig caters to the big markets...LA, Boston, NY and to Milwaukee.

:blink:

I know that didn't come out as you expected, but still.

Man, the Brewers must REALLY suck if one division title and one wild card is all they have to show for 20 years of a commissioner pulling strings for them.

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Selig caters to the big markets...LA, Boston, NY and to Milwaukee.

:blink:

I know that didn't come out as you expected, but still.

Man, the Brewers must REALLY suck if one division title and one wild card is all they have to show for 20 years of a commissioner pulling strings for them.
The Brewers suck.
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Well, since I created some controversy with the "cater to big market" comment...I'm not saying there is a conspiracy or anything or the larger cities shouldn't get some extra attention or have multiple teams, but what I was getting at was that how many Sunday night baseball games are the same teams: Yankees, Angels, Red Sox, Rangers, etc.? They will never have a salary cap because that would level the playing field some...especially with teams having their own tv stations/contracts to feed even more money. I don't fault them for being innovative or rich or playing within the rules at all. Milwaukee isn't big market. When typing, it doesn't come as to read as I thought. I'm not saying he was "pulling strings" for them, but since he has ties there, he made sure things got "done" like stadium issues, moving them to a new division...There is no conspiracy theory here. It's just the way MLB runs, it doesn't create a level playing field yearly. The rich teams have down years and the poor have up years, but how long do each sustain them? (And by no means do I give "poor" teams like the Marlins a pass for getting what they want and being cheap with talent on the field)

With all that being said, I hope the Rays don't move, but I just don't see him "moving" them to a state-of-the-art facility in downtown Tampa.

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Well, you're ignoring that Selig expressly prohibited the Brewers from having first choice in moving to the NL, no matter how desperate they were to do so. He gave the Royals first crack, to avoid even the appearance of favoritism, and to this day I still can't believe they didn't jump at the chance to be a Cardinals divisional rival.

As to getting the stadium deal done, what precisely do you think he did in Wisconsin that he didn't do in eight or ten other cities?

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I've always heard that Buffalo was talked about for expansion back in the 80's and our AAA ballpark is supposed to be expandable, but just no. We might be able to fill a stadium maybe, but I don't think the corporate money is there in any fashion. I'd wager that we're one of the worst markets for big corporate headquarters. We're almost always the #3 US market for Stanley Cup Finals behind the two teams that are actually in it, and I think we do well in NFL Playoff ratings after the Bills pack it in. I don't think we even register on the baseball ratings and I rarely hear anyone talk baseball around here; if so, only the big, big stories.

The Atlantic Cities wrote a great story on the MLB and Buffalo last July.

As both Coca-Cola Park, along with the Colorado Springs stadium opened in 1988, they are now tied for being the fifth oldest park(s) in AAA baseball.

That's kinda scary; I didn't realize parks had sprung up like that for minor league teams. While looking at stadium ages, I discovered that Buffalo's is also the biggest stadium in AAA with a lead over the next ballpark of almost 20%. That was a really cool article for a Buffalonian like me who only knew whispers of that whole deal. It's a good place to watch a game. My only complaint is that the outfield looks out onto a tangled mess of highway, on- and off-ramps, and ugly property... if the stadium were rotated 180 degrees, it would look out right into the heart of the city.

Looking towards the outfield:

80u2348.png

And compare that to the view behind home plate:

bhp2334569.png

As much as I like Buffalo and Coca-Cola Field, I think that there are 2 issues that I can possibly see with the MLB coming there. There are some luxury boxes, but I don't think that there are as many as there are in most MLB stadiums, which doesn't cause a problem for me, but might for whoever is making the decision to move a team there. Also, I'm not sure what the attendance is like most games, but the 2 that I've been to have been about 1/3 of the stadiums capacity (which could not be a problem because 1-It's minor league ball in a large stadium 2-The games were played at 1:00 on a weekday).

Note: I didn't mention capacity because they can clearly expand by putting more seats in right field.

Sporting Venue Count (for games): OHL: 19 (28 Total)- 770 games (after 18-19),

MLB: 13 (15 Total), NHL: 4

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Tampa to Orlando is like 4 hours with traffic as I recall. It's not close.

Nah, its more like 2-2.5 hours.

Geez. So one of you is bicycling and the other on a moped?

I can leave Tampa, stop for a quick lunch, and be at Cape Canaveral in 2.5 hours...on the other coast of Florida.

It should take you no more than 1.5 hours to get to downtown Orlando, MAX...I usually make it right at one hour, and I live just west of downtown Tampa.

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Wait the royals had a chance to move to the NL and DECLINED? What the hell were they thinking??

"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."

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My suspicion is that it was kind of like how Minnesotans will ritually decline something three times before accepting it, but the Brewers cut it short:

"Would you like to be in the NL, Royals?"
"Oh, no! That's fine! YOU do it."
"No! I practically insist that you do."
"Oh, no, no, you know I can't accept that generosity."
"okay"

*Brewers join NL*

"Okay, fine, if you insist, I'd love to take you up on this.

...

...

wait.

...

crap"

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As much as I like Buffalo and Coca-Cola Field, I think that there are 2 issues that I can possibly see with the MLB coming there. There are some luxury boxes, but I don't think that there are as many as there are in most MLB stadiums, which doesn't cause a problem for me, but might for whoever is making the decision to move a team there. Also, I'm not sure what the attendance is like most games, but the 2 that I've been to have been about 1/3 of the stadiums capacity (which could not be a problem because 1-It's minor league ball in a large stadium 2-The games were played at 1:00 on a weekday).

Note: I didn't mention capacity because they can clearly expand by putting more seats in right field.

I don't know if that's good or bad for 1:00 baseball during the week. I honestly have no idea how baseball teams fill seats in the middle of the day in the middle of the week.

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