Peter Gammons

[ZapRowsdower8]

I feel the need to chime in. I have lived in the Tampa Bay region for about 16 months now and about 4 months ago I moved about 12 blocks from the Trop. It takes me about 20 minutes to walk to the games. I'm just going to go through some of the excuses people give for low attendance and try to debunk or confirm them.

1) The Trop is a dump.

Is it the worst stadium in baseball? When compared to all of the new "bells and whistles" stadiums of the past 20 years the answer is a big YES, but if you are truly going to watch a game its not so bad. Sightlines are good and no seat is too far from the field. The luxury boxes have the worst views. People often like to say, "Who wants to be inside on a Florida night?" The answer to that is everybody that has lived here for more than a week. A/C is a must. 15 minutes outside between late May and early September and you would be drenched in sweat from the humidity.

2) Parking is too expensive.

$30 for the Yankees or Red Sox is a lot. Fortunatly there are a number of private lots just 3 blocks away that are always only five dollars. Anybody that complains about this must drive with blinders on.

3) There is nothing to do around the stadium.

Again, walk three blocks north or east and you will find a large number of bars and restaurants. I know walking places is a foreign concept to most residents of this area, but they should give it a try sometime.

4) No public transportation.

This is true. The public transportation sucks down here. Hillsborough county votes in November for a one cent sales tax to fund light rail and improve roads. We'll see if it passes though, doesn't seem like a lot of support is behind it.

5) There is sooooo much to do in Florida!

False. Tampa Bay has an extremley poor arts community. They just recently opened a new modern arts museum that cost, without looking it up, $35 million dollars I believe. It is one floor and takes about 20 minutes to get through if you take your time. This is the pride of Tampa.

If your idea of fun is hanging out at an Applebees bar next to a strip mall then yes, Tampa has lots to do.

I could keep going, but I am making myself angry and sad that I live in this hell hole. Only 20 more months before I can move again!

In conclusion, St. Pete is the nicer of the two cities but most of the people live in Tampa and refuse to cross the bay. Unless if they can shoehorn a stadium into Ybor I dont see the point of building a new stadium becasue all of the same complaints (Except for the stadium being a dump) will still hold true.

[infrared41]

Was this it?

STP: Baseball in Boston borders on the lines of obsession. Why does the Florida organization struggle to generate a larger following?

Juan C. Rodriguez: That's been the million dollar question here for a long time. The Marlins get great TV ratings, but the problem is getting fans to the stadium. Weather is a huge problem. It's always raining somewhere in South Florida the hour or two before the game, so that keeps fans away. With a new retractable roof stadium set to open in 2012, weather won't be an issue any longer.

See, everyone talks about these vaunted Marlins telecasts as if their broadcast dominance is common knowledge, but the only thing we've found that even resembles hard data indicates a market share that, relative to the league and similarly sized television markets, is nothing to brag about. More people are watching at home than in person, but it's not as if there's this NESN-esque ubiquity that would prove the Marlins' relevance if only America knew.

No one said there was. The point was simply that the size of the crowds at Marlins games would lead people to think that Miami has no interest in them. The TV ratings show that there is an interest in the team. That's all.

[Legend]

Tampa Bay is just a bandwagon fickle area.

No one gave 2 :censored:s about the Rays until they went to the World Series. No everyone and their mother is a fan. Fanfreakingtastic, you have no loyalties to teams unless they win. But their loyalties only go so far, because they won't go to the games. They won't spend the money of the team they all of the sudden love.

The Lightning and Bucs are bandwagon teams as well. Bolts go to the Stanley Cup? Place is rocking every night even after. Now that they stink, place is empty as can be. Bucs win a Super Bowl? There's a waiting list. Bucs are awful for a few years, first blackout in a long time.

But the difference lies within those statements. Tampa Bay fans are mostly bandwagoners, but for some reason they will actually attend Bucs and Lightning games when the teams are winning. I'd say Bucs are a better example, most idiots around here don't give a about hockey.

This is a football town. The Bucs stadium is nowhere near my house, and it isn't in some awesome location. Yet I drive there every Sunday. Stadium location is no excuse for lack of attendance. When you jump on that Rays bandwagon like so many did in 08, time to show it by attending the games.

The Rays need to leave. Personally I hate them, but regardless of my feelings they aren't doing any good in this area. The owners are businessmen purely interested in money making. They will move this team to an area where people will go see a baseball game regardless of the teams record. I don't blame him.

I'm more likely to drive to Clearwater or Tampa to catch a ball game and see the Threshers or Yankees for $6 a pop.

[Camden Crazy]

The Trop doesn't help at all...hell, it was one of the worst stadiums in baseball in '97 when the Rays first started playing. Now that dumps like Veterans Stadium, Olympic Stadium, and the Astrodome are gone, it sticks out even more. It wouldn't stop me personally from going to games, but I can see why it would stop others.