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Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn
You don't know what you're talking about. The Rays consistently have very good television ratings. I mean we were breaking ratings records in our market the last couple of seasons. Rays fans are strong and support this team with great vigor.
It is not our fault that Florida's economy was hit hardest during the recession. And it's not our fault that Rays mangement didn't get a better TV deal.
You want the Rays...take 'em. We're really getting sick of MLB's propaganda to try and get a new stadium built on our dime!!! There's nothing wrong with the Trop. It's very comfortable, clean, and fun. We don't need an open-air stadium in 95 degree 95% humidity (feels like 120). The reason people didn't attend games was because of the economy. We were devasted as a community. The reason we don't attend now is because we are not going to be bitch-slapped like the citizens of Miami were by MLB in that debacle. What for? So a bunch of billionaires and spolied millionaire ballplayers can rip us off some more...as if a $9 20-oz beer isn't bad enough.
You want a new stadium...buy it yourself.
You really don't know the situation.
To the OP: Abstained
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To your point that the billionaire owners and millionaire players are trying to rip us off, I totally agree. What happened in Miami, and in Minneapolis amounts to legally sanctioned extortion.
That being said, it would figure that the Rays would wait until 2008 (the start of the great recession) to not suck, so that the local fans couldn't afford World Series tickets. In all honesty the fans said "build a winning team" and they did; they said, "invest in the team" and they did. Still, the Rays are at the bottom in attendance. The waterfront deal was going to use only private funds (just public land) and it got blocked. Now they want to be on the right side of the bay, and there's a ton of opposition, but still nobody in the Trop. Every time I've been there, we've been outnumbered by Yankee fans, Red Sox fans (I would say Tigers fans, but when I went to those games, I was there to see the Tigers). The last time I was there, I nearly broke my neck; the steps in the outfield bleachers are uneven and unsafe. Even so, if you want them to quit with the relocation talk, fill the seats. I don't care if it was an outdated facility, even before it was opened. If I hadn't moved, I'd still be attending games.