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Stadium Arcadium

(originally posted by me on FanHome and modified for Boltsmag -- JF)

There was a piece in the New York Times yesterday about the upcoming Rays series in Orlando. Within the story, Stu Sternberg -- the Rays managing partner -- is quoted as saying "Baseball does not feel right indoors," and that Tropicana Field "We recognize it has a shelf life of five years."

This has stirred up a hornets nest of discussion as well as Sternberg having to further explain his comments. He's not lobbying for a new stadium, he's not asking for a new stadium, he's not demanding a new stadium... He and his investment partners have put 20 million dollars into Tropicana Field the last two seasons and those monies weren't just a five year investment when a much larger piece of change would be required if the team were planning to lobby for a new park.

To describe the situation as Rays fans know it -- Tropicana Field won't be replaced any time soon, especially with how crappy the ballclub has been since it's inception nine years ago. It doesn't warrant that kind of investment -- no matter how much harping out-of-towners say about the park (or even locals who don't attend games, citing the stadium as an excuse). The team is also locked in to a 30 year lease with hefty fines for breaking it... That alone locks the team in to St. Petersburg.

That being said, a dialog about a new stadium isn't a horrid thing -- it's the absolution that a new stadium is needed and now because of blah, blah, blah. Insert your reasoning here.

I made mention in November of a St. Petersburg Times snippet about the Rays starting a dialog about a new ballpark. I don't recall this being brought up in the latest hoopla or not. Regardless, there are two absolutes that need to remembered with the Rays and any talk of a new venue:

 

Tropicana Field is 16 years old, the stadium design itself was a relic of the 1970’s to keep the building energy efficient. The location of the stadium (downtown St. Petersburg) and it’s design have been debated and put into question time and time again over the course of the Rays existence

 

 

The Rays have no hope for a new venue as long as the team stays as pathetic as they have been since their inception. It’s just noteworthy the team is putting it’s toe in the pool regarding the stadium situation.

 

The second quote is the stronger reasoning. Both the Lightning and the Buccaneers offered the Tampa Bay sports fans a taste of competitiveness in order to earn the right to have the community invest in a new venue. The Rays haven't even come close yet, and until they do, a new venue and talk of one is just a pipe dream.

Humor me though, there's a new poll here at Boltsmag asking readers where in the region a new Rays ballpark should be...

[poll=6]

0 recs  |  Comment 2 comments

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Expectations Rays'd

Oct 2008 by John Fontana - 0 comments

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I was always told, if you do something always give it your best. Don’t strive to be mediocre or ordinary and always try to impress. This is why I do not support the Devil Rays with any enthusiasm. The ownership is not dedicated to winning as much as they are writing off taxes or who knows what. The fans of Tampa Bay are cheated by these half hearted attempts at baseball, and the ownership should be embarrassed for putting a product on the field that they know is destined to fail miserably year after year. Ten years is way too long to continue to have a sub-500 club. I believe if they really chose to leave Tampa Bay it really wouldn’t bother anyone that much.

by Tim on May 13, 2007 9:32 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I think the stadium is actually in a good spot. It just needs to be modified to remove the roof is possible. I think it’s good that the sports venues in Tampa bay are a little spread apart. It’s hard to tell if more people would show up to games if it were in Tampa and then I doubt it would be enough people to make it worth the cost. Other than improved team performance, the missing link here is increased options in getting to the park. Maybe the rays should run shuttles for weekend games from tampa, brandon, new tampa…

by Jacob Varghese on May 17, 2007 12:34 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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