Rays staying in St. Pete

3,767 Views | 42 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by MaxPower
fc2112
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So with Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland settled (probably), oldest stadium other than the old three is - Anaheim. Sale of stadium to Arte Moreno was voided a few months ago, so no yelling what happens with them.

After them comes Rogers Center, and Toronto is committed to staying or building a new stadium there.

And then Chicago and Baltimore, of which both clubs have puta. Lot of money into recent renovations. So this era of new stadiums may be slowing down for a while.
The Porkchop Express
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They're going to build an additional 9 bridges you have to cross to get to the new stadium which will be on stilts in the gulf of mexico.
Farmer1906
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Not a fan of that design.


Ag_07
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W
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they're going to stay on the peninsula?

that is a terrible

need to move east of Tampa along I-4
Panama Red
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Quote:

And then Chicago and Baltimore, of which both clubs have puta.


Most clubs have plenty of puta around. Rangers have putos.
fc2112
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Some better images of the proposed stadium.

dabo man
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Quote:

So with Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland settled (probably)

Kansas City is settled? I live in Missouri, and the last I heard, there were two sites of interest: downtown and Clay County (North KC). I know the Royals have shown sketches for proposals at both sites, but I don't think they've picked one.

For that matter, the only discussion I've heard dealing with cost is extending some Jackson County sales tax to help fund a new downtown stadium. I would assume county residents would have to vote on it, and I don't know how much of the park it would fund or where the rest of the funding would come from.

I've not heard the first word about how Clay County (with only 250k residents) would fund a ballpark.

Here's from 8/22, and they're talking about spending $2 billion. KC is really not a very large city.

https://www.mlb.com/news/kansas-city-royals-unveil-new-stadium-renderings-economic-data

Quote:

At both sites, the organization has estimated the development would cost more than $2 billion, split between the stadium and a surrounding ballpark district. The ownership group has pushed for a public-private partnership, asking for an extension of the current 3/8 cent sales tax from Jackson County taxpayers that is currently used to maintain the Truman Sports Complex. The Royals estimate their share of that tax would be around $300-350 million.

If the Royals move to North Kansas City in Clay County, they would ask for a similar arrangement.
South Platte
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St. Pete's a great little town. If you've got some cash, buy some rental property close to the stadium. It's going to be explode in value like Austin over the next 10 years.
The Milkman
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South Platte said:

St. Pete's a great little town. If you've got some cash, buy some rental property close to the stadium. It's going to be explode in value like Austin over the next 10 years.
Think it already has.

Also happy that it looks like I successfully waited out the Colisseum and the Trop on my list of visiting ballparks
NE PA Ag
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fc2112 said:



So with Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland settled (probably), oldest stadium other than the old three is - Anaheim. Sale of stadium to Arte Moreno was voided a few months ago, so no yelling what happens with them.

After them comes Rogers Center, and Toronto is committed to staying or building a new stadium there.

And then Chicago and Baltimore, of which both clubs have puta. Lot of money into recent renovations. So this era of new stadiums may be slowing down for a while.


According to MLB.com, Angels Stadium is the 4th oldest stadium as of right now.
Chipotlemonger
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Are they purposely going for a Church of Scientology look?

The Milkman
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NE PA Ag said:

fc2112 said:



So with Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland settled (probably), oldest stadium other than the old three is - Anaheim. Sale of stadium to Arte Moreno was voided a few months ago, so no yelling what happens with them.

After them comes Rogers Center, and Toronto is committed to staying or building a new stadium there.

And then Chicago and Baltimore, of which both clubs have puta. Lot of money into recent renovations. So this era of new stadiums may be slowing down for a while.


According to MLB.com, Angels Stadium is the 4th oldest stadium as of right now.


Yeah but no one is replacing Fenway, Wrigley or Dodger
Slackjaw62
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W said:

they're going to stay on the peninsula?

that is a terrible

need to move east of Tampa along I-4
Yep, they're building it in the parking lot at the Trop.
The Artist Formerly Known as Yokel
Farmer1906
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MisterFurious
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W said:

they're going to stay on the peninsula?

that is a terrible

need to move east of Tampa along I-4


100%. Location has absolutely killed their attendance. It's the absolute worst.
Legal Custodian
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Damn, thought a Nashville or Charlotte team would have been great for the league. Hopefully if they expand those two cities would get the first look.
Slackjaw62
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Wow, the Rays drew almost 20,000 people to a playoff game held at the exact same spot where they are building their new "ballpark". It's the fewest people to attend a playoff game open to the public since 1919.

This definitely vindicates management's decision to stay in St. Pete.
The Artist Formerly Known as Yokel
Sex Panther
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MisterFurious said:

W said:

they're going to stay on the peninsula?

that is a terrible

need to move east of Tampa along I-4


100%. Location has absolutely killed their attendance. It's the absolute worst.


I've heard this claim but I don't get it. I have a good friend in Tampa and have been there 3-4 times and we always go to St Pete and it doesn't seem that bad to me at all. And while I've never been to a game at the Trop, St Pete is pretty awesome.

I'm sure a Tampa native could explain why it's not ideal, but seems a lot better than driving from Dallas to Arlington personally
Cromagnum
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What's with the Rays and goofy ass ceilings?
Civen
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The Milkman said:

NE PA Ag said:

fc2112 said:



So with Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland settled (probably), oldest stadium other than the old three is - Anaheim. Sale of stadium to Arte Moreno was voided a few months ago, so no yelling what happens with them.

After them comes Rogers Center, and Toronto is committed to staying or building a new stadium there.

And then Chicago and Baltimore, of which both clubs have puta. Lot of money into recent renovations. So this era of new stadiums may be slowing down for a while.


According to MLB.com, Angels Stadium is the 4th oldest stadium as of right now.


Yeah but no one is replacing Fenway, Wrigley or Dodger
Or Yankee Stadium. Such a mainstay of culture. Nope. No way they'd ever do that.
Farmer1906
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Civen said:

The Milkman said:

NE PA Ag said:

fc2112 said:



So with Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland settled (probably), oldest stadium other than the old three is - Anaheim. Sale of stadium to Arte Moreno was voided a few months ago, so no yelling what happens with them.

After them comes Rogers Center, and Toronto is committed to staying or building a new stadium there.

And then Chicago and Baltimore, of which both clubs have puta. Lot of money into recent renovations. So this era of new stadiums may be slowing down for a while.


According to MLB.com, Angels Stadium is the 4th oldest stadium as of right now.


Yeah but no one is replacing Fenway, Wrigley or Dodger
Or Yankee Stadium. Such a mainstay of culture. Nope. No way they'd ever do that.


Have you been to them? Yankee was nothing like the others. It was basically rebuilt with renovations throughout its history. It sucked and had no classic magic like the others.

Speaking about Wrigley & Fenway, not Dodger.
MisterFurious
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Sex Panther said:

MisterFurious said:

W said:

they're going to stay on the peninsula?

that is a terrible

need to move east of Tampa along I-4


100%. Location has absolutely killed their attendance. It's the absolute worst.


I've heard this claim but I don't get it. I have a good friend in Tampa and have been there 3-4 times and we always go to St Pete and it doesn't seem that bad to me at all. And while I've never been to a game at the Trop, St Pete is pretty awesome.

I'm sure a Tampa native could explain why it's not ideal, but seems a lot better than driving from Dallas to Arlington personally


So, yes, St. Pete, Clearwater….etc. is a great area. Tropicana is located on the southeast edge of the peninsula. It's not the fun beach community area. It's awful traffic getting too and from the bridge. It's essentially an extension of craptastic I-4. It's just not an area where people go.

I'm trying to think of a back home (Houston or Dallas) analogy, but it's hard to compare because A). They're bigger cities and B) There are enough fans in the area to support a team even if they built in let's say….Frisco, or Sugarland, or Roundrock…etc.

Too many transplants in Central Florida to not have the stadium close to the better locations. Not to mention, that particular stadium is absolute garbage.

CapCityAg89
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MisterFurious said:

Sex Panther said:

MisterFurious said:

W said:

they're going to stay on the peninsula?

that is a terrible

need to move east of Tampa along I-4


100%. Location has absolutely killed their attendance. It's the absolute worst.


I've heard this claim but I don't get it. I have a good friend in Tampa and have been there 3-4 times and we always go to St Pete and it doesn't seem that bad to me at all. And while I've never been to a game at the Trop, St Pete is pretty awesome.

I'm sure a Tampa native could explain why it's not ideal, but seems a lot better than driving from Dallas to Arlington personally


So, yes, St. Pete, Clearwater….etc. is a great area. Tropicana is located on the southeast edge of the peninsula. It's not the fun beach community area. It's awful traffic getting too and from the bridge. It's essentially an extension of craptastic I-4. It's just not an area where people go.

I'm trying to think of a back home (Houston or Dallas) analogy, but it's hard to compare because A). They're bigger cities and B) There are enough fans in the area to support a team even if they built in let's say….Frisco, or Sugarland, or Roundrock…etc.

Too many transplants in Central Florida to not have the stadium close to the better locations. Not to mention, that particular stadium is absolute garbage.



Put it in Brandon and it would sell out every single game. This has got to be a payola decision. Just dumb.
HerschelwoodHardhead
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CapCityAg89 said:

MisterFurious said:

Sex Panther said:

MisterFurious said:

W said:

they're going to stay on the peninsula?

that is a terrible

need to move east of Tampa along I-4


100%. Location has absolutely killed their attendance. It's the absolute worst.


I've heard this claim but I don't get it. I have a good friend in Tampa and have been there 3-4 times and we always go to St Pete and it doesn't seem that bad to me at all. And while I've never been to a game at the Trop, St Pete is pretty awesome.

I'm sure a Tampa native could explain why it's not ideal, but seems a lot better than driving from Dallas to Arlington personally


So, yes, St. Pete, Clearwater….etc. is a great area. Tropicana is located on the southeast edge of the peninsula. It's not the fun beach community area. It's awful traffic getting too and from the bridge. It's essentially an extension of craptastic I-4. It's just not an area where people go.

I'm trying to think of a back home (Houston or Dallas) analogy, but it's hard to compare because A). They're bigger cities and B) There are enough fans in the area to support a team even if they built in let's say….Frisco, or Sugarland, or Roundrock…etc.

Too many transplants in Central Florida to not have the stadium close to the better locations. Not to mention, that particular stadium is absolute garbage.



Put it in Brandon and it would sell out every single game. This has got to be a payola decision. Just dumb.


Ok I live in Tampa and know a few politically connected people, and they told me what would happen 12 months ago and ended up being 100% right. Here's the full background:

-Rays had no intention of ever leaving St Pete/Pinellas county for one main reason: taxpayer funds. Per Florida laws, there's a limit each county can raise with the hotel/tourist taxes to go towards stadiums, etc. Hillsborough county has already maxed it out on Raymond James, Amalie arena, Florida aquarium, etc. Pinellas had lots of available unspent taxpayer money to use.

-All ideas floated about moving to Ybor, Montreal, etc were just leverage to extract more money out of St Pete.

-The new stadium deal is also a huge real estate play. Rays ownership + Hines takes over a huge piece of land on a sweetheart deal, and the county is helping fund the mixed use residential/office/retail space for them.

-Downtown St Pete is actually a very cool area, lots of development going on. No idea if this helps attendance in the end, but the Rays are going to make a bunch of money on the real estate play. They could give a damn about baseball revenue.

In my opinion, it's all a scam that the county got hosed and are giving in to their demands. But it happens all the time, and it's not unique to the area. I don't think the bad attendance is due to remote location (it's really not that far of a commute, 30-45 minutes from downtown Tampa with traffic). I just think the team does a bad job marketing the local community. They use the Turgeon tactic of guilting people to come, rather than make a better game day experience. Maybe the new stadium will be a fresh chance at engaging the local market, who knows.
Slackjaw62
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Farmer1906 said:

Civen said:


Or Yankee Stadium. Such a mainstay of culture. Nope. No way they'd ever do that.
Have you been to them? Yankee was nothing like the others. It was basically rebuilt with renovations throughout its history. It sucked and had no classic magic like the others.

Speaking about Wrigley & Fenway, not Dodger.
The original Yankee Stadium was a jewel box park writ large, but as noted, the Stadium where Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and the Mick played was stripped down to the studs in 1974, and what was rebuilt was not much more than a 1970s cookie cutter inside the old facade.

It did have a certain charm, though. The new place is soulless.
The Artist Formerly Known as Yokel
fc2112
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Thank you for that write up. Makes sense.

I go to Pinellas on business and we always go down to St. Pete. Very cool downtown area with tons of great restaurants and bars.
AustinCountyAg
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I agree. I went last year to New York for a series against the Red Sox and I thought the stadium was completely bland and boring. You'd think with the Sox in town it would be buzzing and exciting but it was the complete opposite. Very underwhelming in every facet. I'd advise anyone thinking they need to check it off the bucket list to reconsider. It shouldn't be on any damn bucket list.

Bottom ten stadium and experience in MLB no doubt.
GrapevineAg
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Slackjaw62 said:

Farmer1906 said:

Civen said:


Or Yankee Stadium. Such a mainstay of culture. Nope. No way they'd ever do that.
Have you been to them? Yankee was nothing like the others. It was basically rebuilt with renovations throughout its history. It sucked and had no classic magic like the others.

Speaking about Wrigley & Fenway, not Dodger.
The original Yankee Stadium was a jewel box park writ large, but as noted, the Stadium where Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and the Mick played was stripped down to the studs in 1974, and what was rebuilt was not much more than a 1970s cookie cutter inside the old facade.

It did have a certain charm, though. The new place is soulless.


Yeah, I saw a game at Yankee Stadium around 1989, and it most certainly didn't suck. May not have been the same stadium as in the '20s and '30s but it still had a charm as you put it.
CampingAg
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Someone compare the Trop's geography to DFW. The Trop is like if the Rangers ballpark was _____________.
Farmer1906
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Not when I went in 2006. I did a ballpark tour and hit a bunch. It was probably 5/6 ahead of only Shea but behind the Jake, Camden Yard, Wrigley, & Fenway. Felt very Frankenstein'd like a lot of college football stadiums.
Farmer1906
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CampingAg said:

Someone compare the Trop's geography to DFW. The Trop is like if the Rangers ballpark was _____________.


In Arlington?
CampingAg
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Farmer1906 said:

CampingAg said:

Someone compare the Trop's geography to DFW. The Trop is like if the Rangers ballpark was _____________.


In Arlington?
Right in the middle of the metro area and easy-ish for all to get to?
Farmer1906
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CampingAg said:

Farmer1906 said:

CampingAg said:

Someone compare the Trop's geography to DFW. The Trop is like if the Rangers ballpark was _____________.


In Arlington?
Right in the middle of the metro area and easy-ish for all to get to?


As there is no bay in north Texas, there is no comparison. But it outside the the main city. Maybe Fort Worth?
CampingAg
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By the sound of it maybe Fort Worth and two trafficky bridges.
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