RocketsDWM wrote: Atleast you get to do that. I worked for a minor league team this past summer and I was checking tickets as people entered a catered area. I had to ask them for their ticket before they went down. Awful job. You never know how rude people can be until you have a job like that.
Hey, maybe you will get to see some ALCS or World Series games!
I would really like that because we get rings if it happens...
As for distance, I met a guy last night who drives from Coral Gables and is a season ticket hold to at least 1 game a series. I mean that is dedication and with the lack of appreciation from some people it sucks.
But the main fans are families, and college kids... and with school back in session it cuts a lot of the families due to school the next day. Thats why there is a Spike in the weekend crowds. The stadium is very family friendly and thats why they come out. In places in New York, Boston, Chicago.. you have your consistent fans than a lot of fans who go because it is something to do, and it is more a social thing.
But it might take awhile for fans to get used to winning and start showing up, but we will not be able to tell for the rest of this year due to the schedule, because of the weekend, than NY, Boston, and Minnesota... so we will have to wait til next year.
RyanK wrote:I went to UTampa and have friends at USF, wish i was down their now id be at every game. The Rays dont do much of any advertising to try and get college aged kids to go (when they do its for Sox games or Yankee games), they need to advertise the dollar beers and hotdogs? on fridays and i think fan base also comes from growing up to the team, alot of the people in Tampa right now are former Northerners and people who arent from the area, it gets brought up though childhood. As with Hartford and the loss of the whalers, my generation (20 years old) and kids older and younger than me constantly talk about the whalers as we grew up to them where they were new to our parents generation.
Also if you you look where ST Pete is and if you visit tampa, its a bit of a trip to go see a game as its not the closest location for a family going to Busch Gardens or a Business trip to Downtown tampa and having to take a cab to the Trop. Build an adjacent statduim from the Times Forum in Channelside they'll be okay.
Oh, and the Lightning dont sell out, theyre with in walking distance of UTampa and I could get tickets for five or ten bucks off a scalper, might be a little harder this year theyre gonna be good
Ive only been to Tampa once when we played UTampa in baseball and they get a lot of love down there...they have been in the top 5 in the country the last few years. It is a shame the rays dont get the turnout the deserve
DbacksRback wrote: It is a shame the rays dont get the turnout the deserve
You have to give it some time. The Rays have sucked for so long, that there is really not much of a hardcore base at the games. I would be willing to bet that the Rays see at least a 100% increase in season ticket sales next spring and that will put the crowds up to near 30,000 for the season next year. The Rays have 10 more home games to add to their season total of 1,387,603. They will probably end the year with 1.7 million or so fans seeing them play this year compared to years of 1.1 or 1.2 million. That is definitely not Yankee type of fans, but still not a bad increase which next year will increase just as much if not more.
DbacksRback wrote: It is a shame the rays dont get the turnout the deserve
You have to give it some time. The Rays have sucked for so long, that there is really not much of a hardcore base at the games. I would be willing to bet that the Rays see at least a 100% increase in season ticket sales next spring and that will put the crowds up to near 30,000 for the season next year. The Rays have 10 more home games to add to their season total of 1,387,603. They will probably end the year with 1.7 million or so fans seeing them play this year compared to years of 1.1 or 1.2 million. That is definitely not Yankee type of fans, but still not a bad increase which next year will increase just as much if not more.
I would think the novelty of being really good for the first time ever and having a legitimate chance to go deep into the postseason would have caused a big attendance spike by now from the casual fans - the hardcore fans are usually the ones you need to sustain the attendance level, not to get it in the first place. On the bright side, they exceeded 30K fans for their two most recent games, so maybe the time for some big crowds is finally coming.
"The government cannot give to anyone anything that it does not first take from someone else"
DbacksRback wrote: It is a shame the rays dont get the turnout the deserve
You have to give it some time. The Rays have sucked for so long, that there is really not much of a hardcore base at the games. I would be willing to bet that the Rays see at least a 100% increase in season ticket sales next spring and that will put the crowds up to near 30,000 for the season next year. The Rays have 10 more home games to add to their season total of 1,387,603. They will probably end the year with 1.7 million or so fans seeing them play this year compared to years of 1.1 or 1.2 million. That is definitely not Yankee type of fans, but still not a bad increase which next year will increase just as much if not more.
I would think the novelty of being really good for the first time ever and having a legitimate chance to go deep into the postseason would have caused a big attendance spike by now from the casual fans - the hardcore fans are usually the ones you need to sustain the attendance level, not to get it in the first place. On the bright side, they exceeded 30K fans for their two most recent games, so maybe the time for some big crowds is finally coming.
The Yanks are in town for the next 3 days, so it is supposed to be between 25 - 30 K a night, although I have class all 3 nights
Bloody Sox wrote: I would think the novelty of being really good for the first time ever and having a legitimate chance to go deep into the postseason would have caused a big attendance spike by now from the casual fans - the hardcore fans are usually the ones you need to sustain the attendance level, not to get it in the first place. On the bright side, they exceeded 30K fans for their two most recent games, so maybe the time for some big crowds is finally coming.
It doesn't quite work like that.
2007 Rays 1,387,603--10 years of sucky play 2008 Rays 1,523,465 plus 10 more home games, going to be around 1,800,000
1990 Braves 980,129--after years of sucky play 1991 Braves 2,140,217--World Series year 1992 Braves 3,077,400
1995 Yankees averaged 23,684--after a few lean years (averaged since 95 was strike shortened) 1996 Yankees averaged 27,788--World Series year 1997 Yankees averaged 31,825
I admit the Rays players would have loved to seen a 91 Braves attendance increase this year, but 1/2 million increase is not bad either. But I do think for the rest of the season, the Rays games will be at least around the 30,000 mark for every game. And then in 2009, the ticket sales will probably be around 2.3 mill or so.
Bloody Sox wrote: I would think the novelty of being really good for the first time ever and having a legitimate chance to go deep into the postseason would have caused a big attendance spike by now from the casual fans - the hardcore fans are usually the ones you need to sustain the attendance level, not to get it in the first place. On the bright side, they exceeded 30K fans for their two most recent games, so maybe the time for some big crowds is finally coming.
It doesn't quite work like that.
2007 Rays 1,387,603--10 years of sucky play 2008 Rays 1,523,465 plus 10 more home games, going to be around 1,800,000
1990 Braves 980,129--after years of sucky play 1991 Braves 2,140,217--World Series year 1992 Braves 3,077,400
1995 Yankees averaged 23,684--after a few lean years (averaged since 95 was strike shortened) 1996 Yankees averaged 27,788--World Series year 1997 Yankees averaged 31,825
I admit the Rays players would have loved to seen a 91 Braves attendance increase this year, but 1/2 million increase is not bad either. But I do think for the rest of the season, the Rays games will be at least around the 30,000 mark for every game. And then in 2009, the ticket sales will probably be around 2.3 mill or so.
The Braves are a pretty fair comparison, population-wise (probably around 4 million), but they had a long and storied baseball tradition working in their favor -- people were coming back, not being won over, and TBS was bringing them fans from all over, too.
The Yankees are the most extreme case of an unfair comparison -- decades of tradition, and like 18 million+ people to draw from. The Yankees should be able to get 25,000 people easily, any day of the week with their pop base and density.
The Rays draw from probably about 3 million+ people, but the pop density is very low -- it is a 2-hour plus drive for a very large number of those included in that 3 million. (I am basing on 1990 census info, with some expanding of the market to adjoining counties and allowance for growth to come up with the 3 million -- maybe not the most accurate math, but close enough to demonstrate.) When I was a 'Sox fan' in Connecticut, I'd get to 2-3 games a year with the 3-hour or so drive. I'd get to NYC teams a couple times too. 4-6 games for the Rays is about as good as I can ever expect to do with the 2 1/2 hour drive I have now, and kids' schedules and other obligations have prevented me from getting there at all this year.
The Rays also have the whole Florida transplant thing working against them, as already mentioned. Many people are still Detroit, NY, Boston, Chicago, Atl, Baltimore, Min, etc. fans and are reluctant to have those allegiances shared with this new team, regardless of how old they were when they moved here. (I defected from the Nation with no regrets years ago! but my family is still Boston/New York.)
I think when ST moves to Charlotte County, the Rays will start to draw a lot more fans from this area, (southwest Florida) especially after their run this year.
It is going to take time, but the Rays are moving in the right direction.
Cafe Home
Fantasy Football
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
by jlm53089 » Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:59 am 
It is a shame the rays dont get the turnout the deserve
