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Rays owner upset after Rays split season plan is axed, says Tampa can't support 81 games

Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:04 pm
Posted by Bench McElroy
Member since Nov 2009
34684 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:04 pm
quote:

During the 2019 season, the Rays came to Major League Baseball with an idea to one day split their home games between Tampa Bay and Montreal, with intentions of building open-air stadiums in both cities.

That idea was officially killed this week. Commissioner Rob Manfred informed the Rays on Tuesday that the league’s executive council put the kibosh on their idea.

Stuart Sternberg, the principal shareholder in the Rays’ ownership group, addressed the media on Thursday after learning of the plan’s demise. He said he has no plans to sell the team or explore other relocation options, rather stating that they never thought Tampa Bay wouldn’t work, they just preferred the two-location thing. When it comes to finding a new plot of land in the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area to build a new stadium, Sternberg said “we’re going to be very, very open minded.”

Sternberg took a shot at the fanbase on Thursday by saying that he doesn’t think the region can “handle 81 games of baseball… that just hasn’t happened to this point.” He refused to admit defeat about the Montreal scheme, theorizing that “partial seasons are going to be the wave of the future in professional sports” and emphasizing his belief that Montreal has “earned the right to have baseball back.”


LINK

Posted by sorantable
Member since Dec 2008
53006 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:07 pm to
Good. It was a ridiculous idea. If you’re in a city that can’t support a franchise, you need to find one that can.
Posted by SlickRickerz
Member since Oct 2018
2290 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:08 pm to
Is it axed for good or just axed for now with the headache of Canadian COVID restrictions?
Posted by WaterLink
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2015
20474 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:09 pm to
quote:

rather stating that they never thought Tampa Bay wouldn’t work


quote:

he doesn’t think the region can “handle 81 games of baseball


Which is it?
Posted by Jcorye1
Tom Brady = GoAT
Member since Dec 2007
76373 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:10 pm to
This is a tough one. Tropicana is a shite hole and they are not well represented by fans. That being said, why the hell did they sign that God awful lease?
Posted by DirtyDawg
President of the East Cobb Snobs
Member since Aug 2013
15551 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:11 pm to
quote:

theorizing that “partial seasons are going to be the wave of the future in professional sports”




The Harlem Globetrotters called, they want their traveling sideshow schtick back.
Posted by High C
viewing the fall....
Member since Nov 2012
59265 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:16 pm to
quote:

Sternberg took a shot at the fanbase on Thursday by saying that he doesn’t think the region can “handle 81 games of baseball… that just hasn’t happened to this point.”


Ah, but Montreal can “handle” half of those games? Yep, they’ve proven it before.
Posted by TheeRealCarolina
Member since Aug 2018
17925 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:27 pm to
So they wanted to build two new stadiums and split time at them? That’s stupid lol. Build that concept one that came out for Ybor and you’re set. This isn’t complicated.
Posted by OleVaught14
Member since Jun 2019
9727 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:27 pm to
quote:

When it comes to finding a new plot of land in the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area to build a new stadium, Sternberg said “we’re going to be very, very open minded.”


Such as building in a different city...?
Posted by GeauxD7
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Member since Dec 2009
703 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:42 pm to
Move them to Arkansas or Nashville
Posted by The Boat
Member since Oct 2008
175388 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:44 pm to
Why haven't they just moved to a spot in Tampa people can actually get to in the evening?
Posted by BallHawk
Orlando
Member since Jul 2011
6040 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 5:47 pm to
They either A) need to relocate to Charlotte or B) get out of their lease and build a smaller park in a better area where people will actually want to congregate
Posted by Lsuhoohoo
Member since Sep 2007
101851 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 6:06 pm to
quote:

So they wanted to build two new stadiums and split time at them?



No he wanted to date both of them and see which city would blink first and give him everything he wants to be exclusive.
Posted by LSUMJ
BR
Member since Sep 2004
20593 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 6:12 pm to
ridiculous they wanted their players to be away from home for 3/4 of the season
Posted by Pedro
Geaux Hawks
Member since Jul 2008
37997 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 6:13 pm to
For the sake of Tampa baseball fans they need a new owner. He seems inept
Posted by East Coast Band
Member since Nov 2010
66899 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 6:24 pm to
The Expos perpetually had poor attendance. Who wants to be a fan of a shared team?
What a terrible idea to pair up two of the worst MLB cities.
Posted by TheeRealCarolina
Member since Aug 2018
17925 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 6:30 pm to
Tampa isn’t a terrible baseball city because the Devil Rays aren’t even in Tampa, they are in a terrible stadium in a terrible location in another city that is convenient for no one.

Go where is convenient for your fans. The Braves moved to Cobb county to get to their fans and the attendance shows it was a great move. For Tampa, that means moving to Ybor City.

This isn’t chess, it’s checkers, but they want to play Freecell instead.
Posted by LSU Grad Alabama Fan
369 Cardboard Box Lane
Member since Nov 2019
13827 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 6:30 pm to
Can they move the St. Pete team to Disney World?
Posted by East Coast Band
Member since Nov 2010
66899 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 6:35 pm to
Tampa is home to so many Yankee transplants, how many true fans do they really have?
I imagine many fans will attend to catch their Yankees or Red Sox when they're in town
Posted by TheeRealCarolina
Member since Aug 2018
17925 posts
Posted on 1/20/22 at 6:41 pm to
Northeast/Midwest teams have fans everywhere because of migration and the amount of time the franchise has existed. It’s hard for teams that were founded in the 90s to really have lifelong fans when the only fans that can be truly lifelong fans are 30 and under.

There are a lot of people in the Carolinas who are Redskins/Falcons fans simply because those two teams were the two closest to the Carolina until the Panthers came about.

Look at the Titans, they only have a small fanbase because they’ve only been there for what? 24-25 years. A lot of the older Nashville residents who are NFL fans were probably Bengals, Colts, or Redskins fans. Sure some of them switched over when the Titans came to town, but if you’ve been a fan of a team for 30-40 years, are you going to automatically switch over just because another city’s team upped and moved?
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