Rays Attendance Discussion Continues: 9=8's Response
Lack of attendance at recent Rays games has garnered much media attention including:
The Heater: Where are the fans?
Tampa Tribune: Rays Churn Through Empty Seat of Blue
St. Pete Times: Pennant Fevor? Not Around Here
I recently wrote an article trying to put some context on the Rays attendance issue that has been much discussed recently (especially in light of the 13,000 and 12,000 "strong" crowds for the currently ongoing home stand - I'm proud to say I was one of the 13,000 and will be going tonight as well with my son). The piece was called "Understanding Attendance: Tampa Bay Rays and the Trop 2008" and I tried to explain why our attendance figures are not all that great (or why they are actually pretty good, all things considered). In short, there are a number of reasons discussed and data shared to put things into context. One that I did not discuss was the impact of school starting (August 18th in Hillsborough Cuunty and August 19th in Pinellas County). Below is a comment I made on The Heater blog earlier today. I'll track attendance and post an update at the end of the season.
----------------------------------------------
Since everyone keeps saying "other cities have school, too" here are the actual facts (not sound bites with no backup)
Boston 1st day of school: Sept. 4, 2008
http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/node/797
New York 1st day of school: Sept. 2, 2008
http://schools.nyc.gov/default.htm?mo=9&yr=2008
Chicago 1st day of school: Sept. 2, 2008
http://www.cps.k12.il.us/calendar.html
Tampa/St. Pete 1st day of school: Aug. 18-19, 2008
The fact is most schools in the US start after Labor Day, but TB area schools started Aug 18-19th. It's too easy to say stuff without backing it with the facts (a common thing on this board). Our attendance is still really low, but this is a big factor as the data show. More data for you to solidify the point:
Last weekday home stand BEFORE school started (vs. Cleveland Aug 4-6th)
Last Weekend homestand (vs. Detroit Aug 1-3rd):
Finally, all this talk about moving the team is way too premature. I venture to guess that if you had told "Stu and the Crew" they'd achieve the 2nd best attendance in Rays franchise history in less than 3 years from when they started, I think they might have been pretty happy with that prospect.
The Heater: Where are the fans?
Tampa Tribune: Rays Churn Through Empty Seat of Blue
St. Pete Times: Pennant Fevor? Not Around Here
I recently wrote an article trying to put some context on the Rays attendance issue that has been much discussed recently (especially in light of the 13,000 and 12,000 "strong" crowds for the currently ongoing home stand - I'm proud to say I was one of the 13,000 and will be going tonight as well with my son). The piece was called "Understanding Attendance: Tampa Bay Rays and the Trop 2008" and I tried to explain why our attendance figures are not all that great (or why they are actually pretty good, all things considered). In short, there are a number of reasons discussed and data shared to put things into context. One that I did not discuss was the impact of school starting (August 18th in Hillsborough Cuunty and August 19th in Pinellas County). Below is a comment I made on The Heater blog earlier today. I'll track attendance and post an update at the end of the season.
----------------------------------------------
Since everyone keeps saying "other cities have school, too" here are the actual facts (not sound bites with no backup)
Boston 1st day of school: Sept. 4, 2008
http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/node/797
New York 1st day of school: Sept. 2, 2008
http://schools.nyc.gov/default.htm?mo=9&yr=2008
Chicago 1st day of school: Sept. 2, 2008
http://www.cps.k12.il.us/calendar.html
Tampa/St. Pete 1st day of school: Aug. 18-19, 2008
The fact is most schools in the US start after Labor Day, but TB area schools started Aug 18-19th. It's too easy to say stuff without backing it with the facts (a common thing on this board). Our attendance is still really low, but this is a big factor as the data show. More data for you to solidify the point:
Last weekday home stand BEFORE school started (vs. Cleveland Aug 4-6th)
- Monday Att ~ 17,000
- Tuesday Att ~ 20,000
- Wednesday Att ~ 27,500
- TOTAL Att ~ 64,500
Last Weekend homestand (vs. Detroit Aug 1-3rd):
- Friday Att ~ 26,400
- Saturday Att ~ 36,000
- Sunday Att ~ 33,400
- TOTAL Att ~ 95,800
Finally, all this talk about moving the team is way too premature. I venture to guess that if you had told "Stu and the Crew" they'd achieve the 2nd best attendance in Rays franchise history in less than 3 years from when they started, I think they might have been pretty happy with that prospect.
Labels: Attendance, MLB, Tampa Bay Rays
posted by Blogging Man at
1:47 PM
11 Comments:
The voice of reason, and numbers to back it. Love it.
Go Rays!
Amanda - you and I both want to see more people at the Trop. But, the "bomb throwers" bother me because they put no thought into what they say. Even well-reasoned analysis with data is written off as an excuse. Well, I attend lots of Rays games and have seen the tide begin to turn, but it takes time. Attendance is up, there are lots of new season ticketholders and most people I know that have any interest in baseball are going to a game or two down the stretch. I predict 25k avg. attendance for the remainder of the home games and I think that might even be conservative. GO Rays!
We've been season ticket holders for 6 years now (ok, so we can't claim "we were there from the beginning", but definitely not bandwagoners). I remember days just a few years back when the Trop would be empty. EMPTY. If you yelled at a play, it echoed back at you three times. People would turn and stare - wait, there's somebody else in here?! I actually had a player come up to me once (tickets in the 100 level) and ask me why I came to so many games. "What are you doing here? Don't you have anything better to do?" I told him I was a fan and loved going to as many games as I could. He looked at me like I was nuts. I guess with all his time on the Yankees and such, he didn't get why people would bother coming to Devil Rays games. Of course, this was when I was an undergrad with no job. Unfortunately I'm in grad school now and working, so I don't go to nearly as many games. Maybe 3 or 4 a month. But my point is, attendance is pathetic for a first place team right now, yes. But for the people who have been there for the long run, we understand that this is a VAST improvement. If you're coming from an outside market, or not used to coming to Rays games, the lack of people is shocking. But trust us long-timers, and now the numbers to prove it; attendance is WAY up comparatively, and I predict it will only continue to go up. Rome wasn't built in a day, and attendance isn't going to boom to where it should be overnight. But it will get there.
By the way, sitting in 218 tonight. Hope to see lots of people there!
I have been a season ticket holder for 3 years now and Am thrilled at the rise in attendance...Seeing guys on Around The Horn calling the trop a "garbage dump" and "the worst stadium ever" is embarrassing...We know what goes on down here, not those reporters who hear things and aren't actually here....Plus things cant change soo drastically in 2 season...All the losing seasons turned a lot of fans away..Now they are slowly coming back to life...GO RAYS!!!
the owners are doing the right thing. PR whether good or bad is effective. tv, radio and attendance all counts. attendance will be there when the cake is out of the oven...we are still baking something here...you don't see the quan until the man is in the endzone...it's first down and we just made it to the red zone. attendance will explode when the points go on the big board
I agree with you all, but I am a little tired of hearing Cliff Floyd, Sean Riggans and Scott Kazmir talk about Tampa Bay fans in a negative way (all 3 of you are guilty). Tell those of us that come our that you appreciate us and hope to see some new faces in the stands. Tampa Bay does love baseball and will support this team, but you are not going to win any new fans by being whiny about it. Just keep winning and the fans will come.
here's the solution. charge all new york and boston fans $1000 per ticket and anyone with a tampa bay id $5. same incremental increase goes for the beer and hotdogs. that should get the seats filled for september.
I like that suggestion;) I actually expect attendance to be very strong for the rest of the year. If the Yankees will be more or less out of the hunt after this coming week, then I expect a lot of Yankees fans that live in the Tampa Bay area will hop in the Rays bandwagon as their hate for the Red Sox is such that the will be cheering for our boys down the stetch (e.g. if not us, then anyone but the Red Sox). And, the Rays story is so incredible that anyone that doesn't have a dog in the hunt will be pulling for the Rays.
right! i was at the 3/8/08 spring game with nothing but ny loyals..when we were beating them up..they were eager to take the stripes off then...in march they were walking the plank! TB..NY...it's till two letters...keep it simple just for the bombers, who seem to be living up to their name!!! as long as the Rays get the revenue, i don't care...i will be bring my camera to see how many ny'ers have cow bells in their hands...espn classic!
Great crowds for the Rays this past weekend! I'm glad to hear the radio guys giving props and hopefull the players will appreciate this as well (they certainly rewarded the crowds with two great wins!). I'll be at a couple of the games this week and expect large crowds again with the Yankees in town. Go Rays!!!
Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!
Post a Comment
<< Home