Rays Attendance 2009 (Here We Go Again)
So, with the Phillies in town and the first 2 games of a 3-game series being attended to the tune of 19,000-20,000, the debate about Rays attendance is back on. We've written about this before (click here for our analysis of attendance back in 2008) and will probably write about it again (that's so unfortunate). But, let's also not lose sight of some of the facts that were nicely outlined in an article in today's St. Pete Times):
"Through 34 home games (not including Wednesday's game against the Phillies), attendance at Tropicana Field had increased 23.3 percent from the first 34 games of last season. The spike translates to an extra 4,284 people per game. Only the Kansas City Royals, who completed a $250 million stadium renovation, have seen a higher per-game increase.
At the same time, the rest of baseball is struggling.
Attendance has dropped nearly 5 percent across the sport in 2009. Excluding new smaller stadiums for the New York Mets and New York Yankees, baseball attendance has decreased 3.7 percent.
So while the rest of baseball is trending fewer sales, the Rays are selling more.
To summarize, after posting the largest increase in attendance in all of MLB in 2008, the Rays are near the top in % increase once again in 2009. Yet, management is complaining about the market and the fans.
The biggest issue, in my opinion, is expectations. For one thing, the Rays have only been a good product for 1 season. I am a believer in the new regime and see all of the very positive things they are doing for this team (which is why I am investing in this team as well as a full season tickerholder). I was a little ticked at Matt Silverman's comments the other night and took personal offense to them as a fan and long time member of the Tampa Bay community. But, he did seek to clarify his dumb comments a day later when he said, "I may have said things about the market but not our fans — we love the fans that come to the games." Frankly, I'm still a little offended that he is not backing down from his comments about the Tampa Bay area. As a native, I love this area and I know we have a passionate sports fan base. The fact that he only loves the folks that pay him money does not really cool my jets all that much (but, I digress)....
CONTINUE TO PUT A GOOD AND COMPETITIVE PRODUCT ON THE FIELD AND PEOPLE WILL SPEND THE MONEY TO SEE IT!!!
But, it takes time to build a fan base and dissing on the community is not a helpful tactic. I see lots of kids wearing Rays gear while their parents wear Yankees or Red Sox gear. These kids will drag their parents to some games, but they don't control the purse strings just yet. Rays management needs to be focused on the product and stop venting to the media about attendance and the market. It's obviously not productive to do this (note the DECLINE in attendance from Tuesday to Wednesday).
If the Tampa Bay Bucs can go from the least valuable franchise in the NFL to one of the most valuable franchises in this lovely place I call home, the Rays can climb the franchise value ladder also. But, it takes a bit of time and investment! Continue to invest in this team as you have been and you will see the rewards (including a possible new venue down the line). If you threaten, belittle and otherwise hate on this market, you are going to lose the support of your most loyal fans such as myself (caveat: winning cures a lot of these hard feelings).
"Through 34 home games (not including Wednesday's game against the Phillies), attendance at Tropicana Field had increased 23.3 percent from the first 34 games of last season. The spike translates to an extra 4,284 people per game. Only the Kansas City Royals, who completed a $250 million stadium renovation, have seen a higher per-game increase.
At the same time, the rest of baseball is struggling.
Attendance has dropped nearly 5 percent across the sport in 2009. Excluding new smaller stadiums for the New York Mets and New York Yankees, baseball attendance has decreased 3.7 percent.
So while the rest of baseball is trending fewer sales, the Rays are selling more.
To summarize, after posting the largest increase in attendance in all of MLB in 2008, the Rays are near the top in % increase once again in 2009. Yet, management is complaining about the market and the fans.
The biggest issue, in my opinion, is expectations. For one thing, the Rays have only been a good product for 1 season. I am a believer in the new regime and see all of the very positive things they are doing for this team (which is why I am investing in this team as well as a full season tickerholder). I was a little ticked at Matt Silverman's comments the other night and took personal offense to them as a fan and long time member of the Tampa Bay community. But, he did seek to clarify his dumb comments a day later when he said, "I may have said things about the market but not our fans — we love the fans that come to the games." Frankly, I'm still a little offended that he is not backing down from his comments about the Tampa Bay area. As a native, I love this area and I know we have a passionate sports fan base. The fact that he only loves the folks that pay him money does not really cool my jets all that much (but, I digress)....
CONTINUE TO PUT A GOOD AND COMPETITIVE PRODUCT ON THE FIELD AND PEOPLE WILL SPEND THE MONEY TO SEE IT!!!
But, it takes time to build a fan base and dissing on the community is not a helpful tactic. I see lots of kids wearing Rays gear while their parents wear Yankees or Red Sox gear. These kids will drag their parents to some games, but they don't control the purse strings just yet. Rays management needs to be focused on the product and stop venting to the media about attendance and the market. It's obviously not productive to do this (note the DECLINE in attendance from Tuesday to Wednesday).
If the Tampa Bay Bucs can go from the least valuable franchise in the NFL to one of the most valuable franchises in this lovely place I call home, the Rays can climb the franchise value ladder also. But, it takes a bit of time and investment! Continue to invest in this team as you have been and you will see the rewards (including a possible new venue down the line). If you threaten, belittle and otherwise hate on this market, you are going to lose the support of your most loyal fans such as myself (caveat: winning cures a lot of these hard feelings).
Labels: Attendance, Tampa Bay Rays, Tickets
posted by Blogging Man at
9:38 AM
3 Comments:
let's hope that matt continues to see increases in like kind for his contract with FSN and their new and improved advertisers. surely, this is supported by the tv broadcast last saturday even with a non-sell-out pat benatar concert. guess the tv revenue was too lucrative to pass on...anyway, you are right. the fan base has yet to reach critical mass and it will...evidence is by how many friends todd kalas has in every road ballpark...they are increasing...and, let's hope the new jersey sales don't slow...since they were a bit dismal under the old logo...and, so the experts on AM have something to wind about, the lame attendance issue suffices. the real game is just beginning. rays' pitchers are hot, rays' batting averages are hot...redsox and yankees can feel the heat of a tiger-esse final round push by a baseball team loaded with potential...really, the only complainers in tampa are the non-ray fans from somewhere else who cling to their high priced teams, who by the way, we dominated in 08 and will again in 09 with 1/3 the payroll. those transplants are fearful of the return of the rays...for now, someone let matt know there is no crying in baseball when unemployment is 10.6%! really matt, is your GS low on hours?
Thanks for the comment. I'm starting to see more and more converts. A lot of it is driven by the kids. The great news is that we are very much in a pennant race and that's a lot of fun. Given our improving health, I feel pretty good about this team's chances of making a serious run at it again this year. If they do that, the attendance will take care of itself.
I just found your blog, good stuff! What are your thoughts on Burrell? Think he'll start hitting better anytime soon?
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