ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rays finished Tuesday with the best record in the American League, a six-game winning streak and the best winning percentage in the team's 11-year history.
That kind of performance would ordinarily help the team's campaign for a new stadium, except for these facts: Through a quarter of the baseball season, the Rays rank 13th out of 14 American League teams in attendance. In all of baseball, the Rays rank 27th out of 30th.
Even the New York Yankees, traditionally one of the top draws on the Rays' schedule, didn't help. The Rays drew just 13,932 fans for Monday's four-game opener, the smallest crowd in Major League Baseball that day.
Tuesday's game drew only a slightly bigger crowd of 16,558.
"We're certainly not happy about being at the bottom of the league in attendance," Rays president Matt Silverman said. "Everyone in the organization wants to see packed stands. And the players will tell you it makes a difference on the field."
People always believed that if the Rays won, fans would flock to Tropicana Field.
Do people now need to be convinced that winning isn't a fluke? Or are they waiting until school's over? Or until gas prices fall?
"You can probably go crazy trying to dissect the numbers," Silverman said, recognizing there are at least a dozen factors that could determine attendance. "We're just focusing on what we can control: making the Trop a great environment for the team and making it a great place for fans to watch the game."
This week, Rays manager Joe Maddon called recent attendance "a little disappointing."
The team's problems attracting fans are well documented. The Rays finished last in American League attendance the past seven seasons. The team's best year at the gate was its first, when the Rays were seventh out of 14 American League teams — still drawing 1.1-million fewer fans than their fellow expansion franchise, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
This year, average attendance is up from 17,131 to 18,344, but only the Kansas City Royals are drawing fewer fans among American League clubs.
People blame the team's record, or previous owner Vince Naimoli. Both no doubt are part of it, even the Rays admit.
But the Rays suggest that maybe a new, $450-million downtown waterfront stadium will boost attendance by drawing the casual fan.
"We think some of the negativity associated with the Trop is unfair," said Rays senior vice president Michael Kalt. "But at the end of the day, it's just about watching the baseball game. It's hard to get to that base of people who aren't baseball fans but go to games because they see it as a social activity."
Team to unveil financing plan
The Rays will reveal a preliminary financing plan for a $450-million waterfront ballpark at noon Thursday at Tropicana Field. The public is invited. "The plan will not require any new taxes," Rays president Matt Silverman said in a statement. "In fact, the plan should create new public funds in excess of those requested … dollars which can be used to help fund city and county services as well as Pinellas schools." Entry Thursday will be at Gate 4 on the 16th Street side of the stadium.
News
