The first-place San Diego Padres - with their state-of-the-art Downtown ballpark - are having the same problem the Rays have encountered: a fantastic season has resulted in soaring TV ratings, but not soaring ticket sales:
"This is ridiculous,"” said Isaac de la Fuente, a Dodgers fan who attended Tuesday’s 2-1 Padres win against L.A. “You’re in a pennant race, (playing) against your most hated rival and you can’t come close to filling your stadium.”The San Diego Union-Tribune suggests the economy may be the biggest culprit, but it also suggests a problem not only the Rays but also NFL teams are encountering across the country:
Why pay for tickets that cost as much as $61, plus $8 beers, $5 hot dogs and $10 for parking when you can watch the games on your big-screen, high-definition TV with your feet propped up in the comfort of your living room?The Padres are still averaging 26,038 fans per game - good enough for 19th in the league. The Rays, meanwhile, have sagged to a 22,679/game average - 23rd in the league and the worst of any playoff contender.
At this point, it is reasonable to conclude the Rays are battling the (first-place-for-now) Bucs for the few expendable entertainment dollars available in Tampa Bay.
Exactly - it's not the team so much as it is the soaking you take the minute you get out of your car at the stadium: parking, concessions, fan gear... As cheap as the ticket ranges might be, the bait and switch to get us in and paying through the nose for everything. The same goes for the Bucs games. Prices need to come down.
ReplyDeleteAt least the Bucs have admitted the problem is first and foremost the economy. Two months ago they saw it coming and actually released some of the results of a study by the NFL that showed that the Tampa Bay market had been hit harder than any NFL market in the country by the recession.... Wish the Rays would finally recognize that and quit attacking their fan base, but that wouldn't really help their motives of leaving the Bay area.
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