Monday, September 9, 2013

Sportstalk Station Launches "Save Tampa Bay Baseball" Campaign

Tampa Bay's 98.7 The Fan radio announced today is is launching the Save Tampa Bay Baseball campaign.  I'm not quite sure what it needs saving from...Bud Selig's boogeyman?

According to its press release, 98.7 The Fan is launching a "multi-tiered campaign to help keep the hometown Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in the region."

But it's website says, "It's unfathomable to think that Tampa Bay may soon be without a major league baseball team, but it's a VERY real possibility - and one we won't accept."  

Did Bud Selig write this himself?

The rest of its press release is below:
98.7 The Fan has launched www.SaveTampaBayBaseball.com to raise awareness that the Rays may be in danger of leaving Tampa Bay, as well as a petition drive to let Major League Baseball know that the Rays belong in Tampa Bay. As the local business community has been a great ally of the Tampa Bay Rays, the 98.7 The Fan Street Team will canvass the downtown area offering Save Tampa Bay Baseball window stickers to all local merchants who support the Rays.
 
In addition, 98.7 The Fan will host an official Save Tampa Bay Baseball Rally on September 12 at Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill – home of the 98.7 The Fan “Fan Cave” – before the Rays vs. Boston Red Sox game.
 
“At 98.7 The Fan, we strongly believe it’s in the best interest of the Tampa Bay community to keep Major League Baseball here,” said John O’Connell, Program Director for 98.7 The Fan. “We will support our hometown Rays every way we can, and encourage Rays fans and the Tampa/St. Petersburg community to join us.”
The "Save Tampa Bay Baseball" rally takes place this Thursday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Ferg's in St. Pete.

7 comments:

  1. PJSeptember 9, 2013 at 11:55 PM

    It's this kind of garbage that confirms the hick town status that Sternberg and Selig as well as most of MLB have come to regard Tampa Bay.
    There's nowhere for the Rayz to go that would be a long-term substantial financial improvement. If there were they would already have used it as a bargaining chip as St. Pete was.
    Wakke up folks, you re being played as suckers big time!

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2013 at 3:01 AM

    Pleaae pj. St.pete is a joke. Everyone knows it. They are a joke in the national media too.

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  3. scott myersSeptember 10, 2013 at 7:58 AM

    Regarding "the 98.7 The Fan Street Team will canvass the downtown area"
    which downtown area - Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater or what?

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  4. Kei TeaySeptember 10, 2013 at 1:05 PM

    This is pretty much the sports business equivalent of shadow boxing while on meth.

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  5. DavidSeptember 10, 2013 at 4:01 PM

    This campaign might not be such a bad idea. The Blue Jays and Mets will be playing an exhibition series in Montreal next spring. This is one of the few viable relocation cities out there. And before you poo-poo this as nonsense. Think about the reasons the team moved. Dwindling attendance, old park (tried to get a new one built downtown), couldn't find local ownership, poor canadian dollar crippled the team.

    Why Montreal would be a viable relocation. Canadian Dollar strong. Past successful attendance, averaged over 25k in the early 80s (something the Rays have only done in their inaugural season). A short term facility to host the team while new stadium built. Obviously new ownership would need to be found (Quebecor, Quebec cable provider), and a new stadium would have to be committed to (this is the same province building a brand new NHL size arena entirely funded by the public).

    If they draw 20k plus for these exhibition games and this St. Pete shenanigans are still going on. I'll start to get nervous.

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  6. PJSeptember 13, 2013 at 12:15 PM

    For a full-time franchise, Montreal isn't on MLB's (majority of the owners) radar.
    The "success" you bring up is more than 20 years old, nobody in Quebec (gov. or private business) has moved a muscle to start the long and expensive process that a mallpark needs.
    Professional baseball business has been getting out of Canada for the last 15 years, there's only 1 affiliated franchise left (short season) when there were as many as 10 two decades ago.
    The only reason the Jays are still there is because their ownership is a strong national communications conglomerate that has a stranglehold on sports platforms, anything less and the Jays would have been history.
    The "nervous"ness is born out of the Tampa Bay inferiority complex, Rayz ain't going anywhere because they can't.

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  7. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2013 at 12:40 PM

    Two words: ratings ploy. Have you looked at the latest arbitron ratings? This station has languished since its inception last summer and a good deal of talent has already been let go (Todd Wright) or left (Gary Shelton).


    Save it from what exactly? The team isn't going anywhere in the short term because it will be AT LEAST five years before a stadium will be built, IF anyone decides to even build one, and after the boondoggle that has taken place in Miami, don't expect that to happen anytime soon (unless someone with deep pockets decides to do so privately).

    It reeks of an old SNL skit when NBC was in the cellar in the Nielsen ratings, and a mock telethon was created to "save the network". If anything needs saving, it's one unnamed host being saved from the buffet line at a particular chicken wing establishment.

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