Sports
Rays’ Move to Hillsborough More Likely: Would You Go?
As political figures on both sides of the Bay say a move to Hillsborough could be good for the team, we'd like to hear from you East Lake. Would you be more likely to buy tickets if Rays games were played in the Tampa area?
This post was reported and written by Patch Associate Regional Editor Sherri Lonon.
The Tampa Bay Rays are having apretty good season on the field. But, it’s hard to tell that from the team’s home game ticket sales.
Ranked 29th out of 30 teams in average attendance, the Rays are struggling to fill seats at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The stadium itself and its location are often cited as top reasons why a winning team can’t get fans to come out to ballgames.
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MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has criticized Rays’ attendance.
"To study the attendance figures every day and see that they're 29th in attendance, it's inexcusable," Selig said in July 2012,according to St. Pete Patch. "Nobody can defend that. This is a very competitive baseball team."
After months of standing his ground, St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster seems to agree. While he’s said in the past he wouldn’t support the Rays looking elsewhere in Tampa Bay to play, he’s now singing a different tune.
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"If your goal is keeping the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa Bay until 2050, you have to let them look in Tampa," Foster recently told the Tampa Bay Times.
In light of that change of heart, Hillsborough County and City of Tampa officials are now scrambling to woo the team across the bridge, the Times reports.
Do you think Rays’ attendance would go up if they moved to Hillsborough? Would you go to games? Share your thoughts, East Lakers, by commenting below!
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