Tampa Bay Rays vs. Geography: Why Tropicana Field is Always Empty

The Trop may be a bit outdated, but the roof is a feature, not a bug. You absolutely cannot play or watch day game baseball in the summer heat in St. Petersburg. The air conditioning in the Trop is quite pleasant for the fans. The logistics of getting to downtown St. Pete from Tampa or Clearwater are a lot more problematic than the stadium itself.

"The league wants a team in Tampa Bay". That is funny. I am old enough to remember when the league said that about Montreal.

It's because it's a nightmare to get there. They put it in the absolutely hardest area to access in the whole region.

I’m glad you pointed out the issue of how most people who live in Florida aren’t from Florida, and remain loyal to the teams/cities they transplanted from. I live about 10 minutes from the Trop, and go to 4-5 games a year, and usually at least half of the fans are there to see the visiting team. It’s also amazing how the cost of parking nearby is always higher when the Yankees or Red Sox are here, and more people show up without grumbling about the logistics. People find a way to do it when they want to. These issues are never an issue during spring training either, when all the snowbirds are here.

I grew up in Lakeland in the 90s and 2000s and I agree with 95% of this video. Thank you for mentioning us, we have a TON of sports fans but nobody from outside central Florida knows we exist. Florida does have many transplants but that hasn't stopped the Bucs and especially Lightning from getting home fans to the games. Both teams also play in Tampa. To get from my parents house in Lakeland to the Trop is at least 90 minutes during rush hour. To get to Amalie for a Bolts game it takes 45. Guess which team we had season tickets to? The population of central Florida has also EXPLODED the last 30 years but there are no new bridges to get to St Pete. The Rays either need to build in Ybor or try to buy the fairgrounds a little east of there near the Seminole Indian casino. There is just no room to build amything else out in Pinellas county.

I’m surprised that you never mentioned that Tropicana Field was originally as an attempt to bring the Chicago White Sox to St. Pete. If it weren’t for the Illinois state legislature’s 13th hour bill that funded the construction of New Comiskey (Guaranteed Rate) back in the late 80s, the White Sox would be playing in Tropicana Field right now

Born and raised a Rays fan in Tampa. You’re absolutely right - the Trop just doesn’t offer the same fan experience as more centrally-located urban ballparks, and the location in DTSP just doesn’t appeal to people across the bay. I live in Lakeview East in Chicago, just a 15 minute walk from Wrigley field. The whole area is dense, walkable, incredibly well-served by transit, and catching a game at Wrigley involves so much more than just staying for the game. It’s just so enjoyable to be in, even if I’m not a cubs fan! Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is the largest metro region in America with zero rail transit service of any kind. Add to that, it has an incredible walkable neighborhood adjacent to downtown - Ybor City - that’s going through a huge revitalization process right now. With ample space for a stadium and plenty of political will to move the rays coming from Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa, a stadium there makes so much sense. Just look at what the Lightning are doing with Water Street and Channelside for an example! It is the perfect location for a stadium. Build it!

From Tampa, went there on Saturday for a game. The traffic flow was fine until getting near St.Pete. Bottle neck!! Took hour and 15 to get there, 45 min was stuck in traffic for the last 10% of the commute. I’m a big Rays fans and the base is growing, but the Rays are missing out on generational loyalty and nostalgia. I’m 41, My kids will be Rays fans. It takes generations to create a base. I know many 40 yo people that are fans of other teams because that was the “family team”. the Rays were incepted when they were 20 yo. They never changed over.

The Suncoast Dome was initially built to attract a baseball team. The first team that it almost attracted was actually the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox were looking for a new stadium to replace the old Comiskey Park and was looking for public financing. When progress wasn't being made, the White Sox threatened to move to St Petersburg. It took a last second deal with the State of Illinois to get the Sox a new stadium. The new Comiskey opened in 1991.

Thank you!!!!! I got 3/4 of the way through the video and was like, "Yup, this video is just like all the others: hate on the Trop's design and blame it on the stadium's poor location." But then the last 1/4 was the Florida problem, addressing the Marlins' situation specifically. As a Tampanian who loves the Ray, I really don't want them to leave the Bay area. But reality is simply that I genuinely don't think Florida is a baseball state. I personally love indoor baseball games, but I get that most people don't agree with me on that.

I think it’s a Florida issue. As a Red Sox fan the commute to Fenway from the Western part of the state took about two hours and yes Boston has traffic too. Lots of Red Sox fans also travel to Yankee Stadium and other parks to see the Sox. The older fans in Florida are not Rays fans. My friend in TB tell me Yankee and Sox games in TB are like a home game for either team. People in Florida have other things they are more interested in, like boating, golfing etc

This channel deserves so many more subs! I love the topics you talk about as a huge geography nerd and sports fan! Incredible work.

As someone who lives in the Clearwater area, it still takes a shit ton of time to get there even from pinellas county

As a resident of Tampa Bay, I don't understand the push for an open-air stadium. I don't really want to sit through an 85° night time game

One problem you overlooked is that Florida not only has Spring Training but also the Florida State League. In essemce it means that there are Baseball teams only 20 miles from each other all across the state.

Lived in tampa Bay Area for six years, just moved back to Ohio. If the Rays played baseball in the city of Tampa they’d sell 25,000+ tickets every game. No doubt about it

I travelled from Canada to St. Petersburg a few years ago to watch the Blue Jays play the Rays. My hotel was in the Bay Pines area near Madeira Beach. The drive to Tropicana Field was not that bad, only about 20-25 minutes and there was plenty of parking. Watching the baseball game was fun as well because Tropicana Field is unique compared to all the new stadiums that have been built in recent years.

You absolutely nailed this one! I moved to Tampa 17 years ago and only went to Yankee games. I soon felt bad for not supporting my home team, so I put down my Yankee hat and got some Rays gear. I had some great times and even bought season tickets (lucky for me it was the year they went to the World Series). But none of the good times can take away from that stadium..The stadium is gloomy..real gloomy. The roof is stained from carbon and the halls are not appealing in any way. There is definitely a beef between St. Pete and Tampa. At. Pete is Tampa’s little brother and aside from the beaches, the city has little to offer. From what I hear the biggest problem with moving the team is 1., St Pete doesn’t want to lose the one thing that puts them on the sports map. 2., the City of Tampa does not want to pay for the stadium and St. Pete is asking for a bunch of money for Tampa “stealing” the team. The worst byproduct of this whole thing is the Rowdies Soccer team won’t get an MLS ticket. The Rowdies are a really good USL soccer club who has been trying to get an MLS ticket for some time. Poor attendance at the Rays game leaves MLS questioning if having an MLS team in St. Pete is a good investment. So here we have two very good teams (Rays and the Rowdies) and neither of them can get what they want because they are being held captive by their current city👎🏽

People who complain about the dome aren't from florida, it rains unpredictably and consistently. They also don't understand how damn hot it is either, the experience of watching a game comfortably and dry is better than any sappy romantic nostalgia for the night sky.

I think you hit the nails right on the head with this. I'm a big MLB fan, and have lived in central Florida in the Orlando metro now for 25+ years. Since just a few months after the Rays first pitch. But...I grew up in the midwest, I'm a huge Cubs fan, and the Tigers are my secondary AL team I root for. Even having now lived in Florida longer than the midwest, I'm not a turncoat, and I stick to my teams I grew up with. You're right in that Florida is a transient state. It's been getting to be a place where people do set down roots and stay for a long time. I'm proof of that, and I know a whole lot of others. But I still rarely meet many people who grew up here their whole lives, as well as a generation or two before them. So most people are already fans of another team from a longer established region like the midwest or northeast. I think that could change with time. The other issue, as you mentioned, is location. Personally, I have zero desire to be in St. Pete. Even if you live in Tampa it's a pain to get to most of the time. But if you live where I do in Orlando? Oh man, let me tell ya, it is an absolute ordeal. The stretch of I-4 from Orlando to Tampa is the most deadly stretch of interstate by distance in the entire U.S., and it is ALWAYS backed up, if not stopped. If traffic was moving at 70-75, it would only take me around just over an hour to get over to the Trop. But it's taken as long as 3+ hours before. Ybor City would be a big improvement from my perspective, because it would only mean one freeway, and being on the east side of Tampa, even closer. I do think the Rays need a new ballpark though. I think the officials in St. Pete are delusional if they think that people come to Rays games with any desire to also visit St. Pete. Even with Rays fans...wow. I was at a game last year, when the Rays were winning, and when they were up by a few runs at the end of the 7th inning, a few Rays fans were yelling "Hurry up! We want to go home!" I cannot imagine that happening in a ballpark like Wrigley or Fenway. Heck, I'd stay there all friggin day if they let me. So, I don't know the full solution. But one, the Rays need a new ballpark. Two, it needs to be outside of St. Pete and preferably near downtown Tampa. Heck, I think most people think of the Rays as "Tampa" anyway. Three, Florida needs more time for permanent residents to grow up there and develop loyalty. And five, a lot of the whole area needs better public transportation and more road improvements, especially on I-4 from Tampa to Orlando. But as you say, the Marlins have horrible attendance too, and they don't have some of the same issues as the Rays. Despite ALL of these things, I still get to the Trop 2-3 times a season from Orlando, because I love MLB baseball and I'm willing to go out of my way. But wow would it be a breath of fresh air to have some of these changes.