Average attendance of 14,734 at Rays games at Tropicana Field last season ranked 29th in MLBGETTY IMAGES
Rays Principal Owner Stu Sternberg said that the team remains "fully committed to their radical plan to split future seasons with Montreal" starting in '28, according to Marc Topkin of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. One way the Rays could "reconsider staying in Tampa Bay full time" would be a "massive increase in attendance" this season. Sternberg said, "If things blow through this year and we sell a ton more tickets -- a ton -- and get up heading toward league average and we open up the (upper) decks and sponsors come on and we do that again next year, I’d be silly not to consider it." Topkin notes the Rays would need to "nearly double their attendance from last season -- an average of 14,734 that ranked 29th in the 30-team league, and 1,178,735 overall -- to get to the league average of 28,198 per game, that would seem rather unlikely." Meanwhile, Sternberg said that the team "would contribute to the cost" of the new Tampa Bay ballpark, although he "wouldn’t say how much." He said that the team is "talking only to Tampa as of now," given that St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman has said that he "isn’t interested," though acknowledged that could change. Sternberg also reiterated that the "reason to pursue the Montreal plan is to keep a team in the Tampa Bay area on at least a part-time basis rather than abandon the market and relocate elsewhere" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/20).
LOOKING FOR A SPARK: The TIMES' Topkin notes the Rays, having "finished at or near the bottom of the majors in attendance repeatedly," are trying "several methods to spur sales." One method is the team's first "Ballpark Pass." Under the plan, fans "can go to as many games as they want -- although on a standing-room-only ticket with no assigned seat -- for a flat fee, $36 a month." The team also unveiled an "innovative new ticket plan" -- the "Rays Win Pack." For $99, fans "select any four home games to attend." If they pick winners and the Rays come out on top in all four of those games, they "get a voucher to select another game for free." And if the Rays win that one, they "get to pick another, and so on, until they see the Rays lose or the season ends." The Rays also are offering "reduced prices for tickets in the party deck above leftfield, with tickets to more than half their games for $12 or less, including 32 for as low as $10." The team also will feature some "in-season specials, in addition to planned deals for kids and seniors," although they "discontinued the popular $7.11 Friday night deal" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/20).
