According to Fontana:
- Martin St. Louis demanded a trade, David Price did not
- The Lightning were in the thick of the division race
- St. Louis demanded where he wanted to be traded
- Baseball's financial system mandated the Rays move Price even though Price didn't want to be moved and the Rays would have preferred to keep him
Fontana cites these points as evidence there is no reason to compare the trades. While he is correct the teams made their trades because of totally different reasons, we can compare the trades on other grounds. Namely, the change in team winning percentage and, more importantly for this blog, the change in pre- and post-trade attendance.
Can we look at the Lightning trade of an all-star fan favorite and make any conclusions as to the sensitivity of the Tampa Bay sport fan? Did fans still attend Lightning games at the same rate post-trade as they did before the trade? Might that give us any clue as to the response of Rays fans to the David Price trade?
If fans were smart enough to follow the St. Louis situation and know trading St. Louis was not evidence of giving up on the season, can we assume fans of the same city, given similar media outlets - reading the same newspapers, listening to the same sports radio, etc - will react similarly to the Tampa Bay Rays claim they are also not giving up on the season?
While the Rays front office has made major trades and the team continued winning, has the front office succeeded in building enough fan trust and faith?
Exploring attendance and winning percentage of the Lightning before and after the St. Louis trade, we see not only did the team play better after the trade, but they also drew 12% (225) more fans per game. (Data acquired via hockey-reference.com and hockeyattendance.com.)
Will Rays fans react similar following the David Price trade?
The Lightning had the benefit of the playoff chase to aid attendance down the stretch. If the Rays can continue their winning play, it may be possible they could also benefit the same. If not, and the Rays fall out of contention early, their attendance could drop as it did in 2009 after they traded Scott Kazmir.
If they fall out of contention early, the Rays will have to worry about losing fan interest to their other regional sports neighbor, the biggest sports attraction in Tampa Bay: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.