- Rays avg attendance prior to NHL Playoffs (pre-April 16): 19,506
- Rays avg attendance during NHL Playoffs Round 1 (April 16-29): 16,891
- Rays avg attendance during NHL Playoffs Round 2 (May 1-15): 12,601
- Rays avg attendance during NHL Playoffs Round 3 (May 16-Present): 12,032
A few weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Times reported the Rays were selling tickets for $7 each for the remaining games of their last May homestand. This of course did not include the Rays horrible "walk-up" fee, which is part of their equally poor "dynamic pricing" ticket model. The walk-up fee was an additional $3, unless fans bought their ticket five hours before the game.
(Note: I can't write enough how utterly ridiculous and disappointing the dynamic pricing concept is. Personally, I like to pay cash at the ballpark. I don't buy my ticket until I get there. So last week I was penalized a 30% markup because I decided at the last minute to join 9,600 other people at Tropicana Field.)
To my knowledge, the Rays are no longer offering $7 tickets. But once their June 9th homestand begins, they will be giving certain tickets away. According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times:
The team on Monday launched a summer-long Rays Up for Our Community campaign that includes PSA and player/manager participation to help community agencies and partners.
As part of the program, the Rays also will potentially give away in excess of 22,000 free tickets, providing each of the approximate 5,600 Pinellas County high school seniors who graduate at the Trop this week with a voucher for four tickets during the June 9-16 homestand.
That means, given the eight game homestand, the Rays will give out 2,750 tickets per game. If these students were not planning to go to Tropicana Field prior to receiving tickets, they are now included as additional attendance.
Of course, the Tampa Bay Lightning are also playing in the Stanley Cup Finals from June 3 to June 17. The Rays and Lightning both play on Saturday, June 13. That will be Game 5 of the NHL finals, so there is a chance of series victory.
If the Rays equal their lowest attendance of the year, 8,701 on May 7th, with the additional 2,750, that would mean 11,451 tickets sold or distributed. Although the Rays say they don't care about attendance, they may be embarrassed when attendance is under 10,000. Giving away 2,750 tickets per game ensures the Rays attendance will be over 10,000 per game while the Tampa Bay Lightning are playing for hockey immortality.