Unless of course you have audience with the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, which Tampa Bay Times Rays beat writer Marc Topkin had Tuesday.
As he did with the Steinbrenners earlier in the week, Topkin again asked the wrong questions. Maybe I should give Topkin the benefit of the doubt this time. Maybe someone else asked the wrong questions.
Someone asked the Commissioner about the status of the Rays, to which the Commissioner answered:
Manfred also said it is clear to MLB that the Tampa Bay market "absolutely" is viable and that the Rays' attendance issues — a major-league-low average of 14,730 — are "facility-related," specifically the location of Tropicana Field.
NO KIDDING.
Anyone who reads this site, or anyone who has followed the situation at all over the last five years, knows the market is viable. Why wouldn't it be?
Tampa Bay is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the county.
Out of the top 23 metro areas listed there, only one, Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario CA doesn't have Major League Baseball. And that area is just east of Los Angeles, an area with two teams.
According to Nielsen, Tampa Bay is the 13th largest television market in the US. The top 17 all have Major League Baseball.
So why would anyone think Tampa Bay doesn't have the potential to host Major League Baseball?
Oh yeah, attendance.
Attendance is only a small subset of the entire fanbase. You cannot judge total support based on attendance. Just as you can't judge total revenue based on attendance.
Yes, Tampa Bay is stretched thin. But so is Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Denver, Minneapolis, and Phoenix.
Yet, of those teams, none have the baseball market saturation the Rays have. None have four minor leagues within 30 minutes of their home stadium. And only Phoenix residents also spend money on Spring Training. But, Phoenix has 1.5 million more people.
Instead of asking the same questions like clockwork every year, why doesn't someone ask the Commissioner what he will do to help the Rays ensure market success. The best way to ensure market success is to ensure 100% of market share - to ensure a monopoly.
So far, in 2015, as of 7/15/2015:
- Total Tampa Bay area Spring Training attendance: 474,578
- Tampa Bay area Minor League attendance: 297,717
- Non-Rays total: 772,295
- Tampa Bay Rays attendance: 707,082
- Rays % of total attendance as of 7/15: 48%
Even if we assume 50% of Spring Training fans are tourists who would not visit if not for Spring Training:
- 237,289 + 297,717 = 535,006
- Rays % of modified attendance = 58%
42% of all baseball tickets bought by locals in the Tampa Bay area have been games other than the Tampa Bay Rays.
That is nowhere close to owning the market.
Yes. the location of the stadium and the condition of the stadium is a problem. But it is only part of the problem. A part that is out of the Commissioner's hands. What is in his hands, however, is that there is a small market team not being given the chance to succeed due to market saturation. Next year, ask the Commissioner what he would to fix that.