With 40,135 fans in attendance, Rays Pride Night 2016 became the 22nd highest single game attendance in the 18 years of Rays baseball. Attendance over 40,000 was much more frequent in the early days of the franchise, when the allure of the new expansion team attracted Tampa Bay baseball fans. Since the team's first few seasons, reaching the 40,000 single game mark has been rare. So rare, in fact, that Rays Pride Night 2016 was the first time in 10 years attendance reached the mark.
The following chart depicts all regular season games in which Rays attendance was over 40,000.
Regular season game attendance over 40,000 has happened the following amount of times per year.
- 1998: 11
- 1999: 3
- 2000: 3
- 2001: 1
- 2004: 2
- 2006: 1
- 2016: 1
Regular season game attendance over 40,000 has happened on the following days:
- Sunday: 3
- Monday: 2
- Tuesday: 4
- Wednesday: 1
- Thursday: 1
- Friday: 4
- Saturday: 7
With many renovations done in Tropicana Field, maximum capacity is not what it was in the late 1990s. As well, the Rays rarely remove the tarps that cover approximately 9,000 seats in the upper deck. For most regular season games, Tropicana Field's maximum capacity is 31,042.
Rays Pride Night 2016 was a special occasion. Fans came to celebrate life and remember those tragically taken a week earlier. They came to support friends, family, a city, and a region. They might have bought tickets because the Rays offered a special deal or because the proceeds went to charity, but they were there because of the healing power of baseball - the magic feeling of sports and community that bonds us in times of tragedy.
As long as local politicians debate and determine the future location of a new Rays stadium, the Rays will remain in Tropicana Field - a location not suited for the sprawling metropolis of Tampa Bay. With attendance trends the way they are, we may never again see a regular season game draw over 40,000 fans at Tropicana Field.
Which makes Pride Night 2016 that much more of a historical moment for baseball in Tampa Bay.