Thursday, August 18, 2016

Rays Stadium Email Survey

I received an email from the Tampa Bay Rays asking me to fill out a survey on stadium conditions, both of Tropicana Field and the idea of a possible Stadium X, which will be somewhere at sometime. I took screen shots of the email survey to show those who do not receive the email what the Rays are asking a select group of fans.




I've never had a problem getting in and out of Tropicana Field. I have had issues with the cost of parking that the Rays charge, although private lots are always much cheaper. Of course, the big question here is "Ballpark Location". Wherever a fan lives, this will vary. As Noah Pransky likes to say, every fan wants the Rays in their backyard. If enough people said the ballpark location was ideal, but the Rays had the opportunity to move to the other side of the region, would fan opinions matter?




I thought this question was very interesting. These are who the Rays deem as their regional sports competition. I thought there were some interesting omissions. UCF, FSU, and UF sports are not listed, despite having fanbases in Central Florida.

Also notice how high up the list Yankees Spring Training is. It is not with the other Spring Training and Minor League teams. This makes me think the Rays think of the Yankees as a bigger threat to their market than USF, the Orlando teams, and the other regional Spring Training sites.




Every time the Rays asked about Stadium X, they called it "state of the art" and "next generation". Let's not forget, those were the same words used to describe Tropicana Field in 1998. What I found very interesting about the survey of amenities in Stadium X was how many were listed on my 17 Ideas for the Rays New Stadium post.



  • Local food options? Check.
  • In-stadium brewery? Check.
  • Smart phone apps for in-game info? Check.
  • Team museum and Hall of Fame? Check. (Although I would rather it be a regional baseball museum. Is this the death knell for the Ted Williams Museum?)
  • Children's Play Area? Check.

Of course, I voted all of those as "Very Important". I was a little disappointed there was no option for a gondola.

In total, the survey took me approximately 15 minutes. It was a good survey as later it tried to measure price points for different seats and packages at Stadium X.

Unfortunately, there was no option for "If I had more money, I would buy more expensive tickets". The Rays must think that this the case for most ticket buyers.