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Storybook Season Builds Case For Ballpark

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 2, 2008

This region owes a tip of the cap to Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg and his management team for fielding a storybook team that proved the viability of baseball in West Central Florida.

Or did it?

No matter the rafter-filled crowds at Tropicana Field for the American League Championship Series and the World Series, the Ray's success exposed some hard truths about the region's support - or lack of support - for Major League Baseball.

The Rays were disappointed by fan turnout during the team's pennant-winning season. After 10 straight losing years, it's understandable why fans initially stayed away. But long after this year's players had proven themselves something different, something better, people still didn't flock to the Trop in any significant numbers.

Remember, the Rays held first place at the All-Star break, yet as late as August and September, home games were drawing as few as 10,000 fans.

Was it the facility? The location? The worsening economy? The ability to watch games for free most nights on television?

Maybe. But the Rays were the runaway, feel-good story of the year. So why did it take the playoffs to fill the Trop?

Sternberg doesn't want to look ungrateful, but he was disappointed, deservedly so. He says it will take much more to prove baseball is sustainable in Tampa Bay.

More season-ticket holders. More corporate sponsors. And a more appealing ballpark.

"Part of me wishes that I'd be playing this game on the waterfront tonight," Sternberg told the St. Petersburg Times moments before Game 1 of the World Series. "How unbelievable would the city of St. Petersburg be ... with all the parking, and all the walking, and all the stores, and all the restaurants, and the views, and the weather?"

Perhaps you remember that it rained hard that night in St. Petersburg. And later, inclement weather in Philadelphia affected the team's performance there.

After witnessing such conditions, some again criticized Sternberg's dream of a $450-million open-air ballpark - a third of which he'd finance himself. But remember, the rendering called for a dramatic sail that would span the field and keep the fans dry in their seats.

This smart and capable new owner, it turns out, considers it all.

Look at what's happened since he took over three years ago. He didn't ask for handouts. He offered free parking, gave the Trop a $20 million facelift and hired well.

Team President Matt Silverman and General Manager Andrew Friedman are not typical baseball guys. They're Wall Street guys who happen to love baseball. But their alchemy has proven a powerful mix.

They saw the team needed pitching and better defense up the middle, so they made a risky trade with the Minnesota Twins for starting pitcher Matt Garza and shortstop Jason Bartlett.

Then they overhauled the bullpen, which last year couldn't save a win for trying.

And they found professorial manager, Joe Maddon, seeing something in him that other teams had passed by.

Sternberg deserves our thanks for transforming the Rays from a laughingstock into a team built for the long haul - something that doesn't happen often in sports. Remember, the Florida Marlins twice dismantled their team after winning world championships. The Rays, however, have locked up core talent - Evan Longoria, James Shields and Carlos Pena - for years to come. Former general manager Chuck LaMar deserves credit, too, for signing the base - Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, B.J. Upton and Scott Kazmir.

Sternberg's "small market" team has become a model for how to draft, develop and retain some of the game's best young stars. Some may argue that their success comes from having had top-round draft picks after years of finishing last. But the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers have all been struggling, too. Where are their turnarounds?

So when this committed owner says a new ballpark is critical to the team's long-term success, you've got to listen up.

A nine-member regional committee - headed by Progress Energy CEO Jeff Lyash and Peter Brown Construction CEO Judy Mitchell - are exploring alternative sites and strategies to help the Rays build long-term viability.

Success starts with more business sponsorships and more people crossing Tampa Bay. The Rays had only 3,100 season-ticket accounts last year, and somewhere between 6,000 and 8,000 this year. Now consider that the vanquished Red Sox have a waiting list for season tickets.

By season's end, Tampa Bay proved itself a cowbell-clanging baseball community, but to keep the Rays viable, more is needed.

For what he's done to elevate baseball in Tampa Bay, Sternberg's request for a new ballpark deserves a new level of open-minded consideration.

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