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Success Of Rays Is A Boon For Area's Businesses

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By STEVEN GIRARDI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 4, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Tropicana Field bartender Sara Kowalski definitely does not want to root against the Tampa Bay Rays.

But, if their best-of-five playoff series against the Chicago White Sox were to require a third game at home, it wouldn't be all bad.

"I would like to work it," she said. "The money is amazing."

As the Rays move into their first-ever playoff series, the ball players aren't the only ones picking up extra paychecks.

Bartenders like Kowalski, ushers, security guards, beer vendors and parking lot attendants all are getting an extra boost.

"It's kind of nice," said Kowalski, 27, of St. Petersburg. "We work until the eighth inning and walk out with a couple hundred bucks in your pocket."

The better the Rays do, the better the bar does, said John Edmonds, of St. Petersburg, who works the Ybor Cantina bar with Kowalski.

"Instead of buying a beer, they buy a double Barcardi," he said. The price difference: $9 for a beer, $14 for the double.

"It's October and we're here. Bonus!" Edmonds said.

Usher Eddie Madden, 55, gets a kick out of seeing extra baseball games, and he gets to see and serve the regular fans he has known all season. "We get to come to the playoffs," he said. "It warms my heart to see the fans happy."

The extra paychecks? "That's one way of looking at it, I suppose," he said.

Standing guard in the third level concourse, security worker Phillip Seger said he has enjoyed seeing the regular fans, "and a lot of new ones too." Seger, 62, has a day job as a graphic artist and said he can use the extra money from the playoffs.

"Oh, it helps nowadays," he said. "A little gasoline money lately."

Osiris Brown, 39, was hustling the steep upper deck stairs with a case of ice-packed beers, and happy to do it. Fans are eager to grab the beers, even at $8 each, and on packed night like Friday he'll pull in $200-$300. "That's counting tips," he said.

He uses the money to travel - mostly to other sporting events in other cities where he can do the same thing. "I like to travel," he said.

The workers at the Papa Johns Pizza counter also use the money for travel - but it's for the Grace Lutheran Church and school youth group of St. Petersburg to go on missions. Last year it was Jamaica; this year, Mexico.

The $8,000 or so the group makes during 40 home games will get a nice boost from the playoffs, said youth board chairperson Kay Allwardt.

"It's a totally full sell out," she said. By the seventh-inning stretch, the parents and students had sold 600 pizzas and 350 beers.

Outside the dome stadium, vendors were working the streets and parking lots to capitalize on the extra games and big crowds. Some got pretty creative.

Charlie Gerdes, 52, had what he and his buddies thought was a great idea - blue imitation Rayhawk strips that clasp to your head. They got fabric and spent a couple nights making them - 200, on sale for $5 each.

But the extra cash he envisioned wasn't materializing as he made his way through the crowd outside Ferg's Bar and Grill, a box of Rayhawk strips on his shoulder.

"Everybody says it's a great idea," he said. "But they're not reaching into their pockets."

Brian Doherty had more traditional fare at his table - Evan Longoria T-shirts, with the proceeds to benefit the Cancer Center of Tampa. He just got started Friday afternoon, the shirts fresh off the press. At $20 each, they were attracting interest even as he took them out of the box.

Parking, as one might expect, was at a premium - and so were the prices. The cost at a lot at 16th Street and Central Avenue was $25, and there were plenty of takers. The same spot was $10 in the regular season.

Jeff Abood, 50, of Sarasota, was running the lot for a family member and was able to hire four guys to help. They were happy for the extra payday.

"The Rays win. Everybody wins," Abood said.

Reporter Steven Girardi may be reached at (727) 451-2333 or at sgirardi@tampatrib.com

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