Promise of payoff uncertain for Rays stadium

Tropicana Field is the only indoor park left in professional baseball, sticking out amid a landscape of sleek, stylish stadiums boasting retractable roofs or vistas of city skylines.

The Trop's flawed design for watching ballgames is apparent from the dome's catwalks that obstruct some views in the upper decks to the small luxury boxes with overhangs that make it difficult to see high-fly or foul balls.

Without the amenities and attractions found at modern ballparks, the Tampa Bay Rays are missing out on a potential $40 million in additional revenue, experts said.

Even if the Rays can get the community support - which could be a difficult sell in this economy - and funding for a new stadium, increased revenue isn't guaranteed. Other teams have a demand for corporate skyboxes, season tickets and premium seating, but the Rays may have to work harder because the Bay area isn't rich in Fortune 500 companies.

Corporations typically buy two-thirds of Major League teams' season tickets, but corporations account for only a third of the Rays' season tickets sales, according to a report by A Baseball Coalition, a group of local business leaders that has identified possible sites for a new ballpark.

The Rays rely more on small business and individuals for ticket revenue.

Team owners have said the 20-year-old Trop can't generate the revenue needed to consistently field competitive teams. During spring training, principal owner Stuart Sternberg said the Rays face a reduced payroll next season, much lower than the $73 million the team is spending on its players this year.

Team executives declined to reveal how much money the Trop generates from ticket sales, concessions, parking and corporate sponsorships for the 37,000-seat ballpark.

To assemble winning squads and to open the floodgates for surging revenue streams, the Rays need a new ballpark, said Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College in Massachusetts who studies the impact of stadiums on teams.

The Trop was built as a multipurpose stadium, not specifically for baseball.

"Anything would be preferable to the Trop," Zimbalist said. "People would just enjoy it more. Right now, they're playing in one of the smaller markets in an inadequate stadium. They're shackled. Sternberg's not fantasizing. It's a real issue."

So is it the Trop's age and looks that hamper its ability to draw fans and make money? And if it's not generating the revenue team owners say they need, then what impact would a new ballpark have on the Rays?

Big ticket sales

Ticket prices increase when new stadiums open. But fans pay the higher prices because of the excitement and curiosity surrounding flashy new ballparks. A new stadium could be a boon for the Rays, which ranked 23rd in attendance last year with an average of about 23,000 a game.

Ticket sales generate almost all of the Rays' local revenue, with season tickets the most vital component, team spokesman Rick Vaughn said.

When Sternberg was asked in February how season ticket renewals were for the 2010-11 season, he replied, "Bad."

That's not the case for the Minnesota Twins. This season, the team moved from the aging, 56,000-seat Metrodome, which it shared with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, into its own open-air park, the 39,000-seat Target Field.

Before opening day, season ticket sales had more than doubled, from 11,000 last year to 24,500, said Eric Curry, vice president of corporate sponsorships for the Twins.

With tickets going quickly for every game, the team predicts that nearly 3 million people will pass through the gates of Target Field this season, Curry said.

Games are selling out, even with average ticket prices for Twins games rising from $18 last year to $35, Curry said.

"The excitement is infectious," he said.

No luxuries

Sales of luxury suites and other premium seating to corporate sponsors are another big money-maker. The Trop has 61 suites, but they're small and lack space for private bars or buffets, said Craig Sher, a member of the ABC group.

The ABC was formed in 2008 after the Rays withdrew a proposal for a $450 million waterfront stadium in St. Petersburg featuring 34,000 seats and 40 luxury boxes.

Although that design had fewer luxury suites, they envisioned those areas to be larger and more modern, according to the stadium proposal.

The Rays are "having a difficult time leasing the (Trop) suites," Sher said, and some corporate executives don't consider those skyboxes an attractive option for entertaining out-of-town clients.

Corporate involvement also translates into more sponsorships for signs, Sher said. At the Trop, signs are spotty, a far cry from the displays at Raymond James Stadium and the St. Pete Times Forum.

The Twins, Curry said, have had no problems finding corporations such as Minnesota-based Target and Best Buy to purchase signs and luxury boxes at the new ballpark.

"We're blessed with a fine base of Fortune 100 companies," Curry said.

Food, drinks, naming rights

Modern stadiums offer international fare that, despite higher prices, is a hit with fans, Sher said.

The Trop lacks many of those options.

"Hot dogs and beer are good," Sher said. "Salads and healthy food are more expensive, but they're also popular. The more sophisticated your offerings, the better chance you have to turn a profit."

Sher said he thinks the Trop's food choices are limited by its concessionaire, Centerplate. Bob Pascal, spokesman for Centerplate, said his company has a "long-term contract at Tropicana Field" but declined to say how long.

The Rays' former ownership struck the deal with Centerplate before the 1998 inaugural season, Vaughn said.

Sher said the Rays could get a new contract with another concessions provider if a ballpark is built.

"Obviously, when you go to a new stadium you can cut a whole new deal on the concessions you want," he said.

That's what the Twins did. Centerplate provides concessions at the Metrodome, but Twins executives were able to select iconic Minneapolis-area eateries to set up shop at Target Field, Curry said.

Naming rights also play a part in revenue. Beginning in 1998, Tropicana Products Inc. paid $1 million a year to have the dome, which is owned by St. Petersburg, renamed Tropicana Field. In 2000, the payments increased, with Tropicana paying about $2.3 million a year through 2027, when the Rays' lease ends.

At the end of the 30-year agreement, the Rays will get $33 million from the naming rights; the city will get $13 million.

Airing it out

But the main factor that might affect attendance and the fan experience at the Trop is the layout of the dome, according to the architectural firm Populous, which designs professional ballparks.

In its report to the ABC group, architects said there are obstructed views from many seats, including the club seats and luxury suites; the catwalks on the roof interfered with play; the concourses were too narrow; and there was a "pervasive lack of natural light."

The architects' report also says the seats are poorly angled to see the field and home plate.

Baseball bloggers consistently rank the Trop as one of the least-favorite stadiums for fans to watch a game.

Although new stadiums spur increased ticket sales and marketing opportunities that allow owners to rework contracts to make more money - factors that pump up checkbooks to keep stars on the payroll - Curry said there is one intangible that can't be dismissed.

Watching a game under blue sky.

"We went from dark and dank," he said, "to bright and beautiful."