Comments on: stadium arcadium

By: Thomas

Thomas — Tue, 15 May 2007 19:16:02 +0000

The D’ Rays need to move to Tampa where real fans donâ€™t have to drive 45 mins. Baseball games should be more of an event (and less of a production just getting in and out) where people can go often to not only watch the game but socialize like at the AFS (previously XO) Club at the Forum. Build a stadium with a retractable roof where Riverfront Park is on the Hillsborough River opposite of Downtown and Tampa Prep. That park is full of drug dealers and hoodlums anyhow.

By: John

John — Mon, 14 May 2007 23:30:34 +0000

Mr. Bill summed it up perfectly.

As for Anonymous — so you actually expect St. Petersburg to act like a backwater burg and keep the stadium if the team leaves for a new home? My, that’d be a throwback reminder of why this region doesn’t get anywhere.

By: Mr. Bill

Mr. Bill — Mon, 14 May 2007 21:30:01 +0000

Sort of like the Tampa Museum of Art – who cares about the building if there is crap inside.

Lets build a team first.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 14 May 2007 19:15:44 +0000

Four words: World’s largest homeless shelter, because that’s what it will be when the Rays move into a new stadium.

By: John

John — Sun, 13 May 2007 23:42:28 +0000

Two words: Defining Characteristic.

Shea Stadium has the annoying planes from LaGuardia flying overhead. Wrigley has the ivy. Fenway has the Green Monster. Minute Maid Park (Houston) has the hill in the outfield. All of these features (and more features in more ballparks) come into play in one way or another.

Most times, defining characteristics get embraced in ballparks. Here? We consider them detrimental… Or at least seem to only mention them in a derogatory sense.

By: Jim Johnson

Jim Johnson — Sun, 13 May 2007 22:07:38 +0000

One word: catwalks.

By: John

John — Sun, 13 May 2007 21:03:44 +0000

Matt — regarding your last statement, I took a friend from Calgary to a Rays/Giants interleague game before the new improvements happened… He also had the surprised reaction to the ballpark – expecting a lot worse from what he had heard.

It’s a common misperception that the stadium is like a tomb… In it’s previous life (pre renovations — 1990-96) perhaps it was… but it’s passable as a ballpark as-is and significantly better than some of the MLB parks that have recently expired/been replaced

By: matt

matt — Sun, 13 May 2007 20:58:19 +0000

Agreed, as long as they’re not competitive, it’s a moot issue.

I’d just add, that with the improvements over the past 2 years, IMO the Trop isn’t a horrible place to watch a ball game. I know it’s older and indoors (baseball belongs outside – roasting in the sun at Al Lang isn’t great either), but the lack of fans (except for BoSox and Yankees games) certainly doesn’t help the atmosphere either.

Reasonable entertainment for the price (I’d include USF football games at RayJay) and will miss not going to games when we move. As a side note, ran into a guy on a recent vacation who has been to almost all the mlb parks and he said the Trop was better than he expected, had a good time etc. Maybe he was just trying to be nice, but seemed genuine at least…