The Tampa Bay Rays are the best baseball team in terms of pure value. While teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Rangers, and Tigers spend a good dollar to craft their good teams (and this is by no means as much of a complaint as it is an observation) the Rays manage to compete in the AL Wild Card and in the bloodthirsty AL East while having a payroll lower than every team in baseball except for one (Kansas City Royals). The Rays are about a dozen games above .500, have better records than some divisional leaders, and still remain a thorn in the sides of the Red Sox and Yanks up until the very end.
They are the defending AL Champs and were a couple bad plays away from pulling within distance of the World Series last year. So with that all being said, there’s only room for growth in this organization as long as we have the mighty manager Joe Maddon at the helm. Now of course in one aspect we have to improve is the stadium. Despite the impossibility of us leaving Tropicana Field, we all know my pure hatred of this wretched place. Here is one example. Here is another example. And here is a third example.
Oh and one more.
Now, my mind is buzzing as to what type of stadium we should build for the Rays organization. As a matter of fact, I ponder just where exactly this team would end up in the future. After all, rumors swirl around that Bud Selig told the owners of the ballclub to not make any longtime investments in the St. Petersburg area—which means there might even be a change in cities. Maybe the Rays will move to actual Tampa? Maybe it will hit up a beach? Or maybe better yet it will wind up in Central Florida? Either way, here are three potential options as to what I think should be the outlook for the Rays’ next baseball stadium.
#3: Type of Stadium: Stadium Amongst the Lights
Location: Downtown Orlando
The first potential option I can see would be a nice stadium embedded in the downtown Orlando area. While metropolitan Tampa looks to have run out of room (as from what I’ve seen) the Downtown Orlando area has proven that its not only a thriving community, but its one that can make room for a major new building with minimal issue (See the fast-paced construction of the Amway Center as an example). Yes the struggling economy has put a hold on other expansion ideas for Orlando but when the economy bounces back, how awesome would it be to build a stadium with the lights of the city in the background?
While I am not a fan of Downtown Orlando in the least bit, I acknowledge that the very youthful audience in Central Florida will flock to a sporting event in no-time. Look at the consistent sellout crowds for the Magic games and the decent attendance numbers for AFL games. I can see a ballpark with a retractable roof overlooking the city and being a staple of I-4 sightseeing. But I am sure the veteran drivers of I-4 would hate another reason for the interstate to be packed to the core.
#2: Stadium on the Beach
Location: Clearwater
For years, ideas of the Rays moving to a stadium next to the beach have constantly been buzzing. After all, some of the best beaches in Florida are in the Tampa Bay area. How unbelievably awesome would it be to build a stadium right next to the beach? How awesome would it be to be able to kick back and hit the ocean shortly after a ballgame? To add to that, it doesn’t rain as often in the Clearwater/St. Petersburg area as much as you’d think. Nothing spells out summer perfection like going to the beach and then walking over to a Rays game a few hours later.
They can enhance the experience by giving the entire stadium a beach theme—offer aquariums, a surf machine, laid-back music, aquariums everywhere (this is similar to what the new marlins stadium is supposedly going to offer) and even a few pool bars to make things interesting. Part of the appeal of the Amway Center is that there is a lot to do, even when your team is blowing it during the game. By offering a lot of activities throughout the game, the visit to the ballpark can become an experience, no mater whom the Rays are playing. And with beach access being far easier than access to a shoddy part of St. Petersburg, you will definitely see an increase in attendance.
Of course, there is a big drawback to this idea. If you are going to fling this close to the beach, a lot of properties would have to be sacrificed. To add to that, it would be hella difficult to honestly build this close to the beach without causing major traffic problems and major protests from those that live close to the ocean. But if both sides could make peace, we could have something quite special here.
#1: Baseball Park inside a Park
Location: Disney World or Tampa or Hidden Area in Orlando
I stole this concept from a minor league ballpark in Texas somewhere. Nonetheless, this idea is pure gold, and I am shocked that more teams don’t consider doing this in the future. Actually, I take it back as I understand why. You need a lot of space to pull off this feat, and very few big markets nowadays have such space to give away to a baseball field. A ballpark inside a massive park. Just imagine a baseball park smack dab in the middle of a big, big city park. This will be one of the few cases in which attendance to a ballpark area will be potentially high even though there might be nothing going on.
Picture this: you park your car in the massive parking lot several hours before the game even starts. Why? Because you get to slowly stroll through a massive park full of smaller baseball fields, picnic areas, recreational activities, several outdoor restaurants, a few food trucks, a place to bbq, and best of all an area to quietly and calmly tailgate as the Rays are just a couple hours away from entering the field. A massive HD screen plastered on one of the sides of the stadium showcase other baseball scores or other ballgames as you await the time to go in.
If I honestly had the money, I would invest in this in a heartbeat. Now, of course this type of park could not happen in any Downtown area of any sort, which leaves us with fewer potential locations. I don’t know much about Tampa so I’m not sure if anywhere near Downtown would have the space. But I do know closer to the Busch Gardens side has a bit more available space. So the outskirts of Tampa is option number one. Now if I could convince Disney to sell off the land or be a part of the Rays organization, then Disney World would be another spot. Disney still has tons of land left, and it’s all at a prime location.
To wrap it all up: in order for this type of stadium to become a reality you need a lot of land and far more support from the city as opposed to the other ideas. But the payoff I think would be far better than any ol’ ballpark. I’d love the chance to lounge around next to a baseball park even when there isn’t a game happening. I’d love the chance to play a little scrimmage game with family and friends before the actual game occurs. All in all I would love the chance to turn a game inside the ballpark into an all-day relaxing and chill experience.
A fella can dream, right?
Go Rays!!
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