November 29, 200619 yr Rays may move games to Orlando Plans under way to shift three-game series with Rangers in May By Bill Chastain / MLB.com ST. PETERSBURG -- The Devil Rays are considering moving three regular-season games to Orlando to help efforts to expand the team's fan base. Efforts to move the May 15-17 games against Texas from St. Petersburg to Orlando are in the early stages. Still to be dealt with are approvals from Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association, the city of St. Petersburg and the umpires. "We're exploring a number of ways to make an impact in Central Florida and grow our fan base," said Rays team president Matt Silverman. "And one of those involves moving some games outside of St. Petersburg. This fits well in our model." Silverman added "these are just conversations at this point" and said such a prospect should not be construed as a precursor to relocating the team. "The ultimate goal of all of these efforts is to increase the interest level and the fan support for the team and bring more fans to St. Petersburg and Tropicana Field," Silverman said. Silverman said he did not know of any precedent in baseball for moving games. "There are some examples in other sports," Silverman said. "The [boston] Celtics in Hartford and the [Green Bay] Packers in Milwaukee. You think of the Celtics and the Packers as regional sports teams." Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
November 29, 200619 yr Author Could create a backlash among fans in Tampa. I agree... Not sure about this one.. New ownership was starting to get more fans to come with free parking, "cheap seat" night, giveaways, etc
November 29, 200619 yr Silverman said he did not know of any precedent in baseball for moving games. This Silverman guy is a joke, he CAN'T be serious. If the Montreal Expos playing almost half their games in Puerto Rico doesn't qualify, then I don't know what does.
November 29, 200619 yr Dammit, this Marlins Front Office is letting Orlando get away! I don't think it's completely reasonable to expect the Marlins to draw down from Orlando. If the Marlins are going to "get" Orlando it will be through winning, nothing more.
November 29, 200619 yr They'd do better moving ALL their games outside of St. Petersberg. It's too darn far to drive for most of central florida, at least for a bad ball team.
December 1, 200619 yr I personally think the Marlins should consider something like this 3 games in jacksonville , 3 games in orlando , we all know those 2 series would draw much better than normal home games and it would help expand the marlins visibility
December 1, 200619 yr I personally think the Marlins should consider something like this 3 games in jacksonville , 3 games in orlando , we all know those 2 series would draw much better than normal home games and it would help expand the marlins visibility Yeah, that's a great idea. Miami's prepared to say "the hell with you guys, leave" so let's just try to garner more animosity.
December 1, 200619 yr I personally think the Marlins should consider something like this 3 games in jacksonville , 3 games in orlando , we all know those 2 series would draw much better than normal home games and it would help expand the marlins visibility Yeah, that's a great idea. Miami's prepared to say "the hell with you guys, leave" so let's just try to garner more animosity. it is a good idea if you wish to increase the Marlins popularity state wide. of course in all honesty the Marlins problems aren't popularity statewide it is the weak support the Miami area gives the team that is the problem and every floridian knows miami is a horrible sports town at all levels and this is coming from someone who lived in miami many years .
December 1, 200619 yr I personally think the Marlins should consider something like this 3 games in jacksonville , 3 games in orlando , we all know those 2 series would draw much better than normal home games and it would help expand the marlins visibility Yeah, that's a great idea. Miami's prepared to say "the hell with you guys, leave" so let's just try to garner more animosity. it is a good idea if you wish to increase the Marlins popularity state wide. of course in all honesty the Marlins problems aren't popularity statewide it is the weak support the Miami area gives the team that is the problem and every floridian knows miami is a horrible sports town at all levels and this is coming from someone who lived in miami many years . You don't look to expand abroad if you can't support yourself at home. End of story.
December 1, 200619 yr I personally think the Marlins should consider something like this 3 games in jacksonville , 3 games in orlando , we all know those 2 series would draw much better than normal home games and it would help expand the marlins visibility Yeah, that's a great idea. Miami's prepared to say "the hell with you guys, leave" so let's just try to garner more animosity. it is a good idea if you wish to increase the Marlins popularity state wide. of course in all honesty the Marlins problems aren't popularity statewide it is the weak support the Miami area gives the team that is the problem and every floridian knows miami is a horrible sports town at all levels and this is coming from someone who lived in miami many years . You don't look to expand abroad if you can't support yourself at home. End of story. sorry no end of story , when you need politicians in orlando , jacksonville , naples , all over the state to approve a crucial bit of funding for a new stadium ( it is a shame Loria is so poor he cant bridge the gap) it would help if more people statewide had a vested interest in the marlins getting a new stadium . btw it is not a bad idea to gauge the support the marlins would get in those markets to me if the marlins move out of the state they are no longer the marlins but if they move from miami gardens to jax , orlando , hialeah etc they are still the marlins and therefore i would still root for them .
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