Rays, a tale of two cities?

Today, Major League Baseball gave permission to the Tampa Bay Rays to explore the possibility to become a two market team. The team would play its home games in the Tampa Bay area in the early part of the season and in Montreal in the remainder.

ESPN came with this new item. Prerequisite for this plan are two new stadiums, one in each city, which is seen as a lower-cost way to approach the facilities issue. The split franchise would take advantage of good weather in Spring and early Summer in Florida and ditto weather in Summer and Fall in Montreal. In this way, there would not be a need for domed stadiums in both cities.

The Rays ownership received permission to explore such a plan during MLB executive council meetings this week. Certainly, nothing is engraved in stone yet and there will surely be lots of speculation with plenty of details to be worked out.

Since the Tampa Bay Rays are trying to get a new ballpark in the Tampa Bay area for more than a decade now and all their attempts have proven to be futile, the Tampa Bay/Montreal option may be a great solution. The number of games for each city has not been discussed yet, but it is fair to say that both will get an even share.

The return of baseball to Montreal has long been speculated and has significant support among power brokers in the city, including Stephen Bronfman, the private-equity magnate whose father, Charles, was the Expos’ original owner. Besides that, the Montreal fan base is craving for baseball after it lost the Expos to Washington in 2005. Before the 1994 strike and the Jeffrey Loria era, baseball fans in Montreal belonged to the most loyal in MLB.

“My priority remains the same, I am committed to keeping baseball in Tampa Bay for generations to come,” Sternberg said via statement. “I believe this concept is worthy of serious exploration.” The success of this plan depends on the fact whether the Rays will be able to get a new ballpark in the Tampa Bay area or in Florida. But despite the fact that there are sufficient private investors in Montreal, a stadium plan still needs to be approved by the city. But in Montreal’s case, the Mayor is would like to get back MLB.

The Rays average attendance, 14,546, is the lowest but one in MLB. With a split home schedule, the team would get enough revenue in both cities, especially in Montreal.

One should keep in mind that new ballparks are often regarded as the solution to dwindling attendance numbers. But when you look to Minor League Baseball, you see a rise in the attendance when a new stadium is built but after a few years, the attendance numbers drop to the normal standards again. Attendance is highly influenced by the product an owner sells. And if that product is crappy, the fans will stay away. So a new ballpark seems to be the magic word but that is not always the case.

Nevertheless, the two city plan is worth to be explored. Especially if it can keep Major League Baseball in the Tampa Bay area and bring baseball back to a baseball craving city.