New franchises used to have more time to establish themselves because the economic stakes were not as high. But higher salaries and franchise costs have meant higher prices for fans. And that means a far shorter honeymoon period. We thought there were a lot more baseball fans in this market than there are, and we may have overestimated the financial abilities of the market. The lack of a strong corporate presence in the city has probably been a factor.
Baseball is a long season, and a season ticket is very expensive.
We may have talked ourselves into this unrealistic expectation. The Rays will not say what their expectations for the market were, but they clearly were anticipating stronger support. The Rays have played 251 home games since and have not sold out another game. Vince wants this to succeed so badly and is so intense that at times the intensity doesn't come across in a way that he necessarily means. I can see how the intensity can be misinterpreted.