I see where the Bucs are offering season ticket holders since 2007 TWO FREE tickets to their home opener this weekend. Wonder how much talk of them moving to London or LA this will generate. Now just imagine if it happened here. Florida sports teams certainly have an uphill battle.
That's pretty bad...if that were the Jags we'd hear the never ending national banter about how our fan base doesn't like the Jags and we're moving to London....or LA.....or....who knows.
That doesn't speak well for where they're at currently with their season tickets if they're giving away 2 tickets for those who have been there for 7 years....unless of course the turnover has been so horrifically bad in Tampa that there aren't really a whole lot of STHs who have been around that long.
I know that a few years ago when we were getting hammered about our blackout issues and ticket sales, Tampa was already starting their slide. Within a year or two, they were nearly back to where they were back in the 80's in the old sombrero where they'd play to 3/4 empty stadiums. I remember dating a girl in HS whose father was an executive with Hershey. He did a bunch of business down in the Tampa area, and through his connections, landed a deal with the Bucs to sell candy in the stadium. They gave him season tickets for his entire family which was he, his wife, and 5 kids. The kids hated going, but any time he invited me I'd snap up the ticket just to go see NFL football. It was pretty awful at the time, but those who were there pretty much had their run of the place.
It sounds like they're reverting back to the "good old days" in Tampa.
I remember watching that on TV and wondering how the hell they had a team if no one was there.
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I know that a few years ago when we were getting hammered about our blackout issues and ticket sales, Tampa was already starting their slide. Within a year or two, they were nearly back to where they were back in the 80's in the old sombrero where they'd play to 3/4 empty stadiums.
Quote:I remember watching that on TV and wondering how the hell they had a team if no one was there.
Especially after they supposedly had a waiting list a decade long after the team won a Super Bowl. That evaporated as quickly as their good fortune did.
Quote:Especially after they supposedly had a waiting list a decade long after the team won a Super Bowl. That evaporated as quickly as their good fortune did.
I think at one point they were hyping it as over 100k. What a joke.
I live in Tampa, and I'd argue the Bucs attendance issues were typically worse than the Jaguars. Their stadium has less seats than the Jags, even with the tarps. Part of their problem is there are other professional sports teams that compete for people's money. The Rays becoming a winning team in 2008 didn't help either.
Quote:I live in Tampa, and I'd argue the Bucs attendance issues were typically worse than the Jaguars. Their stadium has less seats than the Jags, even with the tarps. Part of their problem is there are other professional sports teams that compete for people's money. The Rays becoming a winning team in 2008 didn't help either.
Based on the Rays pathetic attendance I am not sure those sales are impacting too much.
True dat, nobody goes to Rays games either.
The Bucs (aside from a few years under Dungy) have always struggled to sell tickets. Even when they were the only team in town.
The Rays have a hard time drawing 10k.
Did anybody see the crowd at the USF game today?
Tampa is a terrible sports town.
Quote:The Bucs (aside from a few years under Dungy) have always struggled to sell tickets. Even when they were the only team in town.
The Rays have a hard time drawing 10k.
Did anybody see the crowd at the USF game today?
Tampa is a terrible sports town.
And watching the Rays I would bet on average over the year 30-35% of those at Rays games are from the visiting team.
Quote:And watching the Rays I would bet on average over the year 30-35% of those at Rays games are from the visiting team.
You're right. And I'm a Rays fan.
There are games against Boston or NY where its over 50%.
I went to the Yankees-Rays game at the Trop on Aug 17 and wore a Yankees hat so I wouldn't get beat up by a home fan.
I remember in 2009 when the Bucs supposedly had a 22,000 waiting list for season tickets. They exhausted that waiting list in one off season then commenced to blacking out games.
Regards.........................the Chiefjag
The place where the Lightning play is awesome. After my 5 years in Missouri, my daughter is a St Louis Blues fan. I take her when they play in Tampa. Thank you NHL for the home/away guarantee play. The entire section was Blues fans in Blues gear. If it wasn't for the better arena, I would have swore I was in St Louis still.
Isn't Tampa a bigger transient town then Jacksonville? I did see teens and kids in Tampa gear but I could easily imagine them not staying around as they grow up. It can be tough to grow up your fan base by getting them when they are young if they move away.