Hard to find exact numbers ytd...but it looks to me like we are up roughly 15% in attendance for the year?

Where did fans go? Crowds shrink as Marlins thrive
By Sarah Talalay | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 23, 2008

Armed with the lowest payrolls in Major League Baseball, the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays resume the Citrus Series on Tuesday at Dolphin Stadium with winning records.

Florida's two baseball teams share some striking similarities: Both are in second place in their divisions. Both are seeing increased TV ratings and merchandise sales. Both hold Saturday night concerts to lure fans.

But while the Rays are capitalizing on their newfound success and seeing attendance rise, the Marlins rank last and are averaging fewer fans a game this year than last, despite pitching what some call the best value for your entertainment dollar.

Average ticket sales through 36 games have dropped 19.4 percent, from 18,355 to 14,795 a game.

Comparing the Marlins and Rays "We don't really sell wins and losses," said Sean Flynn, Marlins vice president of marketing. "We continue to reinforce our brand message that we think we have the best entertainment value in South Florida."

Expectations were low this year for a franchise expected to perform poorly because of its $21.8 million payroll — by far the lowest in baseball. One that plays in an open-air football stadium in sticky and rainy South Florida.

In Tampa, ticket sales are up 36.3 percent through the first 39 games from 14,462 last season to 19,711 this year. Tropicana Field has a roof and air conditioning, allows fans to bring food and drinks and has free parking for cars carrying at least four people. The ownership group, which took control in late 2005, eliminated "Devil" from the team's name and changed its logo this year, which boosted merchandise sales.

Despite Major League Baseball's second lowest payroll of $43.8 million, the Rays are enjoying their first season with a winning record.

"Obviously, changing our name and mark created a natural opportunity to see a spike in merchandise sales," said Mark Fernandez, Rays senior vice president and chief sales officer. "You combine that with the fact the team's having success, it's really been sort of a perfect marriage."

Sports cable networks FSN Florida and Sun Sports are reporting TV ratings increases from last season: 6 percent for the Marlins in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market (ratings for the West Palm Beach market were not available), and 28.5 percent for the Rays in the Tampa-St. Petersburg market.

Fans also are showing their team colors. At Dolphin Stadium, Boston Culinary Group reports sales of Marlins gear are up 62 percent from last season. Rays' merchandise sales are up 70 percent to 90 percent from last year, Fernandez said.

Retail sales of the teams' gear each represent less than 1 percent among baseball's 30 teams, but both are rising, according to SportsOneSource, which tracks sales of sporting goods at retail.

Sales of Marlins' licensed goods at retailers, other than in-stadium and at team stores, are up 8.8 percent to about $6.2 million from $5.7 million at the same point last year. The Rays' sales have more than doubled to $6.3 million from $2.8 million.

Why such a big leap for the Rays and not the Marlins?

"The new uniform means a lot," said Matt Powell, SportsOneSource analyst. "And the team is doing much better than in previous years."

While the Marlins have won two World Series in their 15-year history, the Rays have never made the playoffs. Although both teams are exceeding expectations, Marlins fans have been there before.

Beyond success, the Florida teams have other similarities. Both are developing new ballparks. Both have Saturday night concerts: the Marlins averaged 22,777 at five Super Saturdays this season; the Rays averaged 28,022 at their first seven Saturdays this season.

Some fans say the concerts bring them to the stadium when they otherwise might not go.

Michael Hull, 54, of Fort Lauderdale, said he's not personally all that interested in the concerts, but plans to attend Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks because his wife wants to see the post-game K.C. and the Sunshine Band concert. Hull typically goes to a game in each of the Marlins' home series.

Despite the drop in attendance this year, the Marlins marketing plan will continue to focus on the in-stadium experience rather than wins, a strategy Flynn calls "eventization." By stressing entertainment as much as athletics, the Marlins believe they can attract fans no matter how the team performs, "We can control the experience when you get to the stadium," Flynn said.

free parking for cars carrying at least four people.

I'm not sure about attendance but ticket sales are up over 36% from last year. Link

last I heard, the Rays were around 10-12 for merchandise sales this year. Of course, changing logos will do that for a team so next year will be a more true read.

Yep - limited market hurts. I have a very tough time finding new Rays gear in Orlando. I have found one hat, but t-shirts and jerseys have been very tough to find.

Orlando retail sux. Most retailers won't carry Rays product that far away yet...but hoping that changes soon. I'm sure you can find Yankees, Sox, Cubs, Mets, Cards, Braves, and even Marlins product easier there right now.

Have you tried the Sports Fan-Attics in Oviedo, Ocoee, or Altamonte?

The new logo has skewed it some, but it's also an immature market as far as retail presence. For retailers like Champs who have carried the product before, the Rays are currently top 10 and one of their hottest teams. But some retailers are just getting into it...such as Kohl's and Bealls. Their sales will be up going forward because they will have more product in more floor space.

How long will it take to grow the brand through the state though? Last year I couldn't even find merchandise in Plant City, this year I can't find anything with the new logo in Jacksonville.

Does anyone have faith in Percival for the 2nd half?

Who else than Longoria has a shot at AL ROY?

Jacob McGee - TJ surgery on Monday

http://www.projectprospect.com/article/200...my-john-surgery

Garza 1 hitter, 10 K's, 1 walk today.

Only hit was a solo shot to HanRam - who had as many homers today that Delmon Young has all season

In fact, Ben Zobrist has 2x as many homers in the last 2 days than Young has all year!

Jacob McGee - TJ surgery on Monday

http://www.projectprospect.com/article/200...my-john-surgery

Oh yea, who has the best record in the American League now??

Never thought I'd see the day this franchise was 16 over .500.

ROY is Ellsbury's to lose unless Longoria starts hitting for a better average. He is clueless against left-handed pitching for the most part this year. Breaking stuff and changeups are eating him up.

mods, pleeze fix subtitle

best record in the majors?

you guys still 1st in the ####### majors?

Can we change the name of the subtitle please

Can we change the thread title?

big series with the 2nd place red sox.
interleague play is nice, but it's time for some AL east action.

btw, how does joe maddon consistently get role players/bench players/spot starters to produce. it feels like he sits them down and says, "okay, i'm going to get you in the lineup today, but only if you promise to come up with at least one timely HR" and then they do it.
to me, that's been the big story from the rays offense this season. at first, i kept wanting maddon to settle on an everyday lineup, but what he's doing is obviously keeping everybody fresh and keeping everyman on the roster more mentally focused when they do get some AB's.

big series with the 2nd place red sox.
interleague play is nice, but it's time for some AL east action.

btw, how does joe maddon consistently get role players/bench players/spot starters to produce. it feels like he sits them down and says, "okay, i'm going to get you in the lineup today, but only if you promise to come up with at least one timely HR" and then they do it.
to me, that's been the big story from the rays offense this season. at first, i kept wanting maddon to settle on an everyday lineup, but what he's doing is obviously keeping everybody fresh and keeping everyman on the roster more mentally focused when they do get some AB's.

He is forced to platoon because of some of the skillsets on the team. Gross is a disaster against lefties - and Gomes can't hit most righties so the 2 platoon. The team is too lefty and is desperate need of a RH power bat to help out Longoria in the middle of the lineup.

MVP of the team is JP Howell - he has bailed the Rays out of more messes than I can count this year.

OK...so the first half of the marathon is over...and we're cruising along.

CC, Upton, and Pena could easily improve offensively. Longoria is getting better at the plate weekly. Aki had a rough start. I'm sure Hinske/Gross/Aybar could hit worse though.

Kaz missed a month. Shields has been flaky. Garza flakier. Sonny has nowhere to go but down though. And obviously the bullpen can't perform any better. But we could see the addition of a lefty who can throw 99.

Am I crazy to think we will be better in the 2nd half, barring injury?

Last night’s Rays / Sox game averaged an 8.5 local household rating and a 20 share...peaked at a 12.8 rating which means that nearly 225,000 homes in Tampa Bay were tuned into the game during that time. Between Tampa Bay and Orlando, 271,000 households watched the game.

Wonder how Wed will come out?

i need some help. i think all the calenders in my house might be defective. they all say JULY and the rays have a 1.5 game lead in the mighty AL East.

when is the eta on that new stadium?

new stadium has been put on hold. Ownership decided to suspend the project because the vibe was the local geezers would kill the vote. They'll wait 2 more years for them to die or they'll give Tampa the opportunity to build a yard on the other side of the bay and scare St Pete into voting for it or losing all of that revenue.