Tropicana Filed – The Rays of No Hope
The Tampa Bay Rays lost the opening game of the American League Wild Card series to the Texas Rangers 4-0 on Tuesday. The attendance at Tropicana Field was 19,704, the smallest number of fans to attend an MLB playoff game in more than 100 years.
Other than the 2020 COVID-19 season, the Game 1 crowd was the lowest attendance for a postseason game since Game 7 of the 1919 World Series in Cincinnati.
The attendance at Tropicana Field has been an embarasment for years. Thankfully, there is hope for the future. A new 30,000 seat, $1.6 billion stadium is scheduled to open for the 2028 season.
The Rays’ are absolutly worth the price of admission with four division titles, nine playoff appearances and two trips to the World Series since 2008. I would think the Trop would be a bit fuller in order to create a playoff atmosphere.