Despite another strong season, posting a 99-63 record, the fourth-best in MLB this season, the Tampa Bay Rays cannot seem to find fan support.
During Game 1 of the team’s AL Wild Card series against the Texas Rangers, the Rays couldn’t even get fans to sell out the stadium as only a measly 19,704 fans showed up. That’s the lowest attendance for a non-COVID playoff game since 1919.
The last postseason game with a smaller crowd was Game 7 of the 1919 World Series in Cincinnati which was the year of the “Black Sox” scandal in which eight Chicago White Sox were accused of fixing games.
During the 2023 season, the Rays drew the fourth-smallest total attendance with a little more than 1.4 million fans. The team has been in the bottom four of attendance for more than 10 years.
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For some insane reason, the Rays announced last month their plans for a new $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg. The new 30,000-seat stadium has the ability to accommodate up to 35,000 for other events and will open in 2028.
The Rays lost the game 4-0 in front of their meager home crowd on Tuesday as they recorded four errors on their way to its sixth straight postseason loss dating back to 2021.
