The following is cross-posted from Noah Pransky’s award-winning Shadow of the Stadium blog.
In 2010, he said “there has to be concern.”
In 2011, he had no reason “to be too optimistic.”
In 2012, he said attendance was “inexcusable” and “disappointing.”
Now, a year later, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig says the Rays’ stadium situation is “economically not tolerable” and “beyond disappointing.”
In Bud’s defense, the Rays are once again one of the best teams in baseball but one of the worst at the gate.
But on the other hand, Selig’s problem isn’t a few thousand Rays fans deciding to stay at home each night … his problem is the league’s embarrassment of riches. Owners and players have made so much money during Selig’s tenure, the super-rich are fighting over how much they have to share with the league’s modestly-rich.
As I’ve written before, MLB allowed its business expenses to skyrocket, and now it wants you to help fix it.
