They're actually just called the Rays now, but I deemed that too gay for my topic title



How cool is this?





I say pretty fucking.

Quote :

"Don't adjust your monitors, people. Pictured above is a rendering of the Rays' proposed $450 million waterfront stadium in St. Petersburg. The photos of this plan have been available for some time, but the team just released this image yesterday, which features the park with the roof in the "closed" position. As you can tell from the photo, translucency is king. And after seeing those Lindsay Lohan photos in New York magazine, I have to ask: Who doesn't love translucency? The roof is supposed to resemble a sail and I suppose it does. But it also kinda looks like a kids' pillow fort. Not to mention that the long post in the outfield originally reminded me of Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Still, I really like this plan, which could be completed as early as 2012. It'll be unique to the Bay area and it's obvious that anything has to be better than Tropicana Field. The sad truth is that until the Rays and Marlins get new stadiums, I'll never attempt to hit every ballpark in the bigs. This design would make the Florida swing worth it, though. Now if only they could figure out how to equip it with A/C. "

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/webspecials07/photo_galleries/newballparkgallery/index.shtml

2/21/2008 10:19:20 AM

i like it

2/21/2008 10:25:47 AM

In some of the shots, it looks like you could hit a long homer to right and have it go in the water like in San Francisco and Pittsburgh

Somebody should make a stadium like that with the water behind left field instead, since there are a lot more righty hitters and thus, more splashdowns

2/21/2008 10:30:07 AM

I wish I could engineer something like that

2/21/2008 10:30:12 AM

Where do the Devil Rays get the kind of money to build facilities like that? Nobody goes to the games unless the Yanks or Sox are in town. I'm puzzled as to where they get their revenue from.

Why not move the Rays to a growing city that needs an MLB team and where people would actually go to the games...perhaps Raleigh or Charlotte? Carolina Devil Rays anyone?

2/21/2008 10:34:52 AM

^ taxes

2/21/2008 10:37:27 AM

Don't want to start a whole thing here, but as someone who lives in Charlotte and spends much of his time in Raleigh, I can say that I don't think either could support a team any better than Tampa.

2/21/2008 10:38:05 AM

MLB in NC = FAIL

2/21/2008 10:52:23 AM

^Why not...the Devil Rays average ~15,000 people per game which is dead last in the MLB...plus if the Rays were in the NL and weren't in the same division as high profile teams like the Yanks and Sox I'd bet you they'd struggle to average more than 10k per game. The team sucks every year because they don't generate revenue to afford better players.

I'd be damned if they couldn't attract more fans in Raleigh or Charlotte. The population is growing and there will be alot more people here in the next 10 years or so. There's a big market to be tapped in this area.

Anyways I don't want to start an argument here...I guess I'm just sore about being 4+ hours away from a MLB park

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 11:03 AM. Reason : sausages]

2/21/2008 10:56:34 AM

haha, all bball teams rake in cash, its just some owners arent willing to spend it to field a competitive team (such as the nationals, pirates, rays, & royals), thus leading to fan resentment toward the owner

2/21/2008 10:56:50 AM

i like it! it looks like a sailboat or something. good fit for a florida team.

2/21/2008 11:02:00 AM

A bit of a Santiago Calatrava ripoff but kinda cool.

2/21/2008 11:05:10 AM

kinda looks like a space shuttle to me. and how hurricane resistant will that thing be?

2/21/2008 11:09:32 AM

hmm, depends how much air that canvas lets through. I would imagine the uplift would be pretty strong - I'm sure they've engineered the steel cables and frame to resist a certain windspeed, as would be required in that state.

2/21/2008 11:52:02 AM

shits gonna flood.

also raleigh wouldnt do much better than 15k because the games are so often. weekend games you could prolly get a full crowd consistently but with weekday traffic/uncentralization in the triangle you wouldn't get a lot of people to most games. nfl would work in raleigh not mlb.

2/21/2008 12:16:52 PM

If you've ever been to the Denver airport they have the same thing covering all of the terminals. They can get up to 2 feet of snow at a time so I'm guessing that thing is pretty weather resistant

2/21/2008 12:28:22 PM

i bet a hurricane would blow it away

2/21/2008 12:31:16 PM

from the original article, it says that the roof is closed in the pic

2/21/2008 12:34:11 PM

I forgot, but what exactly is wrong with Tropicana Field? It's a fairly new (1990) stadium when you compare it to a lot of other MLB ballparks. The Tokyo Dome, home to the Yomiuri Giants, has a tilted roof, and it's worked out fine for them. I remember when it hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning and the 1999 Final Four. That was a classic game there between Duke and Connecticut.

2/21/2008 1:43:00 PM

I guess team officials figured that a new stadium would likely boost attendance to ~16k.


Get a decent team, then talk about this shit.

2/21/2008 1:56:51 PM

Quote :

"I forgot, but what exactly is wrong with Tropicana Field? It's a fairly new (1990) stadium when you compare it to a lot of other MLB ballparks. The Tokyo Dome, home to the Yomiuri Giants, has a tilted roof, and it's worked out fine for them. I remember when it hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning and the 1999 Final Four. That was a classic game there between Duke and Connecticut."

It's a fucking dump. It looks like a dump, it smells like a dump. The roof is slanted and too low. I don't think there are enough luxury boxes, yadda yadda yaddda. It's the worst ballpark in the majors by far.

(Shea would be a close second but it's in its final year, so it gets free pass)

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 2:10 PM. Reason : ]

2/21/2008 2:09:58 PM

Quote :

"If you've ever been to the Denver airport they have the same thing covering all of the terminals. They can get up to 2 feet of snow at a time so I'm guessing that thing is pretty weather resistant"

Yeah, but a snow load is easier to design for than uplift from high winds. Either way, I'm sure they've got it figured out.

2/21/2008 2:36:42 PM

it would be cool do to a tour of the us and all the ball parks this summer. having it end wherever the world series are

2/21/2008 2:36:44 PM

There's more than one now?

2/21/2008 2:37:25 PM

The World Series is always in two different ballparks

2/21/2008 2:39:35 PM

OH THANKS STORM BONE

2/21/2008 2:41:02 PM

by 2012 the Rays will have 3 AL East pennants, so this is a good move... if fans start coming then

2/21/2008 2:43:39 PM

Are they going to steal the pennants from Fenway or Yankee Stadium? I'm not sure how else they'll get three..

2/21/2008 2:49:03 PM

Shea looks terrible and it's so close to La Guardia too. I wonder how many planes fly over it every day. I don't think Tropicana Field looks all that bad. Yeah it's interior is kind of bland, but I've never been one that's too concerned with the look of a stadium as oppossed to it's functionality (i.e. the size of the concourses, the sightlines, how close the stands are to the action, number of bathrooms, etc.). I've never been to Tropicana Field, but I think it'd be pretty cool to see simply b/c of the oddness that the slanted roof presents.

Now as for that proposed stadium, that thing is gorgeous. I like how it's right on the bay and how with its sail like appearance it fits right into the Tampa Bay area atmosphere. I like how they also have hints of Tropicana Field in the design with the sloping roof structure. If they build it it will be an architectural icon like the way the University of Phoenix Stadium is now and the future Dallas Cowboys stadium will be once it's complete. Each of the archs in the new Dallas Cowboys stadium will have a span twice that of the St. Louis Gateway Arch.

2/21/2008 2:53:37 PM

$50 says they wont have 3 pennants by 2012

2/21/2008 2:53:38 PM

This thread reminded me that the Natspos are opening a new ballpark this year.

The NL East has had some pretty shitty parks over the years: Olympic Stadium, Shea, RFK, The Vet

2/21/2008 2:58:18 PM

don't forget Pro Player...I've never been to a Dolphins game there but it sucks for baseball

2/21/2008 3:02:36 PM

Oh durrr, it's literally falling apart.

2/21/2008 3:10:31 PM

haha ok so i was kinda kidding, but they could be very good in a couple years...if they actually hold on to their players..

something i read yesterday

Quote :

"Last year's No. 1 overall pick could be in the Rays' rotation by 2009, and the staff ace in 2010, when the Rays compete for a playoff spot."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/02/08/goldstein.top100/index.html

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 3:15 PM. Reason : david price, #6]

2/21/2008 3:15:18 PM

They're gonna lose Kazmir in a year or so, and then its back to square one

They're basically like a AAAA minor league team, grooming all the best prospects until their ready for a real Major League team

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 3:20 PM. Reason : Marlins are in the same situation...they just fuck up and win a World Series every few years]

2/21/2008 3:19:21 PM

The roof is retractable you tards.

2/21/2008 3:24:24 PM

We know.

2/21/2008 3:33:56 PM

i heard no new taxes are needed to pay for it, which seems amazing

2/21/2008 3:55:24 PM

Quote :

"it would be cool do to a tour of the us and all the ball parks this summer"

i bought a book about that, still haven't put it to good use yet. but i will.

also this new Rays stadium looks beyond beautiful. yet they should still move the Marlins to NC.

2/21/2008 4:05:10 PM

that is absolutely awesome.

2/21/2008 4:37:36 PM