You Can Bet on the Tampa Bay Rays Home Attendance – Odds Say It Won’t Get Worse Than 5,786
- Tuesday’s Tampa Bay Rays-Toronto Blue Jays game drew just 5,786 fans
- That was a new record-low for attendance at Tropicana Field
- Books are offering prop wagers on attendance at Rays home games this season
The Tampa Bay Rays are battling for the lead in the American League East. They have a young, scrappy team. And no one seems to care.
Once again, attendance for Rays home games at Tropicana Field – well, actually lack of attendance at Tropicana Field – is drawing attention to Tampa for all the wrong reasons.
For those curious, tonight's attendance of 5,786 is the smallest home crowd in franchise history. The #Rays drew 6,509 to a 9/5/17 game vs MIN, played as Hurricane Irma was bearing down on the Tampa Bay region.
— Steve Carney (@stevecarney) May 29, 2019
Only 5,786 showed up Tuesday as Tampa Bay faced the Toronto Blue Jays. That was a new low for the ballpark, shattering the previous single-game standard of 6,509.
At least there was an excuse that time. The area was bracing for Hurricane Irma to hit in 2017 and baseball wasn’t exactly a priority of the locals. In fact, many people evacuated the region at the time.
Books are offering a pair of prop wagers connected to the woeful MLB attendance at Tropicana Field.
Lowest Single-Game Home Attendance for Tampa Bay Rays During 2019 MLB Season
| Total | Odds |
|---|---|
| Over 5,785.5 | -200 |
| Under 5,785.5 | +160 |
*Odds taken 05/31/19
How Low Will They Go?
Is 5,786 as low as the bar will get, or can Tampa Bay manage to limbo under that mark this season? Books have set one prop wager on the lowest single-game attendance for a Rays home game this season.
That bar is set at 5,785.5 – one-half a person below this week’s new record.
MLB Attendance Update through 5/27:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers- 1,225,780
2. St. Louis Cardinals- 1,174,132
3. New York Yankees- 1,079,744
4. Chicago Cubs- 1,024,128
5. Philadelphia Phillies- 1,006,503
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29. Tampa Bay Rays- 364,454
30. Miami Marlins- 254,618— Ryan (@The_Ryan_Shull) May 28, 2019
The Rays have already dipped below 10,000 in attendance for home 12 games this season. In 2018, it happened just nine games out of 81, so Tampa Bay is already trending in the wrong direction.
Average Home Game Attendance for Tampa Bay Rays During 2019 MLB Season
| Total | Odds |
|---|---|
| Over 13,256 | -130 |
| Under 13,256 | EVEN |
No Rays of Hope
You have to give Tampa Bay baseball fans one thing – they are consistent, even if that is consistently apathetic. They are on pace to finish last in the American League in attendance for the fifth year in a row. They’ve drawn 13,732 per game thus far this season.
The Rays are on pace to finish last in the American League in attendance for the fifth year in a row.
Tampa Bay has put the fewest fans in the seats in the AL 11 times since joining the loop as an expansion franchise in 1998. The Rays have never finished higher than seventh overall in AL attendance, and that was during their inaugural season.
The Tampa Bay Rays are a game and a half from having the best record in baseball, have won 6 in a row, but are 29th in attendance and set a new futility in attendance the other night. A new stadium will not fix this. Tampa Bay simply does not care about baseball. Period.
— Adam Fredrick (@AdamFredrick10) May 31, 2019
The ball club even managed to finish with an AL-low average attendance of 18,646 in 2013 despite qualifying for postseason play as a wild card team.
It’s a Florida Thing
Tampa Bay’s second-lowest attendance this season came on the road. Just 5,947 took in their 1-0 win at Miami over the Marlins on May 15. The NL Marlins (9,478) are the only team with a lower average attendance this season than the Rays.
Is @MLB in trouble? Attendance is down for 4th straight season. The Tampa Bay #Rays and @Marlins drew 12,653 Wednesday night — COMBINED. On Tuesday, the #Rays drew 5,786 fans to Tropicana Field, the smallest home crowd in team history. @10NewsWTSP #10News pic.twitter.com/w0QnNmksLI
— Rob Finnerty (@RobFinnertyWTSP) May 31, 2019
Tampa Bay might break last season’s record-low average of 14,259 but going under 13,256 seems unlikely. However, the Marlins are in Tampa for two games August 3-4. There’s a realistic chance that combination could go under 5,785.5.
Play the over for the season but roll the dice on a single-game under mark.
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
