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Rays ballpark will now have a lower seating capacity than some soccer stadiums

chris cwik
Staff writer
Tropicana Field will have a lower seating capacity in 2019. (AP)
Tropicana Field will have a lower seating capacity in 2019. (AP)

The Tampa Bay Rays are testing out a bold, new strategy to make Tropicana Field look more populated. The team is reducing the capacity of the park by roughly 5,000 seats as part of stadium renovations.

At 31,042 seats, Tropicana Field already had the lowest seating capacity of any Major League Baseball stadium. After the renovations, that figure will go down to between 25,000 and 26,000 seats. The Rays told the Tampa Bay Times the move is aimed at improving the fan experience at the park.

While 26,000 fans is still a large number, it’s quite small for baseball. The Athletic’s David O’Brien highlighted just how few people Tropicana Field will hold compared to other sports arenas.

O’Brien’s point about soccer stadiums checks out. BMO Field in Toronto can hold close to 31,000 fans. Dignity Health Sports Park in California can hold 27,000 fans.

While the lowered stadium capacity isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it highlights the issues the Rays have had with attendance in recent years. The Rays finished 29th in attendance in 2018, beating out only the Miami Marlins. From 2017 to 2012, the Rays ranked dead last in attendance each season.

The lack of fans at Rays’ games doesn’t go unnoticed by the players. Outfielder Tommy Pham called out the team’s fan base in December, suggesting the Rays might have to move in order to draw fans.

The Rays aren’t getting that drastic just yet. But as long as the team’s attendance remains low, that possibility will still exist.

Enhancing the fan experience at Tropicana Field is an admirable goal, but the team will need more than just cosmetic changes to solve its attendance issue.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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