February 22, 2010

Rays FanFest fans: Trop's just fine, so is St. Pete

In the latest Tampa Bay Rays stadium kerfuffle news, a randomish sampling by the St. Petersburg Times of fans who turned out for the Rays FanFest has determined that:

• They like Tropicana Field just fine.
• They think it could be even more inconvenient to drive to Tampa or points north than to St. Pete.
• They (okay, one guy) think the Rays would sell more tickets if they'd "stop shooting off about how bad the stadium is."

Of course, there's a reason why "randomish" isn't accepted polling practice: You could reasonably argue that people who are already diehard Rays fans aren't the best test case for how to expand the team's reach. But it is mildly interesting that at least some fans have a rosier view of the Rays' dome home than the team's owner does.