Between 2010 and 2011, I covered five postseason games at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
Last year, I covered two exhibition games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
Based on my firsthand experience, I can tell you — unequivocally — that there is greater passion for baseball in Montreal than Tampa Bay.
Does that mean the Tampa Bay Rays are about to become the Montreal Expos? No. The Rays have a lease with the City of St. Petersburg to play at Tropicana Field through 2027. An agreement with the city and/or a lengthy, expensive court battle would be required for the Rays to leave for a new market before then. Neither process is afoot.
But another extraordinary turnout at Olympic Stadium this weekend should be noted for what it is: a clear demonstration that Montrealers feel a greater connection to the team they lost than Tampa Bay fans do for the team they still have.
The Blue Jays‘ exhibition games in Montreal — two against the Mets last year, two against the Reds this weekend — can be described as “special events,” in the same way that Major League Baseball postseason games are “special events.”
So, let’s compare how the two markets have responded to their recent “special events.”
Attendance at the four Blue Jays games in Montreal: 46,121 and 50,229 (2014); 46,314 and 50,231 (2015).
Average: 48,223.
Attendance at the last four Rays postseason games in Tampa Bay: 28,299 and 32,828 (2011); 32,807 and 33,675 (2013).
Average: 31,902.
Tropicana Field’s original capacity was 45,360, but the Rays have placed tarps over thousands of seats because of consistently low attendance. Even then, the crowds at those four playoff games failed to reach the adjusted capacity — 34,078. (The Rays have further reduced the capacity since then, to 31,042.)
Even more discouraging: The Rays finished last in the majors in attendance during their most recent playoff season, in 2013. It’s hard to imagine a similar embarrassment occurring anywhere else in Major League Baseball — even Oakland, which has its own stadium issues.
Montreal’s skeptics are quick to point out that the Expos suffered from dismal attendance in the final years before the franchise moved to Washington. That is true. But those figures must be placed in proper context: The team rarely competed for playoff berths in those years, and disheartened fans had concluded (correctly) that a plan was afoot to relocate the team.
Previously, Montrealers proved that they would support a winning team — something that fans in Tampa Bay haven’t done. Montreal has always had the television and in-person audience to support baseball. (It is the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. or Canada without a team.) Now, clearly, it has the engagement.
There are good Major League Baseball fans in Tampa Bay, but there aren’t enough of them. It may be that the Tampa Bay region — with plenty of families and retirees who love the game — is best suited for spring-training afternoons and inexpensive minor-league games. There is no shame in that.
Montreal is a fundamentally different place — with a deeper sense of cultural self-identity wrapped up in its sports teams. That is why Expos legend Vladimir Guerrero received a more emotional ovation at a Montreal Canadiens game the other night than Evan Longoria ever would on the sideline at Raymond James Stadium.
MLB officials also would be wise to take note of the ExposNation grassroots campaign: The organization is diverse, ethnically and linguistically, and in the young demographic that baseball executives are so eager to cultivate. A sincere courtship of Montreal would be a further sign that MLB is willing to take the sport to places where the next generation is poised to embrace it.
Will the Rays move to Montreal? I’m not sure. But MLB can’t ignore the overwhelming evidence that says they should.
MORE: Jon Paul Morosi has the scoops: Check out JP’s archive.