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Paradise lost, but it can be found

By JOHN ROMANO
Published March 7, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - From the outside, it must have looked like paradise. Nothing but sunny skies, smiling faces and wide-open spaces.

For the commissioner of a sport, or the owner of a new franchise, Florida was the place to find wins, fans and riches, not necessarily in that order.

Yup, this was a paradise where they could all frolic.

Until they realized fig leaves were in short supply.

If you're frustrated by the lack of support for the Devil Rays in Tampa Bay, you might want to consult with a Marlins fan in Miami. Or a Jaguars fan in Jacksonville. Or a Magic fan in Orlando.

You see, Vince Naimoli and the Rays are not the only team facing the aggravation of building a fan base in a seemingly indifferent market.

Look around the state, and it's not too difficult to find a disgruntled team owner or an out-of-date facility. On the other hand, you have to do a bit of searching if you're trying to find enthusiastic crowds.

As a home for professional franchises, Florida has exploded in the past 30 years, joining California and New York as the most popular states for balls and pucks. But, unlike those other states, teams in Florida seem disproportionately troubled by attendance and revenues.

The Marlins and Rays were two of the worst draws in the majors in 2004. The Jaguars were 28th among 32 teams in the NFL in attendance for the 2003 and '04 seasons combined. The Heat was 24th in the NBA last season and the Magic was 27th among 29.

The Marlins have made noise about moving to Las Vegas if they don't get a new facility. The Magic is hinting about trouble ahead if Orlando does not come up with a better arena. And, last summer, commissioner Bud Selig fired the first warning shot about a new stadium for the Rays in Tampa Bay.

How did this happen?

How could so many millionaires misjudge the Florida markets?

Easily. They relied on the census instead of their senses. They saw large areas of population, and assumed that would translate into long lines at the box office. They saw dollar signs instead of warning signs.

So what's wrong with the Florida markets? Plenty, but let's start with these missing ingredients:

Tradition and money.

Tradition is going to be a problem for any expansion market, but it's especially troublesome in Florida, where most of your neighbors are from somewhere else. Not only is there no identification with a new team, there is little sense of camaraderie within the marketplace.

This isn't just Tampa Bay. It's Orlando and Miami, too. There is no sense of history. No common ground. Just a bunch of strangers spread out in suburbs. In 1975, there was one major-league team in the state. Today, there are nine. That's an awful lot of allegiances to build in a very short time.

As a problem, this is not insurmountable. But it becomes even more significant when you factor in the economic issues.

Simply put, we're not rich enough. We lack briefcases and computer chips. We have a lot of employees, but not many executives. The new era of sports franchises requires lots of discretionary cash, and we don't have enough.

There's no Microsoft. No Coca-Cola. No Silicon Valley or Wall Street. Among last year's Fortune 500 companies, only two were based in Pinellas or Hillsborough. That makes suites, high-end amenities and season tickets a much harder sell for local teams scrambling to find moguls.

Again, this does not mean Florida markets are doomed. It just reduces their margin for error. And it magnifies every subsequent problem.

For instance, a poor stadium situation can grow into a significant issue. And a blundering ownership group can turn into a nightmare.

Sound like a baseball team you might know?

The Rays are struggling not because this is an iffy market. And not because Tropicana Field is an unattractive stadium in an undesirable location. And not because Naimoli has no idea of how to be consumer friendly.

The Rays are struggling because of all of those issues.

And they're not alone in Florida.

The Magic has arena issues in Orlando. The Marlins have a stadium problem in Miami. The Jaguars made critical front office mistakes in Jacksonville.

You could pick out similar problems with teams across the nation, but it's most noticeable in Florida because of the uniqueness of the marketplace and the sheer number of struggling franchises.

If this is all beginning to sound hopeless, take heart. The Buccaneers were once a joke, but became one of the NFL's richest franchises with an ownership change and a new stadium. The story for the Lightning is quite similar.

So, no, Miami is not a great sports town. And Tampa Bay is not a perfect sports market. Orlando and Jacksonville are still quite limited.

But, given the right circumstances and savvy ownership groups, teams can still thrive in any of Florida's markets.

Hey, Vince.

Need a fig leaf?

[Last modified March 7, 2005, 06:20:13]