The restaurant, bar and nightclub scene that seemed to be taking off near Tropicana Field between 10th and 16th streets on Central Avenue 18 months ago has died. Mark Ferguson's place, which predated all the failed businesses, is one of just a handful of survivors.

"A year ago, the Big Catch was there, the Silver King, Corrigan's, the Camel Club," said Wendy Giffin, a real estate broker who is working to lease five empty restaurant or bar spaces in the Dome District. "All those places are closed now."

The most recent closures were stalwarts that survived the first wave of disappointment in 1998, when traffic on the avenue from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' debut at Tropicana Field was far less than most neighborhood businesses hoped.

The Silver King Tavern has stopped operating regularly and is looking for a new, beachfront location, and Budious Maximus, an underground music lounge with retro decor, threw a last weekend of parties July 13 and 14 before closing.

"I have been on this block for almost seven years," said Joseph Gray, the owner of Budious, who is thinking of moving to Miami for a better atmosphere. "Back then, there were a bunch of crackhead and transvestite prostitutes on the street. Now there's not even that. Commerce in this area is at an all-time low."

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Chamber of Commerce director Russ Sloan notes that Tropicana Field contains its own restaurants and entertainment, keeping most fans inside the building until they go home, rather than sending them spilling onto Central Avenue. Still, some made their way to Central after every game for the first couple of seasons.

Attendance at baseball games this year is as dismal as the team's performance, so the spinoff benefit is small, business owners say. And the new heavyweight entertainment complex near the downtown waterfront, BayWalk, has drawn customers away.

As more Dome District businesses closed, it lost critical mass and things got even tougher for the ones that were left.

"Baseball, of course, being as bad as it's been lately -- we have to have that to stay in this neighborhood," said Bill Loughery, a partner in Silver King. "We had a big Friday night crowd, and when BayWalk opened, they all moved down there." Loughery said he and his partners were unable to negotiate an economical extension for their lease, so they gave up on Central Avenue.

Craig Sher, president of the Sembler Co. that developed BayWalk, said his development does have the advantage of being the fresh face, especially in a city with a limited number of customers. He also credited other restaurants near BayWalk with providing enough options to bring undecided patrons to the downtown core rather than elsewhere.

The Dome District has another handicap, as well. Bars need a crowd of neighborhood regulars to survive. But too few people young enough to enjoy the clubs lining the avenue live close by.

Steve's Tavern on the Ave, at 933 Central, draws the residents who do live nearby: people from the high-rise retirement homes within a few blocks of his business.

"Eight o'clock (a.m.) we open up, and we have a good crowd," Steve Capinegro said, opening a Budweiser for one customer last week. "We've known all these people for years. Seventy-five percent of our people walk in."

Giffin, the real estate broker, said new townhomes or loft apartments would give the avenue the core group of customers its business district needs, and she is hopeful a developer will fill that void.

Troy "DJ Quest" Hamby keeps the music going at Ferg's, as he has for almost two years. "It used to be so packed you couldn't move in here," he says.

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As the only option for the thirsty, Ferguson's business has improved slightly since Silver King announced its exit, but even he would like to see a little competition on the block. Crowds that come for a whole row of clubs will help him more than they will hurt.

"We're hoping that some good operators come in, and the place is going to take off again," he said. Meanwhile, he's sponsoring softball teams, chatting up his regular customers and doing okay, he said.

Because the city invested millions in colored sidewalks and pedestrian-friendly street lights for the Dome District to get ready for baseball, its latest slump is disheartening, especially after the area showed signs of succeeding.

"That's not looking real good down there right now, and we've got to figure out a game plan to hang on until the market forces are right," said city economic development director Ronald Barton. "Otherwise, we're going to have to figure out a way to do some land banking to assemble some sites that make sense for development."

One man, John Warren, controls many of the buildings in the area, including ones that housed failed night spots. He was traveling and could not be reached for this story.

Giffin is working to lease the space for Warren and said he does envision the area remaining a nightclub and restaurant district. She said Warren is being choosy to get tenants with staying power.

"I'm working very closely with the landlord to market the spaces at market rents," she said, adding that she is essentially starting over, selling the row of vacancies as she might a new shopping center. "Our main focus is to get a good mix of restaurants and nightclubs out there that will do marketing to succeed."

One of Warren's last tenants, Jerry Benedetti of Benedetti's Pizza, is waiting.

"We had six nightclubs on this one strip; I had 75, 100 people standing out here," Benedetti said Friday, remembering when he used to make serious money through his takeout window late at night. He thought of closing a couple of weeks ago, but a conversation with Giffin persuaded him to hold out longer, he said.

"I have a good feeling about this place up here," he said.

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