HDTV putting Rays in predicament

The Tampa Bay Rays posted a solid sellout of its season opener, but the euphoria faded quickly over the weekend when those empty blue seats quickly started showing up again.

Tropicana Field, with a seating capacity of 34,078 was fully occupied the evening of April 1, but the next night's attendance was announced at 22,164 and by Sunday afternoon dwindled to 17,408.

Such is the tradeoff the Rays live with lately, especially while lobbying for a new stadium in possibly another part of the Bay area. While the team lags near the bottom in attendance among Major League Baseball franchises, it's also near the top in terms of local TV ratings.

It's often difficult to justify the cost of tickets, parking and concessions for a trip to the Trop when games look so good on the high-definition screen of your choice. Sun Sports is set to carry 150 of the Rays' 162 home and away games this season.

So while the team's owners may lose money when we don't come out, they still generate revenues from commercials we wouldn't otherwise see if we were there. But attendance and crowd noise still mean something to the players on the field, hence this year's “Only at the Ballpark” promotional slogan.