Rays ranked 'least valuble team' second year straight
TAMPA (FOX 13) - The Tampa Bay Rays are dead last in Major League Baseball again.
A Forbes publication ranks the Rays at number 30, the bottom spot, on its new list of most valuable teams for the second year in a row.
Forbes values the team $650 million, up about $50 million from a year ago.
The Rays had the lowest average attendance in baseball for a third straight year in 2014, despite having some of the cheapest tickets in the game.
According to the publication, the team’s “antiquated and difficult –to-get-to stadium, which is more than 20 miles outside of Tampa” is to blame.
The news comes as the process of moving the Rays from Tropicana field is in the works.
Last month, Tampa Bay Rays executives and Tampa leaders discussed options of building a future stadium in Hillsborough County.
The meeting, which was held in an office attached to the Rays team store in downtown Tampa, included Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan and several business owners.
Rays team President Brian Auld led the team's contingent of attendees.
“I'm cautiously optimistic that at the end of the day, we'll be able to find a long term solution that's mutually beneficial for the entire Tampa Bay region,” said Auld.