Should Bucs' stadium move to St. Pete?

ST. PETERSBURG - The mayor of St. Petersburg thinks the television blackout of Sunday's Tampa Bay Bucs season opener bolsters his arguments for keeping a baseball stadium in Pinellas County.

"There's no reason, of all 16 games, that opening day isn't sold out. That does send a message that people don't have that expendable dollar any longer," said mayor Bill Foster.

Attendance at Tampa Bay Rays games have also lagged this year, fueling arguments that Tampa would be a better location for a new stadium. The current recession is seldom mentioned in public discussion but Foster said "It's not being overlooked in my conversation, especially my conversation with the Rays organization."

Sports fans also mention the economy as an explanation for sagging ticket sales for both professional sports experiences.

Brooke Myers said she has attended five Rays games this season.

"I would say every game, you're going to drop at least 50 bucks, and in one night out, for a week, that's a lot of money," she said.

"We go around and we look for the canned beer, it's a better buy," said long-time Rays fan Stacey Purcell. "In the years before when I went, we never really had that much discussion about where the best beer buys are in the stadium."

When it comes to football, Jim Box said this is the first year he did not buy the season ticket package.

"They're 85 bucks apiece, and you multiply that times 10. And that's for the cheap seats," Box said.

Deepak Menon thinks the Bucs non-sellout is a product of their 3 and 13 record last year.

"If the Bucs were the best team in football, I guarantee you that stadium would have sold out in about 5 minutes," Menon said.

There may be yet another explanation for lagging attendance: HDTV. Earlier this year, the Consumer Electronics Association reported 35 percent of football fans prefer the high-definition experience in their living rooms over the real thing.

The Bucs blackout begs the question: is the Bucs' stadium in the wrong place?

"Oh I'd love to have it here in the city of St. Pete," said St. Pete mayor Bill Foster. "But they have an agreement with the city of Tampa and the Hillsborough County Sports Authority, so it's off the table"