Rays president Brian Auld isn't optimistic about the team's long-term future in Tampa Bay.
"We've concluded that it's next to impossible that full-season baseball can succeed in Tampa Bay today," Auld said last week, according to Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal.
The Rays are exploring a split-season proposal to play in Tampa Bay and Montreal, starting in 2028 when their lease expires at Tropicana Field. The club would like to have two new open-air stadiums in both cities.
"We're not missing by a few thousand people a night. We're less than half from where we need to be with an absolutely incredible team," Auld said. "The sister city plan deserves a chance to be heard by open minds."
The Rays drew just over 27,000 fans at Tropicana Field for Game 1 of their ALDS matchup against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. The stadium's full capacity is over 42,000. The team averaged slightly more than 9,000 spectators per regular-season home game in 2021, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
The club planned to promote the split-season strategy with a sign at Tropicana Field during the playoffs. However, owner Stuart Sternberg changed his mind and apologized to fans.