The Tampa Bay Rays have had attendance and stadium problems ever since they came into existence 20 years ago. In the early days, it was easy to blame the lack of fans on the fact that the expansion team wasn't any good. But, even as the Rays have been more or less competitive for the last decade, the fans still don't show up. They have the fourth-best record in the American League, yet are lucky to draw 15,000 people for a home game.
Tropicana Field is a big part of the problem. The place is a dump. I understand why they thought they needed an indoor stadium when it was built in the late 80s (the Lightning actually played there for their first three seasons), but it's now terribly outdated. And it has been pretty much since the Rays' first game in 1998. It's the only completely indoor facility in the Majors, as well as one of only two with artificial turf (and the Blue Jays are planning on installing grass at SkyDome relatively soon).
None of this is news to the Tampa Bay Rays. They know that people don't want to go inside to watch a baseball game when the weather's gorgeous outside. Although, the thunderstorms in that area can be pretty nasty (just ask the Bucs), so a roof is needed. That's why the Rays have been looking to build a retractable roof stadium for years now. Unfortunately, they signed a 30-year lease with the City of St. Petersburg prior to their expansion season, so they're stuck at Tropicana Field until 2027.
Major League Baseball is also well aware of the Rays' stadium situation. Attendance isn't going to get any better until they get a new stadium, but a new stadium requires the land, the permits and everything else that goes with it. Not to mention at least two years for the construction once all that is settled. So, basically, nothing can be done about Tropicana Field for a while.
Which brings me to a similar situation in the late 90/early 2000s regarding the Montreal Expos. The Expos had attendance problems at the cavernous Olympic Stadium (having been there twice, I love Montreal's Olympic Stadium, even though I know it's just as much of a dump as Tropicana Field). To survive in Montreal, they needed a new (smaller) stadium, among other issues. MLB knew that wasn't likely and wanted a team in Washington, so they pushed for relocation. Which was easy since the Expos were owned by the league at the time.
In the 15 years since the Expos became the Nationals, there have definitely been nostalgic feelings about MLB's first Canadian franchise. Expos merchandise is everywhere, and the Blue Jays have been playing their last couple Spring Training games in Montreal for a few seasons now, which have all been sellouts (even before Vlad Jr. showed up).
Naturally it's gotten people thinking that a return to Montreal seems inevitable when/if Major League Baseball expands again. Except MLB has no current plans of expanding. Rob Mafred has even flat out said that expansion won't even be considered until they figure out the "stadium situations" in Oakland and Tampa Bay, neither of which seems close to being resolved.
To solve one of those "stadium situations," MLB has come up with a solution similar to one they once used with the Expos. In 2003 and 2004, their final two years before moving to Washington, the Expos split their home games between Montreal and San Juan, playing 22 games each season in Puerto Rico.
This proposal would do the exact same thing, except it would be splitting Rays games between Tampa Bay and Montreal. The number of games in each city is unclear, but I did see one suggestion that they would play the early season games in Tampa before heading to Montreal once the weather got warmer. I've also seen the idea of a split season, with half the games in each city, floated around.
Now, there are a lot of hurdles that make this seem unlikely. For starters, the Blue Jays enjoy being the only team in Canada, so I'm sure they'd have some objections. Likewise, the Rays having two "home" markets probably wouldn't go over well with the other 29 teams.
But here's the issue that makes this plan really stupid: it's predicated on the construction of a new stadium in BOTH cities! That makes absolutely no sense! Why would Montreal build a new ballpark if they're not getting their own team? And why would they build one to host less than a full season's worth of games?
Likewise, if the Rays finally got their new ballpark in the Tampa area, why wouldn't they just play all 81 games there? Their attendance is an issue. That's obvious. But it might be stadium. At least give them a chance to see if that's the case. If they build a brand new 30,000-seat retractable roof park and people still don't show up, then maybe you can write off Tampa as a market.
I kinda get what MLB is trying to do here. They want to address the Rays' attendance issues while also seeing if a return to Montreal would indeed make sense, either with an expansion team or a relocated franchise (probably the one that would be playing some of its home games there). I simply don't see how playing some (half?) of their home games in a different city would solve the Rays' attendance woes in Tampa, though. I didn't understand it 15 years ago, either.
One thing appears certain, though. As desperate as MLB was to get out of Montreal back then, they seem just as eager to get back there now. Are they just as eager to move the Rays out of Tampa? That's less clear. I don't think they're ready to give up on Tampa yet, but they're getting close. Hence this ridiculous proposal. Which, if enacted, would only serve to hasten the Rays' departure. Just like 15 years ago, when Montreal was on the other end of it all.
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