The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank - Deadspin Comments

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Trackback — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:31:54 EST

If you gave a five-year-old boy $200 million of nonexistent Floridian tax money and asked him to imagine the greatest baseball stadium that could possibly be built by humans, what would that kid come up with? Something ninja-related? Maybe a huge spaceship?

Trackback

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Spike Vrusho — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:05:57 EST

It STILL doesn't beat the strip club with the UFO on the roof and the Stanley Kubrick moniker over there on the other side of Tampa.

Spike Vrusho

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

cromartie — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:46:08 EST

Hmmm...cloth retractable roof, on strings to house lousy team with no payroll and no fans. This seems so familiar....

cromartie

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

SuperFrankieLampard — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:04:07 EST

@Yinka Double Dare: the pavilion at millennium park is one of the few things gehry has done that i actually like. i think the bandshell works and the bridge is actually really nice. it's like if you give him small projects he does okay with them. but his bandshell is going to be killed by renzo piano's new addition to the museum right next to it.

SuperFrankieLampard

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

1980 David Bowie From The Music Video Ashes To Ashes — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:02:23 EST

@ColonelDebugger: Who do you you you are?

1980 David Bowie From The Music Video Ashes To Ashes

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

sidesalad — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:53:00 EST

I think it's very thoughtful for the franchise and St. Petersburg to worry about giving the Yankees and Red Sox a nicer place to win their pennants.

sidesalad

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

MyronCopacetic — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:46:35 EST

Why is the stadium invisible?

To match the fans.

Hey-ho!

MyronCopacetic

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

josereyes.theroof wishes to perform Tim Harris's sack-dance for you — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:45:26 EST

@UkraineNotWeak: I see what you did there.

josereyes.theroof wishes to perform Tim Harris's sack-dance for you

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Yinka Double Dare — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:45:24 EST

@Burning_River: That would be on the campus of my alma mater. The worst part is that the buildings across the street are really nice old buildings, so it looks especially bizarre in comparison.

Note that Chicago will have a Calatrava building to go along with our Gehry pavilion. Some of the early renditions of the Calatrava building looked like a spiral-ribbed dildo. Except one that's 2000 feet tall.

Yinka Double Dare

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

ColonelDebugger — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:22:33 EST

$450,000,000 for a stadium for a team that's lucky to draw 20,000 people to a game?

Who do they they they are the WNBA or the MLS?

ColonelDebugger

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

ralphus — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:19:55 EST

It's a shame. There's so much history in that old Suncoast Dome. The musical christening by the Gambler himself. The world's largest garage sale. The Tampa Bay Storm's domination of the Orlando Predators. The St. Pete International Folk Fair. The SF Giants not moving there. The St. Pete Pelicans standing proud in their Depends. But hey, I guess none of that matters in the face of progress.

You can't go home again my friends. You can't go home.

ralphus

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

44 in a Row — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:18:47 EST

HOK does stuff besides stadia?

HOK is a pretty big company, from what I understand; HOK SVE is the part (and I'm not sure whether it's a division, or a subsidiary, or just a separate company sharing the HOK name) that does the sports venues and other things that are better known to the public.

44 in a Row

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

kayceebk — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:17:15 EST

@greglooseanus: It's too shiny and abstract

/Gehry

kayceebk

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

rombuu — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:13:25 EST

@Hustler of Culture: HOK does stuff besides stadia? I didn't know that....

rombuu

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Chamomiles Davis — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:06:38 EST

Yarrrrrh, these seats be high, says I!

Chamomiles Davis

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

SuperFrankieLampard — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:57:01 EST

@HIV 2 Elway: check out some of the museum work that renzo piano does. i just did a precedent study on his nasher sculpture center for my studio class, and i got to know the rest of his buildings. they're all amazing and he's got a serious level of detail in the craft of them.

SuperFrankieLampard

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Lanny's Mustache Rides — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:53:09 EST

I notice a style of grassy-knoll seating planned for the outfield bleachers, similar to the Little League World Series. Not sure if this is to make a comparison between the level of skill on the field and a bunch of 12 year-old boys, or if it's just a conscious admission by management that no one will be coming to watch so they don't have to budget for big, fat, Florida ass-buckets.

Lanny's Mustache Rides

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Tuffy — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:33:30 EST

All of you architecture dorks may collect your +1 from your local TIF zone.

Tuffy

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

DucksOnPondScum — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:27:22 EST

A half-mast stadium for a half-mast fan base. Perfect.

DucksOnPondScum

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Im Hafner the man I used to be back when I was using PEDs — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:21:57 EST

@SuperFrankieLampard: This is what Gehry originally submitted for the new Jacob's Field years ago. Needless to say...um, yea

Im Hafner the man I used to be back when I was using PEDs

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Hustler of Culture — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:19:16 EST

@HIV 2 Elway: Nope. My dad doesn't work for the sports division. He's been in the DC office in Georgetown pretty much my entire life...

Hustler of Culture

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

44 in a Row — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:18:04 EST

The only problem with the Milwaukee Art Museum is that the Calatrava structure is wasted. Lots of people have no idea that there's basically no art in the Quadracci Pavilion; it's all next door. The actual museum building is architecturally significant too, since it was designed by Saarinen, but it's also pretty ugly.

44 in a Row

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

HIV 2 Elway — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:13:29 EST

@Hustler of Culture: Do you have KC roots?

HIV 2 Elway

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

HIV 2 Elway — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:13:00 EST

@SuperFrankieLampard: There was a Calatrava documentary on Independent Film Channel that was fantastic. The Milwaukee Art Museum is one of the finniest buildings, and museum, that I've ever been to.

HIV 2 Elway

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

HIV 2 Elway — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:11:24 EST

SuperFrankieLampard: I think, in the KC example, he wanted to handle it like he did the Disney concert hall. He would do the exterior and whatnot but leave the actual bowl to people who know it best much like he left all the acoustical work on the Disney hall to someone else.
/architecture dork

HIV 2 Elway

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

ClownForPound — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:10:59 EST

Da Vinci used his magic powers to get drunk and unlock the Create-a-Stadium feature.

ClownForPound

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

SuperFrankieLampard — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:10:54 EST

@HIV 2 Elway: calatrava is way better than gehry. i actually like most of calatrava's stuff, as it's much more elegant than gehry's. gehry does designs by crumpling paper and then tracing it with a 3d pen, while it seems like calatrava puts a lot of thought into his work.

SuperFrankieLampard

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Hustler of Culture — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:08:21 EST

@Tuffy: As the son of a long time HOK employee I would like to take this opportunity to defend (look at picture again)....ummm....yeah defend this design. They have had so much success in the past (looks at picture one more time)...ahh forget it. Its odd looking and no one will pay for it anyway.

Hustler of Culture

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

SuperFrankieLampard — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:08:16 EST

@HIV 2 Elway: i can't even imagine what sight lines would be like in a gehry stadium. although, to be fair, he's supposed to be designing the new nets stadium and some of his more recent stuff is less insanely bad than his earlier stuff.

SuperFrankieLampard

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

HIV 2 Elway — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:08:04 EST

@SuperFrankieLampard: Frank Gehry, the poor man's Calatrava.

HIV 2 Elway

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

HIV 2 Elway — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:06:49 EST

@Tuffy: A little stadium architecture trivia, the two finalists for the new Sprint Center in KC were HOK (well HOK and a few other local firms) and Frank Gehry. KC city council wanted to go with Gehry but at the last second Gehry backed out of the deal and yielded to HOK's experience with arenas and ballparks.

HIV 2 Elway

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

BruschisBrewsky — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:06:33 EST

@UkraineNotWeak: It figures they would finally get to Delmon Young's suggestion box entry now...

BruschisBrewsky

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Im a people person. Who drinks. — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:06:23 EST

@Tuffy: No Frank Gehry designed prison can hold me!

Im a people person. Who drinks.

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Im a people person. Who drinks. — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:04:40 EST

@Gourmet Spud: It's actually an ingenious plan to trick all of the retirees leaving Pittsburgh for FLA to think they're still rooting for the home team.

Im a people person. Who drinks.

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

SuperFrankieLampard — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:04:04 EST

@Tuffy: gehry will not, however be able to actually attend the ceremony because he is being awarded the frank gehry honorary "the only reason i get work is because i'm a celebrity" medal on the same day.

SuperFrankieLampard

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

UkraineNotWeak aka Praying for a Bullpen — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:04:04 EST

Where are they going to put the stripper pole? That's the only way to get people in Tampa to come.

UkraineNotWeak aka Praying for a Bullpen

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

The Vigilante Face — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:03:56 EST

@throwbot:
+1 for the Simpsons reference. I can't believe I remember that episode.

The Vigilante Face

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Dany Heatley Speedwagon — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:01:08 EST

Yaarrrr... they blow!

Dany Heatley Speedwagon

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

The Sensei — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:00:42 EST

Why this won't work: "Oh, let me just get into my yacht so I can go to the Rays game."

The Sensei

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Jefferson Short Bus — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:00:07 EST

This is an elaborate ruse to keep Black people from ever again attending a Rays game.

Jefferson Short Bus

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

goathair — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:58:39 EST

That's GARRR-ish.

goathair

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Dan Daoust — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:57:19 EST

All the best boat parking spots are already taken.

Dan Daoust

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Tuffy — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:55:55 EST

And the winner of the "Too Cute by Half" award for architecture in public spaces goes to... HOK Sport! Congratulations. Presenting the award will be multiple-time winner, Frank Gehry.

Tuffy

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

BruschisBrewsky — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:55:03 EST

Rocco Baldelli is excited about the new Captain Jack Sparrow bed sheets they have planned for the new trainers table, where he will undoubtedly spend the next 8 months.

BruschisBrewsky

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

The Legend of Vincent Tremblay — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:54:29 EST

@Wee_Evans: It's a schooner.

The Legend of Vincent Tremblay

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

ArkansasFred — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:53:34 EST

...it was rated AAAAAAARRRRR.

/sorry

ArkansasFred

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Gourmet Spud — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:53:27 EST

@Ihateyourteam:

+1.

Gourmet Spud

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Stev D — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:52:53 EST

@Sex-Panther: He sent a photo of a cannon to the ballpark architect

Stev D

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

DGonSouthCap — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:52:21 EST

They tried a retractable roof with fabric and cables in Montréal at Stade Olympique. See how well that worked out. The Expos moved to Washington. You think we want the NotDevil Rays here now too? Funk that! We can only resurrect one crappy franchise per century.

DGonSouthCap

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

The Legend of Vincent Tremblay — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:52:10 EST

@Big Daddy Drew: Considering the quality of play over the last 15 years, I'd say the teams are interchangeable.

The Legend of Vincent Tremblay

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Ihateyourteam — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:52:05 EST

That is the most impressive minor league stadium I have ever seen.

Ihateyourteam

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Civil Negligence — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:51:50 EST

Yet another reason we should sever the state of Florida and shove it off to sea.

Civil Negligence

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Wee_Evans — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:51:22 EST

Is it more an indictment of the stadium plan or the drawing itself that all I can see in that picture are a bunch of buildings and docked boats? Is this a magic eye thing?

Wee_Evans

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Slothrop — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:51:21 EST

@Gourmet Spud:

but not robots, because they're strong, and made of metal.

Slothrop

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

throwbot — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:51:04 EST

Handsome Pete will be dancing for nickels outside on game days.

throwbot

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Technicolor Jan Stenerud — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:50:59 EST

@The Legend of Vincent Tremblay: Can we blow it up during said rally, please?

Technicolor Jan Stenerud

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Yinka Double Dare — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:50:19 EST

They're only doing this so they can trick all the retirees into going to Rays games -- they'll think they're going on a cruise.

Yinka Double Dare

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Moops — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:49:43 EST

$450 million is more than the Rays' cumulative payroll since their inaugural year.

Moops

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

The Legend of Vincent Tremblay — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:49:11 EST

@The Man with No Name: The Trop has proven to be unsuitable for any of the purposes it has served during its short, sad lifetime.*

*: It may actually be a perfect venue for a Promise Keepers rally.

The Legend of Vincent Tremblay

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

SirWalterIII — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:48:52 EST

Am I the only one trying to figure out what a pirate ship has to do with a horrible baseball team named after a fish?

SirWalterIII

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Gourmet Spud — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:48:44 EST

If I know baseball-loving-retirees, if there is one thing they love, it's pirates.

That, and Paul Harvey.

Gourmet Spud

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Technicolor Jan Stenerud — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:48:28 EST

Actually Vegas is building this stadium as a pirate-ship-themed hotel-casino. And the Rays will play there, too, when Siegfried & Roy aren't in town.

Technicolor Jan Stenerud

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

BruschisBrewsky — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:48:23 EST

Does this mean Jim Hickey [deadspin.com] will now be loading up on rum before running rough shot into fellow employees vehicles?

BruschisBrewsky

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Green Weenie — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:47:33 EST

I forsee no shortage of Cabin Boys.

Green Weenie

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

wes mantooth — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:47:04 EST

All Somalians know that cruise ships make the best pirate ships.

wes mantooth

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

AusKosh — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:47:04 EST

Fred Smoot is working on his fielding and has already requested a trade.

AusKosh

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Bob Sheppards Flock — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:46:51 EST

The Rays can't do much worse even if they are wearing eye patches

Bob Sheppards Flock

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

SteveJeltzFan — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:46:43 EST

Oh, well *this* will make Matt Garza feel better.

SteveJeltzFan

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

StuScott Booyahs — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:46:40 EST

Tragically, the stadium will sink shortly after being built due to a devastating broadside strafing by Raymond James Stadium.

StuScott Booyahs

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Sex-Panther — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:46:22 EST

@Rob Iracane: Probably going to Honah Lee...

[en.wikipedia.org]

Sex-Panther

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Afino — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:46:19 EST

The fuck is a hurricane?

Afino

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

blastitbiggs — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:45:59 EST

Can they make it more like Jabba's sail barge?

blastitbiggs

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Drew Magary — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:45:54 EST

Is this to fool people into thinking they're going to a Bucs game?

Drew Magary

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Tony E — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:45:43 EST

@McCroskey: haha you can stay, I LOL'd

Tony E

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

44 in a Row — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:44:59 EST

Bob Ross painted that in 12 minutes.

Except there's no happy anything involved with the Devil Rays.

44 in a Row

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Pennington Noodlearm Enthusiast — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:44:26 EST

@Shea Guevara: I thought "Carmen Sandiego Architects" sounded fishy.

Pennington Noodlearm Enthusiast

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

SuperFrankieLampard — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:44:17 EST

as an architect, i say "eh." the roof is a cool idea but i hope when it's raining the wind never comes in from the water, otherwise rain is going to blow under the roof since it's got an open back 500 feet tall.

SuperFrankieLampard

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

The Man with No Name — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:44:06 EST

When was Tropicana built? Does it make sense for this crap-tacular team to have a new stadium?

The Man with No Name

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

TheStarterWife — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:44:04 EST

Will it have cannons so it can battle with Raymond James Stadium?

TheStarterWife

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Sex-Panther — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:44:02 EST

Yo Dawg, Elijah Dukes don't do no ship, I ain't even bulshitting.

Sex-Panther

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Doyle McPoyle — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:44:00 EST

Not to be outdone, the Mets new stadium will fully collapse every September.

Doyle McPoyle

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

ClueHeywood — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:43:58 EST

Bob Ross painted that in 12 minutes.

ClueHeywood

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Ronnie Woo Woo — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:43:46 EST

it's popping a tent!

Ronnie Woo Woo

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Civil Negligence — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:43:17 EST

Yarrrrrr tiss a crap-tacular vessel.

/Sea Captain

Civil Negligence

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Rob Iracane — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:43:08 EST

Retractable fabric sails? Are they planning on sailing this thing to Houston for interleague games?

Rob Iracane

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Lady Andrea — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:43:00 EST

@McCroskey: Matt GARRRRRRza is very excited to be a Ray.

Lady Andrea

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Gourmet Spud — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:42:25 EST

In other news, the City of Seattle has announced plans for a major overhaul of KeyArena...

Gourmet Spud

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Boz — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:42:23 EST

Will there be scurvy then?

Boz

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Arriaga_II — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:42:06 EST

They should let the team play on an un-manned oil rig in the bay. That way the name makes more sense and attendance will stay about the same.

Arriaga_II

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

McCroskey — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:41:42 EST

The players are hoping the new field will help increase their ARRRRRR-BIs.

/I'll go now

McCroskey

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Rob Iracane — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:41:32 EST

Delmon Young is going to bury his booty in right field and mark it with an 'X' before he leaves town.

Rob Iracane

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

MeSoHornsby — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:41:32 EST

Peter Sarsgaard approves of ye pirate ship.

MeSoHornsby

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

mlmintampa — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:41:28 EST

And don't worry about that sail thing becoming a projectile in a hurricane. Tampa Bay hasn't been hit with a hurricane in like 90 years.

/knocks on wood

mlmintampa

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Old Gregg — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:41:02 EST

The ship is capsizing right?

Old Gregg

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Babcocksure — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:40:51 EST

I forsee no problem with this

/ratner

Babcocksure

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Tony E — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:40:46 EST

So what happens when Hurricane Will comes to town?

Tony E

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

Hustler of Culture — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:40:39 EST

That works out to like $45M per fan...

Hustler of Culture

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

cowbell204 — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:40:36 EST

[www.sptimes.com]

better picture of the "ship"

cowbell204

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

UpstateUnderdog — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:40:20 EST

If you build it, they still won't come (unless the Yankees or Red Sox are in town).

UpstateUnderdog

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank

shea_guevara — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:39:32 EST

$450 million is a cheap price to steal and repurpose the Sydney Opera House.

shea_guevara