Baseball Attendance Issues

[SandraC]

OK, so we spent the last two nights basically going back and forth between the same six games...

Yankees-Red Sox
Phillies-Reds
Nationals-Braves
Cardinals-Brewers
Rays-Rangers
Rockies-Diamondbacks

What struck me the most is the attendance at some of the games. I know the Dodgers are having much publicized problems, but that's a very unusual circumstance out there, and they will absolutely get back to being the Dodgers again at some point.

But of these six games, of course Boston could have sold out Fenway at least twice for the Yankees series...perhaps three times. Milwaukee is getting very good crowds, and Texas was not full, but they had a good crowd too. All winning teams at home.

Not a good crowd in Cincinnati...they're having a disappointing season, but it's still sad because when you think baseball you think cities like St Louis and Cincinnati. It looked like a crowd for Tampa or the Marlins. Sad.

But the real issues were Atlanta and Arizona, two winning teams, both with young and exciting players, who had very few people in the stands from what I saw. Extremely disappointing.

The Nationals announcers mentioned the crowd a number of times (the Atlanta announcers did not), and the Rockies telecast was actually making fun of the size of the crowd in Arizona.

What the heck, if winning baseball doesn't draw fans, what will? I know the economy is bad...but it's bad in Boston, Milwaukee, and Arlington too. I know baseball is a long season...but it's long in Boston, Milwaukee and Arlington too.

The game is much more interesting to watch when the fans are part of the game.


Sandra

 

[Pete K]

School has resumed in Georgia and surrounding states, which makes it more difficult for the Braves to fill Turner Field on weeknights. The economy is also hurting ticket sales. With unemployment hovering around 10 per cent in Atlanta, lots of folks just can't shell out $$$ for the Braves. That said, Braves fans have a ho-hum attitude toward the team, even when it is winning.

 

[salsadancer7]

IF I am not mistaken, I think I read somewhere that there have been some significant price hikes lately in single game tickets...maybe that can be the case.

 

[Will94]

I am by no means a Rangers fan, but this summer has been absolutely miserable weather-wise in DFW. I wouldn't go to games when it's this hot.

 

[SandraC]

Prices are high everywhere. The economy is bad everywhere. People are returning to school everywhere.

Yet baseball thrives in places like Boston, Milwaukee, St Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis, Arlington, etc.


Sandra

 

[yaz96]

I think right now, kids going back to school has a big effect.

 

[Ramy]

Those are big cities with lots of people to pull from. Cincinnati is the smallest baseball market and the second smallest in all sports. I have to travel 3 hours to go there and see a game.

 

[yaz96]

Those are big cities with lots of people to pull from. Cincinnati is the smallest baseball market and the second smallest in all sports. I have to travel 3 hours to go there and see a game.

Very good point. We traveled 1 1/2 hours to go see the Reds, and that was too long for a school night.

 

[SandraC]

Those are big cities with lots of people to pull from. Cincinnati is the smallest baseball market and the second smallest in all sports. I have to travel 3 hours to go there and see a game.

It's all relative. Phoenix and Atlanta are comparable in size to Milwaukee and St Louis. Some cities draw, some don't.


Sandra

 

[HD MM]

A lot of factors go into it. But basically what it comes down to is this: Some cities value baseball more than others.

 

[televisionarchives]

It's because baseball is not as popular as it once was. Even MLB knows this and they've tried to address it. Games are going on longer then they have in the past. Plus with the MLB Baseball package many stay home because it's cheaper. The NFL has bad teams but they still get great attendance. Boston , New York etc will always have good crowds .

 

[SandraC]

It's because baseball is not as popular as it once was. Even MLB knows this and they've tried to address it. Games are going on longer then they have in the past. Plus with the MLB Baseball package many stay home because it's cheaper. The NFL has bad teams but they still get great attendance. Boston , New York etc will always have good crowds .

All true, but as we've been saying, smaller cities are also getting good crowds...Milwaukee, St Louis, Arlington, Denver, etc.


Sandra

 

[salsadancer7]

While League Flat, Plenty of Winners and Losers in MLB Attendance Game

Written by Maury Brown
Thursday, 25 August 2011 13:13

With Major League Baseball heading into the final 7 weeks of the season, league attendance remains flat compared to last season (up 0.1%), but across the league, there are plenty of winners and losers in the paid attendance game.

While gate numbers are not available, tickets sold is announced each game. Based upon research by the SportsBusiness Daily, and confirmed against data collected by BizofBaseball.com, over 1,916 games played through Tuesday, the league has a paid attendance total of 58,042,992, or an average of 30,294.

Leading the league in both total attendance, average attendance, and percentage of capacity filled are the Phillies. The NL East team is currently the only club to have drawn over 3 million in paid attendance (3,004,451), while averaging 45,522 or 104.30% of capacity. Ballparks are considered 100% of capacity when all seats are sold, but standing-room tickets can allow capacity to exceed 100%. In all, thirteen clubs are drawing over 2 million in attendance (In the AL, the Yankees, Twins, Angels, Red Sox, Rangers, Tigers. In the NL, Phillies, Giants, Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Dodgers, Rockies). The Twins, Red Sox, and Phillies have averaged over 100% capacity for the season with the Giants at 99.9% of capacity.

At the low end of the spectrum is the Florida Marlins who, while ostensibly flat compared to last season (up 0.5%), have drawn an average of 18,242 per game, or 46.80% of Sun Life Stadium’s capacity. And that’s just paid attendance. One fan conducted a headcount at game 1 of a double-header yesterday at Florida in which he counted 347 fans in their seats at first pitch.

But, in terms of total attendance, the lowest number currently goes to the A’s who have drawn 1,215,000 over 64 as of Tuesday. They’re followed by the Rays (1,217,058), and Marlins (1,222,210)

In terms of increased attendance, the biggest gainers (double-digit increases) are the Indians (up 24.5%), Pirates (up 24.3%), and Rangers (up 21.9%).

Decliners in double-digits are the beleaguered Dodgers (down 17.7 percent), and the Rays who continue to struggle at the gate (down 16.5%)

Other Notes

- The Mets, who are in the midst of a legal battle with the trustee for the Bernie Madoff victims is seeing attendance down 8.4% compared to last year, which was a down year for the club, as well.

- The Brewers, in baseball’s smallest market, are seeing a 6.5% increase over last year. Next year could be interesting, depending on whether the club can retain Prince Fielder

- The Giants are seeing the benefits of winning the World Series in 2010 and see a 12.1% increase from last year.

- The Twins rank 4th in overall league attendance this year, incredible considering they are having a disappointing season. The effect of Target Field is still hanging on as attendance is down less than one percent for the club, thus far (down 0.6%)

- Even though the Diamondbacks are fighting for first place in the NL West, and hosted this year’s All-Star Game as a season ticket selling point, attendance is down 2.6% compare to last season.

- Losing Adrian Gonzalez really wasn’t that bad from a marketing perspective. The Padres, who overachieved and were in hot contention to win the NL West at this point last year, lost the star slugger in the off-season. Still, attendance at Petco Park is nearly flat compared to 2010 (up 0.9%)

- Call it the “Joey Bats factor”. The Blue Jays are seeing a double-digit increase in paid attendance of 11.5% even though the team is out of contention in the AL East.

- It’s depressing in the Pacific Northwest. The Mariners, who haven’t been able to get it turned around in the standings in years is seeing an attendance decline of 9.5%.

- What will it be next year? The Cardinals, who are 10 games out of first behind the Brewers and are running out of time to stay in contention, see attendance down 7.3%. With Albert Pujols still a massive question mark for the club, watching the Red Birds attendance numbers next season will be interesting. Losing Pujols could take a massive dent out of the attendance numbers, while retaining him might simply keep paid numbers static depending upon the Cardinals performance in the standings.

Ticket & Attendance Watch

I posted this in another thread and found it to be interesting.

 

[SandraC]

In all, thirteen clubs are drawing over 2 million in attendance (In the AL, the Yankees, Twins, Angels, Red Sox, Rangers, Tigers. In the NL, Phillies, Giants, Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Dodgers, Rockies).

There are smaller cities, cities hit by the economy, school, and everything else in this group. As HD said, some cities are just better baseball cities than others.


Sandra

 

[mikew]

Imagine, if you will, the hottest August ever in Phoenix. That is what we have been going through with the most amount of days over 110 on record. People out here are exhausted. The D-Backs have also done so many things over the last few years that have alienated their fans. Terrible roster moves, horrendous food, and a TV broadcast team that constantly insults their fans. I know of fans who also never see the team because they cannot afford cable/satellite. There are no OTA broadcasts and I can't remember the last time I saw the D-Backs on Fox. On top of all that, baseball doesn't have a long legacy here. Many people here also have allegiances to the teams they were fans of long before the D-Backs came to town.

Heck..they even had all upper deck tickets at $5.00/ea for the Rockies series and that didn't fill the stands. To build fan support, I would put one game a week on OTA TV so that everyone in town has a chance to see them at least once a week. I would then force the vendors in the stadium to make food quality a priority. The product on the field is great, it's just the supporting cast and weather that sucks. I've been to several games this season and the environment inside the stadium is rather dull and depressing.

 

[Ramy]

Ok I guess the Reds are the second smallest in baseball too. I keep forgetting about the Brewers.

 

[SandraC]

Imagine, if you will, the hottest August ever in Phoenix. That is what we have been going through with the most amount of days over 110 on record. People out here are exhausted. The D-Backs have also done so many things over the last few years that have alienated their fans. Terrible roster moves, horrendous food, and a TV broadcast team that constantly insults their fans. I know of fans who also never see the team because they cannot afford cable/satellite. There are no OTA broadcasts and I can't remember the last time I saw the D-Backs on Fox. On top of all that, baseball doesn't have a long legacy here. Many people here also have allegiances to the teams they were fans of long before the D-Backs came to town.

Heck..they even had all upper deck tickets at $5.00/ea for the Rockies series and that didn't fill the stands. To build fan support, I would put one game a week on OTA TV so that everyone in town has a chance to see them at least once a week. I would then force the vendors in the stadium to make food quality a priority. The product on the field is great, it's just the supporting cast and weather that sucks. I've been to several games this season and the environment inside the stadium is rather dull and depressing.

But you have a pool IN the stadium!

Seriously, the roof has been closed since like June, you would think people would at least go inside to get out of the oppressive heat!


Sandra

 

[Will94]

Seriously, the roof has been closed since like June, you would think people would at least go inside to get out of the oppressive heat!

I don't know about the BOB (I'll always call it that), but Minute Maid gets hot inside when the sun is on the field, and the two parks look *very* similar on TV. I've never been to the BOB. Actually, the first two levels of Minute Maid are fine, but the 3rd and 4th levels can get really uncomfortable.

I miss the Astrodome. That place was always kept nice and cold.

 

[yaz96]

But you have a pool IN the stadium!

Seriously, the roof has been closed since like June, you would think people would at least go inside to get out of the oppressive heat!


Sandra

Yes, but that means they have to be out in the heat twice. From the house to the car, and then the long trek from the car to the stadium!

 

[riffjim4069]

The Orioles have always managed to fill the stands at Camden Yards even with poor teams. I was surprised to see the stands less than half-full this spring. I think the fans are getting tired of losing.