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Baseball Attendance Issues

S

SandraC

On Vacation
Original poster
Apr 10, 2008
7,302
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NJ
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.

 
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
 
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.
 
Ramy said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

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


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

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

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

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
 
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!
Click to expand...
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.
 
SandraC said:
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
Click to expand...

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!
 
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.
 
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