[easywinner]

I just heard some stats on the radio, thought I'd share. The Dodgers attendance is down an average of 7,000+ per game from last season. Cubs attendance is down 3,000+ per game from last season. NYC has 19 million people in the metro area and the Mets are drawing less fans per game this season than the Milwaukee Brewers who have a metro area population of under 2 million. Cleveland cut ticket prices on average 15-20% from last season and still is having an attendance drop off from last season. I guess mlb tv packages must be up this year or people don't care as much about baseball. Or i guess it could be those teams all suck that are having drop offs who knows. Pretty crazy though because when i think of big market teams the Dodgers, Cubs and Mets are all right there.

[King Mayan]

Dodgers are down because of our owner McCheap.....

[Ninersnut]

Phillies sell out max all day everyday 110% attendance....

[MadTiger]

There are so many reasons, but I will concentrate on one: competition for entertainment dollars.

The competition for entertainment dollars (let alone time) is very intense. Even bleacher seats-and-cheap-beer/hot dog-promo baseball is still much more expensive than a few drinks at a bar/bar and grille watching the game. Then there are different entertainment choices altogether, that don't involve baseball or even sporting events.

[William Walters]

Dodgers are down because of our owner McCheap.....

Well, that and the low life's who hold gang meetings in the cheap seats.

[King Mayan]

Well, that and the low life's who hold gang meetings in the cheap seats.

those fukks have been there for ages walters.....

[StraitShooter]

watch the marlins game tonight..there are more people in the dug out then the stands

hopefully the location of the new stadium will increase attendance

I was looking at the new stadium on Sunday and it looks fantastic

[antifoil]

i like it. during the summer when there is nothing else to do, i can buy the cheapest ticket for 7 dollars and then sit in the field side seats.

[Deuce]

Detroit is doing well in the most banged up city in America.

[BRAVES1985]

ya i heard this on the radio today as well they said they are on pace to loose 1.2 mil fans so thats 40000 a team on average which is not that big of a deal over 81 home games


i actually thought it was in worse shape till i heard this..... but it is only april

[BRAVES1985]

its down 1 percent from last year no big deal

[Whippit]

why risk your life at a game with the flat screen at home

[Mr. Jones]

Economy and gas prices. I have a 75 mile trip to the nearest MLB facility. Have not gone yet this year. I now factor in the cost of gas. Watch at home on 60" screen with cheap beer.

[BiffTFinancial]

We'll find out a lot about Cleveland with respect to attendance on this next home stand. tonight is the first game that will have a temp above 50 degrees at first pitch, i believe. improved team + warmer weather + the cavs no longer exist = better attendance (hopefully).

[jjgold]

Baseball is a sport on a huge decline

Soccer will pass it in the usa

[Iced]

Baseball is a sport on a huge decline Soccer will pass it in the usa

Dumbest statement of the day.

[TRE1968]

these bums need a pay cut..same with all other pro sports

[Dirty Sanchez]

When you add up $4.00 a gallon for gas, ticket prices, parking, and food at the stadium, it's just not feasible for the average American who might have a couple of kids. I priced a couple of seats to a Royals game down the 3rd base line with parking it was $105...two dogs and beer it would go to $128....which is brutal....and that's two people. If you want to sit in the upperdeck nose bleeds you can cut it down to $75

[unusialsusp5]

combination of events...everyone bought those big screen hd tv's so they want to watch them...ticket prices are out of sight and now the gas...players are way overpaid...it will all come crashing down soon...

[Mac4Lyfe]

Baseball lost me years ago with all the steroid bullshit accusations. The commish is the stupidest CEO of any business. Why would you go out of your way to tear down the stars that built your brand? His holier than thou attitude has put a cloud over the entire sport. The fans couldn't give a shit about who was taking or not. Fan attendance was through the roof when McGwire and Sosa was knocking the cover off balls. I followed them around the country that year at several ball parks. Then this douche commish basically tells me that what I watched and enjoyed was not real and those players and their records didn't exist? All while there wasn't any rules in baseball to forbid it. What a joke.

As long as he's in charge, I'll never attend another game. Too many hypocrites at high levels in that sport. Old farts that don't want to change and come into the 21st century. No instant replay while refs are continually fuking up. Calling a halt to an All Star game that was tied, trying to take over the Dodgers like he's in Communist China, etc. That dude sucks.

[MB]

Salary Cap and I'll go again

[wantitall4moi]

Way too expensive to go more than a couple times a year if that. Even if you make enough money to afford it why waste your money on it?

And Dodger stadium used to be sold out every game and it would always be 3/4 full now it is lucky to be half full on a weekend, and during day games its like 25% capacity. Only thing they have going is the people that buy up tickets and try to resell them or corporate tickets that count but no one ever goes to see the games.

I had season tickets in Anaheim with an insurance salesmen for a few years and they werent bad seats and they werent that expensive. They won a world series, spent a little bit of money and those same seats now are almost double what we paid for them back then. And we had them until the season after they won it all. So in about 5 years the season tickets in that area went up about 80%.

All these sports will get theirs sooner or later. The NFL has it great right now but most of that is TV deals and media revenue. Obviously with 9 billion to fight over they couldnt care less how many people actually attend the games. but theyre the exception to the rule.

Hockey already had to do it, even Nascar is cutting back. NBA will take the big hit this coming year, and maybe, just maybe baseball gets hurt some when their new CBA comes up. And then that just leaves guys with their own networks and monopoly on their respective medias to be able to still outspend anyone else, but even then I think pay checks take big dips.

[JMobile]

Padres only sell out when our rivalries show up. Oh and the Phillies. Lots of Phillies fans living in SD.

[DemoralizdDreamr]

only reason jays are in business is because the red sox and yankees fans are dediccted enough to cross the border to cheer for their team. I am preety sure every time jays play the sox or yanks, there are more opposing fans than the ones for the jays.

[Dan Kelly]

Player movement from poorer teams to richer teams is going to kill live spectator sport.
It won't be long b4 the paying fan is the extreme exception. The bs that LeBron pulled last summer resonated across the country not because he left for more money - Cleveland was able to pay him more than what he signed for - but because his greed, in seeking championships to get a lasting higher Q rating (Maverick, did that work as planned?) and screwing his hometown over in the process might not have been understood explicitly, but was universally acknowledged viscerally.
Little by little these egomaniacs - owners who've known nothing but privilege (the reality is that few superrich Americans are not born on third base), and players who've been told since they were big enough to hold a ball how they are extremely special because they can _____ (choose verb here 1. hit 2. throw 3. shoot 4. look one up in dictionary) better than anyone else in the world - are destroying professional sports.
When I first moved to E.13th St, 30 years ago, it cost a quarter each way on the subway and 50 cents for a bleacher seat so I could go see any Yankees game if I had a buck. Yeah I had to sit with the coolest people in the Stadium, chanting "Box Seats Suck" at the fans right next to us, and listening to that old Rican banging on his cowbell all night long (he was a great guy) - and I grew up in Cleveland, I hate the Yankees always have always will - but I love baseball. If the Tribe was in town I could wear my hat and root for them and got little grief and less thrown at me. You think the corporate cretins who can afford Yankee stadium today know that the infield fly rule is being invoked? in the middle of making a business contact. I hope I'm wrong and their model is sustainable, but to me it looks like they are cooking the goose who lays the golden eggs.

[vividjohn45]

cut salaries, cut ticket prices. and other stadium prices. 105 bux for the kc royals. c'mon. are you outta ur mind.

[stogies]

bad economy continues to drive the bottom half of middle class out of the picture to buy pro sports tix. people saving money now for some little summer vacation. attendance will pick up when school is out but as long as gas is high and economy sux then there will be more empty seats.

[BRAVES1985]

only reason jays are in business is because the red sox and yankees fans are dediccted enough to cross the border to cheer for their team. I am preety sure every time jays play the sox or yanks, there are more opposing fans than the ones for the jays.

jays have the richest owner by far in baseball too bad they dont spend any money i think they are at 65-66 mil thats rediculous . i know they say they will spend 140-150 mil but when will it happen?

and why you only picking on toronto? becasue they are in canada? how bout marlins indians royals rays mets a's mariners nats just to name a few

[bradthebloke]

how are the crowds in st louis? theyre pretty die hard fans I hear

[BiffTFinancial]

jays have the richest owner by far in baseball too bad they dont spend any money i think they are at 65-66 mil thats rediculous . i know they say they will spend 140-150 mil but when will it happen?

and why you only picking on toronto? becasue they are in canada? how bout marlins indians royals rays mets a's mariners nats just to name a few

don't forget Atlanta. after South Florida, worst sports fans in the US, hands down. they made how many postseasons in a row yet couldn't sell out their playoff games?

[William Walters]

Padres only sell out when our rivalries show up. Oh and the Phillies. Lots of Phillies fans living in SD.

What "rivals" do the Padres have?

[crustyme]

roids aftermath.

[BRAVES1985]

don't forget Atlanta. after South Florida, worst sports fans in the US, hands down. they made how many postseasons in a row yet couldn't sell out their playoff games?

we are talking about this year

ya i agree but they just assumed goin to the nlcs all those years but last year they showed up in the nlds

and they usually average around 32-35k a game in the reg season which is not that bad but should be better

[jjgold]

The young generation is losing interest in baseball

Its the seniors keeping it alive

[HoulihansTX]

What "rivals" do the Padres have?

Base-hits, home runs, and RBI.