Baseball Beginning to See Effect of the Economy

1-liner, Baseball tyduffy May 12th. 2009, 3:55pm

Baseball Attendance Declines: MLB attendance has dropped 5.2 percent from last season. The Yankees are down 11.9 percent. The Tigers have lost 27 percent. The Nationals have dropped 35.2 percent. Though, the Zack Attack has titilated the Royals faithful. KC attendance has risen 15.1 percent. These numbers seem more pessimistic than Jayson Stark’s end of April column. Is something screwy with the figures, or is the economy showing as the novelty withers in May?Â (USA Today)

5 Responses to “Baseball Beginning to See Effect of the Economy”

1
Joboo Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 4:02 PM
I am guessing here, but, I think that attendance will be up more overall in the later months of the season. If, right now, you actually have more parity/competition/whatever, then it might keep fans away until they see their team is hanging around in the end. Contention for playoffs should raise attendance in the later months and more teams have been contending lately.
2
Cousins of Ron Mexico Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 4:04 PM
Bunny Colvin is in charge of the attendance figures in Kansas City.
Someone needs to talk to the Yankees. “With all due respect – how do you make an empty seat disappear?”
3
bsanders37 Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 4:06 PM
Bunny Colvin is in charge of the attendance figures in Kansas City.
Can’t be any worse than Hamsterdam.
4
Chelsea Chris Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 4:15 PM
The Tigers have lost 27 percent.
This is because last year, pre-season sales were through the roof because the expectations were so off-the-charts high. I expect by the end of this season, things will be pretty even. Perhaps slightly down because of the economy.
5
Wally's World Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 7:10 PM
Opening day skews much of the April numbers for teams. Everyone gets a big boost for a day or multiple days at the beginning of the year. This rarely changes from season to season. Any numbers I’ve seen on season tickets for teams are not good. Teams can only count on walk-ups for a certain percentage of sales and only if the team is fairing well…
Start checking numbers this month. I look for attendance to be down 8-10% at the end of May and that trend to continue through the summer.