MLB Attendance Declining

[BTExpress]

This October will mark 25 years since I watched a game first pitch to last out (Game 5, 1993 World Series).

 

[jr/shotglass]

If anyone had told me 20 years ago that I can't sit through an entire MLB game, I would have said they were nuts. Well, here we are.

 

[I Should Coco]

For all the complaints about the pace and breaks of MLB games, the NFL is worse. Plus you have more drunken/brawling fans, worse weather and much higher ticket prices.

Forget all the political B.S. about the national anthem ... NFL attendance is due for a swift decline due to a poor fan experience.

 

[typefitter]

For all the complaints about the pace and breaks of MLB games, the NFL is worse. Plus you have more drunken/brawling fans, worse weather and much higher ticket prices.

Forget all the political B.S. about the national anthem ... NFL attendance is due for a swift decline due to a poor fan experience.

I honestly don't understand why anyone goes to an NFL game. That sport is so much better on TV. Baseball, at least it's usually warm.

 

[goalmouth]

My all-time apologist, Michael Kay, on the profusion of high-priced empty seats in the new Yankee Stadium:

"The fans must be in the restaurant."

 

[Michael_ Gee]

My all-time apologist, Michael Kay, on the profusion of high-priced empty seats in the new Yankee Stadium:

"The fans must be in the restaurant."

Any time I have seen the new Yankee Stadium on TV, which is of course a lot, I have never seen anyone in the seats behind home plate except scouts.

 

[Buck]

It is much too expensive.
Even as a lifetime sports fan, there is a certain point at which you just say 'I'm not willing to pay that much.'
Admission, parking and concessions are too much when taken in total.
Plus, many of us need to make a trip out of it. I live 3-to 4-hour one-way drive to nearest MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL venues. If I want to go see a sporting event, I'm lo0king at gas, additional meals, almost certainly a hotel stay, other incidental travel costs and killing most of two full days.

The older I get, the more I realize it's just not worth it.
Saw Yankees at Angels and the A's against ? about three-four year years ago. That is my last attendance at a pro sporting event, and I'm not sure when I'll go again.
And the game in Oakland was only because we were in the area for a wedding that weekend anyway.

 

[goalmouth]

Any time I have seen the new Yankee Stadium on TV, which is of course a lot, I have never seen anyone in the seats behind home plate except scouts.

And the idiot Marlins Man.

 

[User 149557]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I find the breaks and slowness of the game fantastic live in person and infuriating at home. I'm at a ballpark to relax, drink a beer and watch as much baseball as I can. I've already blocked out four to five hours for that event. On a nightly basis, I don't have four hours to spend watching baseball.

 

[Azrael]

Agreed. I still love the game, and the pace and a day or a night at the ballpark.

Just checked some local prices, and I'm seeing Mets tickets for $9 and Yankees tickets for $15.

 

[Azrael]

Minor league attendance is going slightly . . . up.

Discuss.

 

[jr/shotglass]

It is much too expensive.
Even as a lifetime sports fan, there is a certain point at which you just say 'I'm not willing to pay that much.'
Admission, parking and concessions are too much when taken in total.
Plus, many of us need to make a trip out of it. I live 3-to 4-hour one-way drive to nearest MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL venues. If I want to go see a sporting event, I'm lo0king at gas, additional meals, almost certainly a hotel stay, other incidental travel costs and killing most of two full days.

The older I get, the more I realize it's just not worth it.
Saw Yankees at Angels and the A's against ? about three-four year years ago. That is my last attendance at a pro sporting event, and I'm not sure when I'll go again.
And the game in Oakland was only because we were in the area for a wedding that weekend anyway.

That kind of covers it. And I don't even find the 20-minute trip to the local AA franchise to be worth the parking hassle or the cost. Haven't been there in more than two years.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Minor league attendance is going slightly . . . up.

Discuss.

Tebow.

 

[Azrael]

Undoubtedly!

 

[jr/shotglass]

Tebow.

Three weeks ago, he came to town. The place was sold out 90 minutes before the game, with traffic lined up a half-mile on either side of the island.

It was insane for a normal baseball star. It was profane for a .256 hitter.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Minor league attendance is going slightly . . . up.

Discuss.

Way cheaper.

 

[Azrael]

If you're coming to NYC for a summer visit, and don't want to pay big league prices, our two short-season A teams are a great treat. Two of the most beautiful ballparks in America.

 

[jr/shotglass]

From MiLB.com:

The average cost for a family of four to enjoy a Minor League Baseball game this season is only $64.18; a price that includes parking, two adult tickets, two child tickets, four hot dogs, two sodas, two beers and a program or scorecard.

Frankly, $64 is a pretty good chunk of the week's disposable income for a lot of folks.

 

[HanSenSE]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I find the breaks and slowness of the game fantastic live in person and infuriating at home. I'm at a ballpark to relax, drink a beer and watch as much baseball as I can. I've already blocked out four to five hours for that event. On a nightly basis, I don't have four hours to spend watching baseball.

You can do that at a park nowadays? Seems like we're assaulted by ads, videos, the local variation of dot racing/President's race and bad music played way too loud between innings.

 

[Azrael]

Frankly, $64 is a pretty good chunk of the week's disposable income for a lot of folks.

A night at the movies + popcorn and soda for a family of four is routinely $50 in most of America.