|
 David has now wound his way through the AL East (see the Yankees - Red Sox - Rays - Orioles - Jays) , the AL Central (see the Kansas City Royals, the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins, the Cleveland Indians, and Detroit Tigers) and the AL West with the Angels, and Oakland A's,Texas Rangers, and today, the Seattle Mariners, as part of his analysis of attendance for each of the 30 clubs leading up to the 2011 season. Next up, the National League - Maury Brown
Team: The Seattle Mariners
2009 Total Attendance: 2.19 million
2009 Average Attendance & Sell-Thru: 27,116 (56.8%)
2009 Record: 85-77, Missed postseason
2010 Total Attendance: 2.08 million
2010 Average Attendance & Sell-Thru: 25,746 (53.9%)
2010 Record: 61-101, Missed postseason
Looking ahead to 2011……
Notable offseason addition/subtractions: None
Interleague LY: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, & SD Padres
Interleague TY: Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, & SD Padres
April/May Games: 13 in April, 15 in May in 2011 vs. 10 in April and 14 in May in 2010
Holidays: Home - 4/24 Easter 5/8 Mother’s Day 6/19 Father’s Day Road - 7/4 Independence Day & 9/5 Labor Day
Overall Outlook: Time flies by in Seattle as this year will be 12th year at Safeco. The move has been a profitable one as they have turned a profit every season except one. Last year was their worst year in attendance at Safeco. The team is insulated by their new TV deal which begins this year at reported $45 million annually which is a 50% increase over their last deal. Similar to the Royals and Indians, I think team attendance has bottomed out. The decline of the runaway Angels in the division will help keep the team more competitive later into the calendar year at first glance. Their early season schedule won’t help them with 28 early season games, but they do have weekend series’ late in the season with the Yankees and Red Sox. The Mariners are using a 6 game flex pack to leverage these games and the Phillies series. Seattle’s biggest problem at the box office will be having 25 of their first 32 games against teams who were over .500 last year. This will cannibalize the sales of season tickets as they are already selling a team coming off 61wins. I predict the Mariners drop below 2 million fans for the first time ever in 2011.
 David Simmons is a graduate of the University of Central Florida who worked in the front office of the Los Angeles Dodgers over 4 seasons. He has a decade of ticketing experience and currently resides in Baltimore. You can follow David on Twitter @davidesimmons
Follow The Biz of Baseball on Twitter 
 Follow the Business of Sports Network on Facebook
|
David Simmons 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
