Comments for Inside The Numbers: 2008 MLB Attendance at http://bizofbaseball.com , comment 1 to 7 out of 7 comments http://bizofbaseball.com Mon, 20 May 2013 12:28:53 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2510:inside-the-numbers-2008-mlb-attendance&catid=29:articles-a-opinion&Itemid=41#comment-124 im looking for a survey of how much fans have increased or decreased over the years of baseball....if someone could point me in the right direction to one that would help so much thanks Javy - Javy Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:41:56 +0100 http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2510:inside-the-numbers-2008-mlb-attendance&catid=29:articles-a-opinion&Itemid=41#comment-120 Maury, It is interesting that certain teams chose higher, Orioles 48K, Braves 50K, Rockies 50K, Mariners 47K, while others went lower, Tigers 40K, Giants 41K, Astros 40K. - Jay Roberts Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:52:58 +0100 http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2510:inside-the-numbers-2008-mlb-attendance&catid=29:articles-a-opinion&Itemid=41#comment-119 For a moment I was thinking that I had the total number of games played this year and last switched. But, it appears that you are playing editor (should have used "fewer" instead of "less"). "Nit", I'd like you to meet "pick". Still very much appreciated. - Maury Brown Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:49:30 +0100 http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2510:inside-the-numbers-2008-mlb-attendance&catid=29:articles-a-opinion&Itemid=41#comment-118 MLB played 10 fewer games than last year, not 10 less. - Rick Mc Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:35:45 +0100 http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2510:inside-the-numbers-2008-mlb-attendance&catid=29:articles-a-opinion&Itemid=41#comment-116 Hi Jay, I'm not so sure that in every instance it was a conscious effort to limit availability but rather a case of lowering capacity so that fans would purchase tickets in advance as opposed to walk ups. Some ballparks, like McAfee Coliseum where the facility is shared with the Raiders, is so cavernous, that fans would simply wait till game day to go, knowing tickets would be available. In that sense, many ballparks were too large. Lowering capacity does have nice side-effects... It has the added benefit of making sellouts easier, which always looks good, even if lowering capacity is creating artificial sellouts based upon the prior seating capacity. However, lowering capacity due to an inability to fill the facility hasn't been the case with both New York teams. The new stadiums coming online next year for the Yankees and Mets are smaller to increase revenues. In the case of the Mets, the seating capacity is so much smaller than Shea it's going to most assuredly make it difficult for many fans to get tickets that could before. This, of course, makes for supply and demand to increase, which in turn makes ticket prices go up. If you wish to call that "screwing" the average fan to increase revenues, it's certainly one way of putting it. Selig said it, and it’s true (for MLB, at least)... In many ways, revenues are far more important than attendance. - Maury Brown Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:13:48 +0100 http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2510:inside-the-numbers-2008-mlb-attendance&catid=29:articles-a-opinion&Itemid=41#comment-115 Maury, Do you think the fans have been, in a way, screwed by MLB, in that as much as we like the retro and newer ballparks, they have, for the most part, less capacity when compared to the stadiums they replaced? This, of course, means a certain amount of fans are shut out from going to the games. In some ways it's a paradox that more of the retros are not higher up towards the 48-50K range in capacity. We know why they made them smaller but with the game reaching a golden age business-wise, it seems there's a missed opportunity with less seats available. Some teams, as some have done, might add a few more, but probably not in significant numbers. - Jay Roberts Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:44:08 +0100 http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2510:inside-the-numbers-2008-mlb-attendance&catid=29:articles-a-opinion&Itemid=41#comment-112 With MLB attendance falling 1% vs. 2007, indivudual Clubs and MLB may want to think of ways to attract more fans to MLB ball parks for steady 5%+ attendance growth each year: 1) Consider expand MLB by 2-4 teams into new strategic markets; 2) Expand seating in sold out cities: NY, CHI, BOS, MIL, PHI, LA, etc; 3) Build bigger new stadium construction; 4) Boost low teams up - Paul M Weber, BS MS MSS Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:41:38 +0100