The business of baseball is as strong as it has even been, and nowhere has that been more evident than at the box office. Even in the midst of significant recession and slow economic recovery, average major league attendance has remained above 30,000 and started to trend back toward the all-time record level set in 2007. So, how has baseball reached such heights of popularity? Let’s take a look back.
Major League Baseball Attendance Since 1901
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Since 1901, over three billion fans have poured through the turnstiles at major league ballparks across the country. Of course, not all teams have been an equal draw. Not surprisingly, the Dodgers and Yankees top each respective league with 191 million and 175 million in cumulative attendance, while the Marlins and Rays bring up the rear. However, on a per season basis, the leaders are not as obvious. Included among the top-five in per season home attendance is an unlikely quartet composed of the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Mets and Angels, all of which happen to be the only franchises currently over the 2 million plateau.
Highest Attendance Per Franchise, Total and Per Season
Note: Color bands in Total chart represent different cities.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Among ballparks, Yankee Stadium has hosted more fans than any other, but, in a few seasons, that distinction will eventually pass to Dodger Stadium, which despite looking pristine, is now one of the oldest ballparks in the game. Compared to Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, however, Dodger Stadium is practically brand new, which explains why those two venerable facilities are neck-and-neck for the third place on the all-time attendance list. Another Los Angeles area stadium also ranks high on the list, as the Angels’ home is poised to become only the sixth ballpark to welcome over 100 million fans.
Top-10 Most Attended Ballparks
Note: Some totals may include games played elsewhere on a limited basis during the seasons in which the ballpark was the home venue for the respective team. The Yankees’ 1998 game at Shea Stadium is counted in the total for that ballpark
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Considering the low attendance levels for certain teams at some ballparks, if a stadium is built, it’s not a given that fans will come. Winning, perhaps more than anything else, is what makes fans want to take in a ballgame. However, not all fan bases are as influenced by their team’s record on the field.
If You Win, They Will Come? Correlation Between Season Wins and Attendance Since 1982
*Mile High Stadium years removed because of much higher seating capacity compared to Coors Field.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Based on the data above, the Royals and Braves have had the most fickle fan bases since 1982, which isn’t surprising considering the long dry periods each franchise endured at one point or another during that span. However, that doesn’t explain the Yankees’ relatively high correlation between wins and home attendance. Does that mean fans of the Bronx Bombers really are the front runners so many often accuse them of being? I’ll take the fifth on that one, except to point out that the Yankees have never dropped below 21,500 fans per game since the Stadium was remodeled in 1976 (something teams like the Mets and Red Sox can’t say), and four of the top-five all-time attendance marks were set in the Bronx.
Top-10 Attendance Totals, by Team per Season
| Year | Team | Stadium | Attendance | Average |
| 1993 | Colorado Rockies | Mile High Stadium | 4,483,350 | 55,350 |
| 2008 | New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium | 4,298,655 | 53,070 |
| 2007 | New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium | 4,271,083 | 52,729 |
| 2006 | New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium | 4,248,067 | 52,445 |
| 2005 | New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium | 4,090,696 | 50,502 |
| 1993 | Toronto Blue Jays | SkyDome | 4,057,947 | 50,098 |
| 2008 | New York Mets | Shea Stadium | 4,042,045 | 49,902 |
| 1992 | Toronto Blue Jays | SkyDome | 4,028,318 | 49,732 |
| 1991 | Toronto Blue Jays | SkyDome | 4,001,527 | 49,402 |
| 1996 | Colorado Rockies | Coors Field | 3,891,014 | 48,037 |
Source: Baseball-reference.com
On the other end of the loyalty scale, Blue Jays’ fans have exhibited virtually no predisposition toward watching a winning team, while the Diamondbacks, Pirates, and Cubs have also enjoyed stable attendance levels. Of course, teams like the Pirates are working off a generally low annual base, which limits room for variation (another subtle defense of Yankees fans).
Winning isn’t the only determinant of whether fans come to the ballpark. The novelty of a new ballpark, for instance, or even a farewell to an old haunt, can also have a significant impact. Ultimately, however, what draws fans in is the beauty of the game, which is why baseball is still going strong as the national pastime.
[…] has hosted the most fans in all of baseball history? Which team has the most fickle fans? The Captain’s Blog has the answers to those questions as well as other attendance-related […]
There is another aspect at play here: marketing. In the 1980s, on a regular mid-week game, I could walk up to Yankee Stadium with my friends and have no problem buying tickets at the gate. There was plenty of inventory. Look at clips from games from twenty-five, thirty seasons back and you will see plenty of open seats. What changed? MLB teams like the Yankees market and sell their seats much more effectively, in essence creating demand by selling a higher percentage of tickets as part of tickets plans.
Ticket plans accomplish two things. It forces fans to commit to a set number of games up front, as opposed to randomly going to the ballpark on a whim. It also drys up the inventory to some degree, which in turn forces more fans into plans. This is a good thing for teams, because a higher percentage of tickets are committed to before the season even starts. Before a pitch is ever thrown by a Yankee hurler in 2012, the NY Yankees will have already sold over three million tickets for the season.
The rise of computers and the Internet have allowed teams to more effectively sell tickets today than they could a generation past, and they get better at it every year.
Marketing has undoubtedly improved, including in areas well beyond ticket promotion. However, I think the secondary market has the potential to negate some of the advantages of season plans that you mentioned above, which is why I expect MLB to rethink the terms of its deal with StubHub when the contract expires after the season.
Yes, but there is little doubt that the push to get fans into ticket plans drives up attendance (which measures paid attendance, not actual attendance), and that is true regardless of the secondary market. The secondary market only exists if lots of tickets have been sold via the primary market.
The increase in season ticket sales preceded the establishment of a secondary market, so the impact of the latter on the former is just now starting to develop. If teams are not careful about maintaining season ticket holder value, there could be erosion going forward.
What Rob, Monkey and William are saying are both correct.
I used to buy singular tickets years back in the 1980s and most the 1990ss, but eventually was forced into ticket plans, where I was required to purchase more seats up front. Yet after being in a ticket plans from the late 90s to the late 00s, I dropped them starting in 2010 because it’s now easier to get tickets from resellers, especially StubHub. So while I end up paying more now for individual games, I end up paying less overall on the season by not participating in the ticket plans which forced me to buy way too many tickets for too many games.
Resellers have allowed me to go back to what I used to do, which is buy tickets for individual games. There’s a balance here, and teams are trying to figure it out.
I would be more concerned about pricing fans, and especially families and their children who represent the next generation of ticket buyers, out of the market. Ticket plans threaten to do just that.
You’re full of it. You obviously work for the marketing companies. Buying packages? I used to go to the stadium, buy a $1 ticket, a $1 hot dog and a $1 soda (wed night only). This wasn’t in the 40’s either. Oakland A’s, late 90’s early 2000’s. Playoff teams.
I quibble with the direct correlation of average attendance and popularity of the sport. The average (and total) attendance figures would first have to be put in context, such as the fact that the population of the US is significantly larger in 2012 as it was in 1912. It is also easier for individuals to travel long distances to see a game today than in the old days (airfare is proportionally cheaper, more people own cars, driving a few hundred miles is easier today with faster, safer cars on faster, safer highways, more people have overall more disposable income than in the old days, etc) , while there are more teams so that far more people live in at least relatively close proximity to a ballpark.
Now, I am not saying that baseball is not as popular—or more popular—than ever. Nor does any of what I raise contradict the obvious fact that baseball as a business is very healthy (making lots of money).
But do higher average attendance figures prove baseball is more popular these days than in the past? I’m not so sure.
I am not suggesting attendance means baseball is more popular than it has ever been (although I think it is). Rather, it suggests that the “business of baseball” is as strong as ever.
However, playing devil’s advocate, many of the items you cited would be reasons why baseball is more popular, not contextual mitigation. As for population, I wonder if the smaller, more concentrated league might have had access to a comparable number of fans/team? For example, the combined 1930s pops for Chicago, Philly, and New York is about the same as it is now. Granted, transportation stretches the addressable market, but other diversions are also a factor (i.e., more disposable income, but perhaps more things to spend it on).
Finally, it’s worth noting that the U.S. pop has grown at a 1% CAGR since 1900, but baseball attendance has grown at 2%.
[…] has hosted the most fans in all of baseball history? Which team has the most fickle fans? The Captain’s Blog has the answers to those questions as well as other attendance-related […]
[…] is bounded by Toronto/Cincy/Chicago. How big baseball is in the city is harder to quantify, but historically, the Tiger's game attendance is just average, or even a little below, and they rank a little to the […]
Do you have it broken down by game time? Day games, night games, week or weekends… I guess it all matters too. Do you know of any such study?