2003 Major League Attendance by Average
There really aren't too many ways to interpret the 2003 attendance
figures for Major League Baseball, as total attendance in 2003
(67,630,052) was virtually the same as in 2002 (67,883,376). Yes, MLB
officials did paint this as a triumph for the sport: maintaining
attendance levels in the face of a sluggish economy and a war in Iraq
surely is an accomplishment. That is certainly true, but somewhat
irrelevant: minor-league baseball managed some serious growth working
under the same economic circumstances.
Some notes on these figures:
- The Red Sox managed to sell 100 percent of
the available tickets in Fenway Park. Combine
this with the high ticket prices charged by the
BoSox, and you can see why the team was among
the leaders in local revenues. Both San
Francisco and the Cubs sold more than 90 percent
of their available tickets; bringing up the rear
was Tampa Bay, selling only 29 percent of
available tickets at Tropicana Field.
- The Seattle Mariners suffered through a
second year of declining attendance. Despite
this softness in the Seattle market, the
Mariners still managed to average 40,351 fans a
game.
- The biggest attendance increase in terms of
percentage came in Florida, where attendance was
up a whopping 69 percent. Of course, the Marlins
had a horrible 2002 at the box office, and even
with the big percentage increase the Marlins
finished third from last in MLB attendance.
- Another big boost came in Philadelphia,
where the Phillies' attendance rose 43 percent.
Some of this is attributable to investments in
better players like Jim Thome, while many fans
did come by to say goodbye (or good riddance) to
the Vet, which closed at the end of the season.
Also up significantly: the Kansas City Royals,
where a 40 percent attendance boost was fueled
by the team being in the midst of a pennant
race, and the Montreal Expos, where 22 "home"
games in San Juan and better attendance at
Olympic Stadium boosted the average by 26
percent.
- It's a safe bet that the Cincinnati Reds
were expecting a bigger attendance boost after
moving into a new ballpark in 2003. Attendance
at Reds game was up 27 percent, but the team
sold only 69 percent of available tickets.
- The Anaheim Angels benefited greatly from
their World Series win in 2002, enjoying a 32.8
percent rise in attendance and breaking the 3
million mark. Despite the bump, the Angels still
were out drawn by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Combine the attendance of the two teams, though,
and you have the best baseball market in the
county, with 6.199 million fans attending MLB
games. New York (5.605 million), the Bay Area
(5.481 million) and Chicago (4.902 million)
trailed Los Angeles.
- The biggest loser in terms of percentage was
in Cleveland, where Indians attendance plummeted
by 34 percent as the team played in rebuilding
mode. In response, the Indians actually dropped
ticket prices for 2004; meanwhile, flush with
some young talent in the minors, look for
attendance to pick up in 2005 when the team is
more competitive. Also suffering through some
double-digit declines after their teams were not
competitive: the Mets (down almost 19 percent),
Colorado (down almost 15 percent), Milwaukee
(down almost 14 percent) and Arizona (down 12
percent).
TEAM |
GAMES |
TOTAL |
AVERAGE |
% CAPACITY |
2002 |
2002 AV. |
2003 VS.
2002 |
NY Yankees |
81 |
3,465,600 |
42,785 |
78 |
3,465,807 |
43,323 |
-1.24% |
Seattle |
81 |
3,268,509 |
40,351 |
85 |
3,539,938 |
43,703 |
-7.67% |
San Francisco |
81 |
3,264,898 |
40,307 |
97 |
3,253,203 |
40,163 |
0.36% |
Los Angeles |
81 |
3,138,626 |
38,748 |
69 |
3,131,255 |
38,657 |
0.24% |
Anaheim |
81 |
3,061,094 |
37,791 |
84 |
2,305,467 |
28,463 |
32.77% |
Chicago Cubs |
80 |
2,962,630 |
37,032 |
94 |
2,694,946 |
33,271 |
11.30% |
St. Louis |
81 |
2,910,386 |
35,930 |
71 |
3,011,766 |
37,182 |
-3.37% |
Arizona |
81 |
2,805,542 |
34,636 |
71 |
3,198,975 |
39,494 |
-12.30% |
Boston |
81 |
2,724,165 |
33,631 |
100 |
2,650,859 |
32,727 |
2.76% |
Atlanta |
79 |
2,401,084 |
30,393 |
61 |
2,568,144 |
32,102 |
-5.32% |
Baltimore |
81 |
2,454,523 |
30,302 |
63 |
2,655,559 |
32,785 |
-7.57% |
Houston |
81 |
2,454,241 |
30,299 |
74 |
2,512,357 |
31,017 |
-2.31% |
Cincinnati |
81 |
2,355,259 |
29,077 |
69 |
1,855,775 |
22,911 |
26.91% |
Philadelphia |
78 |
2,259,948 |
28,973 |
47 |
1,618,467 |
20,231 |
43.21% |
Colorado |
81 |
2,334,085 |
28,815 |
57 |
2,740,614 |
33,835 |
-14.84% |
NY Mets |
76 |
2,140,599 |
28,165 |
49 |
2,804,838 |
34,628 |
-18.66% |
Oakland |
81 |
2,216,596 |
27,365 |
63 |
2,169,816 |
26,788 |
2.15% |
Texas |
81 |
2,094,394 |
25,856 |
53 |
2,352,397 |
29,042 |
-10.97% |
San Diego |
81 |
2,030,084 |
25,062 |
39 |
2,221,230 |
27,423 |
-8.61% |
Minnesota |
81 |
1,946,011 |
24,024 |
49 |
1,924,345 |
23,757 |
1.12% |
Chicago White Sox |
81 |
1,939,524 |
23,944 |
54 |
1,675,591 |
20,686 |
15.75% |
Kansas City |
78 |
1,779,895 |
22,819 |
56 |
1,323,036 |
16,334 |
39.70% |
Toronto |
81 |
1,799,458 |
22,215 |
44 |
1,638,170 |
20,224 |
9.84% |
Cleveland |
81 |
1,730,002 |
21,358 |
49 |
2,621,940 |
32,370 |
-34.02% |
Milwaukee |
81 |
1,700,354 |
20,992 |
50 |
1,969,153 |
24,311 |
-13.65% |
Pittsburgh |
78 |
1,636,751 |
20,983 |
55 |
1,784,970 |
22,312 |
-5.96% |
Detroit |
80 |
1,368,245 |
17,103 |
43 |
1,503,353 |
18,792 |
-8.99% |
Florida |
80 |
1,303,215 |
16,290 |
45 |
813,127 |
10,039 |
62.27% |
Tampa Bay |
81 |
1,058,695 |
13,070 |
29 |
1,065,742 |
13,157 |
-0.66% |
Montreal |
81 |
1,025,639 |
12,662 |
32 |
812,536 |
10,031 |
26.23% |
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