Attendance?

[youngLion]

Anybody have any idea why our attendane has been so crappy so far this year? Last year we averaged almost 30k which put us around mid pack. At the start of the year iirc we were even higher, and near the top of the league.

This year we've gotten off to an amazing start with the best record in baseball. Are a pretty sizeable market. And there's only 20k fans showing up for games, which ranks us 27th in the league.

Was there just low expectations for the team this year, and attendance hasn't caught up with the record? W/E the excuse it shouldn't be enough to be hovering around the same as the Nats imo.

It's still only April and it's **** outside. I worked at the Dome last summer, once the weather gets better they'll start drawing better. It also doesn't help that the neither Yanks nor BoSox have been to town yet. Those games are good for about 45,000 in attendance each, maybe more if the Jays are still playing well.

[DIEHARD_005]

I went to the Rangers game last Thursday, just over 15,000 on hand. It was a pretty sad sight. Blue seats everywhere. But like other posters have eluded to, its only April. There's a lot going on in the sporting world and quite frankly most casual baseball fans don't really care about the Jays in April. As long as the Jays are still winning in May, attendance should rise and obviously if the winning continues into June and beyond, when it's officially summer, you won't have to worry about the Jays playing in a stadium filled to 25-30% capacity.

[DIEHARD_005]

And on a side note, last week's game was my first in three years at the Rogers Centre. $10 for a beer...really? I know its only two sizes but isn't a large at RC, the same size as a medium at the ACC? I'm brining my own booze to sporting events from now on.

[J-Roc]

There is no discernible surge for a Roy Halladay start vs. Scott Richmond either.

This was a question since Clemens was here. Does the pitcher make a difference to whether you decide to go? I wonder if the ace pitcher makes a difference in other markets.

If I'm deciding between a Saturday or Sunday, I might pick the Halladay outing. But more often than not, I'd probably just choose the more convenient day.

[victor page]

I shouldn't have made the distinction with Scott Richmond vs. Halladay. Lately Scotty's been tearing through lineups like Dwright Gooden in 1985.

Brian Burres is painful to watch - I wouldn't go to a Burres start if you paid me $50.

[nnnwt]

Grabbed this from ESPN
Blue Jays are the third "Biggest Losers" in attendance as compared to this time last year, with and average of 6,468 people per game

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/s ... ings090430

BIGGEST LOSERS
Team 4/09 Avg. 4/08 Avg. Diff.
Nationals 20,027 29,313 -9,286
Tigers 27,112 35,837 -8,725
Blue Jays 20,396 26,864 -6,468
Braves 23,675 28,008 -4,333
Astros 29,508 33,389 -3,881

Sorry it's hard to read, I tried to colour code it to make it easier... click the espn link and it's layed out in there anyways

- neil