Yahoo! Sports ran an article today about the continuing downfall of Major League Baseball attendance. They reported that overall attendance dropped by 4% in 2018 and that after the first month of this season, it is still trending in the wrong direction. Without specifically blaming it on rebuilding teams, the article did target them, stating that 12 teams have seen a decrease in attendance so far this season, including the Blue Jays, Marlins, Royals, and Giants. The Blue Jays, according to the article, have seen the biggest decrease at 33%. The article concludes with, “The fans have made their opinions clear: If a team isn’t going to spend, the fans won’t either. Considering how many teams decided to tear everything down this winter, attendance is unlikely to drastically improve any time soon.”

I can tell you with certainty right now that attendance woes aren’t primarily influenced by teams wanting to rebuild. While it’s true that rebuilding teams will have more trouble filling up the seats than they would if they were a contender, the problem lies somewhere else. And this is shown by the overall attendance of the MLB continuing to spiral downhill year after year. The problem is the outrageous prices. All of them. Let’s talk more about it.

Tickets aren’t cheap. I’m not going to research ticket prices from around the league, but I’ve had plenty of experience visiting major league ballparks. If you just want to get in the stadium and have a seat way up high, you’re generally going to have to pay $20-$30 per ticket. Add roughly another $20-$30 if you want to move down a section. And God forbid you want to sit down low, on field level. You’ll have to take out a loan to catch the action from that close. It’s important to remember also, that ballparks draw a lot of revenue from families, so if you multiply those ticket prices by 3-5 people, it adds up very quick.

Next is food. Unless you eat before or after the game, you better be ready to shell out some money. Hotdogs are generally $4-$6 (which is just for a plain hot dog and nothing else). Chicken sandwiches or burgers will cost you $6-$8. If you want to add fries, go ahead and get that $10 bill out. And you still need a drink. If you think you can go cheap by just getting a water, think again. Bottled water will run you $4. Bottled soda will be $4 or $5 and a soda in a souvenir cup will be $5 or $6. Or maybe you want a beer because you’re enjoying a night at the ballpark. That will cost you an $8 spot. And once again, families have to multiply these prices. A little tip is to bring your own bottled water into the stadium if they’ll let you and fill it up at water fountains. Some stadiums will let you and others won’t, but it will save you a few bucks.

I almost forgot about parking, which is easy to do. Parking is like a hidden fee. You hardly ever account for that when planning a trip to a game, but when you get there you discover you’ll have to pay another $10-$20. Sometimes it will be more than that, especially if a big time team is coming to town like the Red Sox, Yankees, or Cubs. In my opinion, parking prices have really gotten out of hand, but many times there’s no other way around it.

So, if the MLB really wants to put more fans in the seats at ballparks across the country, they should focus on prices. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that if you charge a little less, you can ultimately make more because more people would be willing to come to the games and buy food/drinks in the stadium. Teams need to stop handing out these ridiculously high contracts to players because that will just increase prices the fans will have to pay to watch them. I also believe that building new stadiums happen too often when a lot of times they can just remodel older ones. It’s like each city tries to outdo the last one by building nicer and fancier stadiums with all these silly extras that aren’t needed for a good fan experience. Sure, they may be nice when they’re complete, but it’s going to cost a fortune to anyone who wants to come see it. The MLB seems to be forgetting its most crucial aspect: the fans. Without the fans, MLB would be nothing. So make things fan friendly. Make it affordable for the average family to go to a game. Otherwise they will continue to see the decline in attendance across the league, no matter how many teams are rebuilding or contending.

Garett

Why Does MLB Attendance Continue To Fall?