Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Minor League Attendance

Team, league, number of home games, average attendance, rank in league.

Team           League          G     Avg    LgRank
Durham International 8 5,000 11th/14
Montgomery Southern 14 4,090 3rd/10
Charlotte Florida State 8 3,337 1st/12
Bowling Green South Atlantic 8 3,952 6th/16
Congratulations to the Stone Crabs for leading the Florida State League in attendance in their inaugural season.

2 comments:

  1. Doug - any idea why attendance is typically so low at FSL games? Not to denigrate Cahrlotte's good efforts, but I've noticed in the past that attemdance in the league is very low. Is it the summer heat? Or don't the teams make much effort to promote the league?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey NYYfan,

    Two obvious factors, it's only high A ball and it's Florida, with lots to do other than the local ballgame.

    A third is the team itself, which will vary from year to year, and even during the year. Charlotte didn't get a load of top prospects this year, Jennings jumped to AA, and Bowling Green has a ton of guys worth watching.

    The carryover from a new team in town, plus spring training, plus the Rays success last year probably led to great preseason sales. We'll have to see how they do with walkups as the year goes on.

    I think they'll do fine, between the first season excitement and season ticket sales, even if the team struggles, they will pack the seats.

    Next year will be a more accurate gauge. But even next year they will still get a bump from Spring Training.

    Plus, the Ripken Group has really hit the ground running. Everything from a professional staff to good promotions to interacting with guys like me who promote them. Really, if there's a grade higher than A+, they deserve it. Even down to little things like the logo, they've hit a home run.

    In sum, I'm impressed with the Charlotte Stone Crabs being #1 in FSL attendance in their inaugural season. The front office and fans deserve our accolades for a job well done.

    ReplyDelete