Attendance at Dodger Stadium continues to plunge

[Liberal_in_LA]

Source: LA times

Attendance at Dodger Stadium continues to plunge


Whether a boycott against the McCourts, fear of safety or simply uninspired with the team after last season’s sub-.500 effort, attendance is plummeting at Dodger Stadium.

Empty seats are everywhere, at every level. Even field level seats seem only dotted with fans. Some entire sections routinely sit empty.

Baseball’s 30 teams are down 635 fans per game thus far into the season (through Wednesday) or 2%, but the Dodgers are their big drag.

Through their first 18 home dates, Dodgers are down 7,268 fans per game, compared to last year -- the biggest drop in baseball.



Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2011/05/attendance-at-dodger-stadium-continues-to-plunge.html

[notesdev]

1. I can't imagine Southern Cal is doing all too well at the moment

They had one of the the biggest bubbles, and with the automobile culture there, gas and food prices are probably putting a lot of people into the subsistence camp.

[DontTreadOnMe]

2. Buy food or baseball tickets?

Seems like families have higher priorities right now with this economy.

[msongs]

3. fans don't want to subsidize the team owners' circus act nt

[Downwinder]

16. A good circus act would sell tickets.

[mysuzuki2]

4. I hear there's room for a major league team in

Brooklyn.

[alcibiades_mystery]

17. ^^^^^^Thread Winner^^^^^^^^^^

[Gemini Cat]

23. +1,000,000,000,000

I wish!

[Yavin4]

24. Don't Laugh. There's A Ton of Russian Oligarchy Money Floating Around Brooklyn

The Nets, or should I say Nyets, are moving there. Would not surprise me.

[Drale]

5. I've been to many MLB stadiums around the country

and Dodger Stadium is the only place I will never ever return.

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. why not?

[Drale]

11. Well I was harassed non-stop,

I did not feel safe at all. In fact I felt that way the entire time I was in LA, and this is coming from someone who grew up on the south side of Chicago. Plus I hate Mccourt, he is an embarrassment to professional sports.

[Onceuponalife]

25. You were harrassed for no reason

or were you being a jerk? You make them sound like Yankees fans or something....I don't believe you're telling the whole story...

[Upton]

15. Bryan Stow is reason enough..

http://sierramadre.patch.com/articles/reward-for-information-on-recent-beating-of-giants-fan-at-dodger-stadium-grows-to-150000

[KamaAina]

22. Maybe all the people (?) involved in his being beaten to near death

or who stood around and did nothing, or even egged his attackers on, are staying away, for fear of being identified. :grr:

edit: STILL no arrests.

[Onceuponalife]

26. No, I don't believe people are staying away because of that

If anything, they should come in groups and step in whenever some is acting up. Ah, wishful thinking, I guess.

No, I believe the reason is simply they have no confidence in the way the team is playing right now. If they start playing better the fans will return.

[Upton]

29. Maybe...something's keeping them away that's for sure

I've been getting MLB EI for about 10 years or so, and during that time I can't remember seeing as small a crowd for a Giants/Dodgers game as there was Wednesday night. There were empty seats everywhere. It was announced as some 30,000, but it looked about half that..and a significant percentage of those were cops.

[Grassy Knoll]

6. There was nothing better than a Dodger.......

sunset game against the Giants , It also got too gangsta for people
to enjoy a great rivalry. Sad.

[BadGimp]

7. Amen GK amen

i just moved to San Fran area, and went t AT&T the other night for a Dbacks game.

Its just not the same.

I left with wind burn on my face.

The Giants won zoo it was worth it.

"love the game"

..

[SidDithers]

8. Here's attendance for the 30 teams from Baseball Reference...

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/current_attendance.shtml

Some surprises in there.

Sid

[dmr]

19. Thanks for this link

Sock it to 'em, Tigers!
:hi:

[surrealAmerican]

9. They could always try lowering the ticket prices.

That's what keeps most people away, especially in a weak economy.

[villager]

12. They sure could -- plus the parking. Maybe I could get in to see the Giants this season

Plus the "ushers" there are kind of rude pricks -- they don't even let you switch to empty seats withing the same section you're in (i.e., at the same ticket price), a few innings into the game.

The whole organization needs to be less jerk-y, really.

[JDPriestly]

13. Ordinary fans can't afford the tickets. A lot of people in LA are really broke.

The people in wealthier areas are doing very well, but the people who filled the stadium, the just plain fans, aren't able to spend the money on tickets right now.

[Upton]

14. Meanwhile, the Giants have had 15 consecutive sellouts..

that's 41,285 per game....Things sure have changed in the world of California baseball..The Giants are now the World Champs and AT&T Park is the place to be..

As for all the problems of the hated Dodgers..boy, I sure feel sorry for them.. :rofl:

[Onceuponalife]

27. Your guys need to win another championship

before you can talk shit.

[LetTimmySmoke]

18. Awww...poor dodgers

[Awsi Dooger]

20. They got rid of the Cool-a-Coos

I never attended another game

[cherokeeprogressive]

21. Non-story, lacking perspective.

Go to SidDithers' link and sort the teams by DiffPerGame.

Dodgers are down 7,000+ but STILL draw over 36,000 per game.

#2 on the list is Tampa Bay who the Dodgers beat by around 800 fans in "fan loss". The Rays draw a whopping 16,000+ per game.

#3 Seattle, 1800 fans behind the Dodgers in "fan loss", draws a Titanic 19,000+ per game.

I don't see the horrid shame in being #8 out of 30, especially since the Dodgers are sub-500 so far this season. Of the 7 teams doing better in attendance this season, 5 are either leading their division or are within 1.5 games of the first place team. The Dodgers are in 3rd place, and below .500 for the season.

Last year, the Dodgers finished 4th in their division, below .500, and were still the #3 draw in MLB with over 3.5 million fans.

Let the Dodgers rise above .500 and contend for or gain the division lead, and let's revisit this... see what the Dodger Hatahs have to say then.

[Auggie]

28. Sparse crowd on the 18th vs. San Francisco

Unusual