Disappointed in attendance?

[atomic]

Yeah, I was there too. Had an O's ssweatshirt AND a jacket and it was freezing! Tonight we're going again in our season seats, upper deck behind home plate. I'm breaking out the winter O's coat tonight. Screw that coldness!

As for the crowds, all I know is I was able to run to the restroom and only missed one batter. Opening Day I missed a half an inning. Large crowds are more fun, for sure, but small crowds are more convenient. And....there were still plenty of eye candy there to look at!

The only lines last night were for hot coffee. I was wishing the vendors brought around hot choclate instead of beer.

[Dipper9]

The only lines last night were for hot coffee. I was wishing the vendors brought around hot choclate instead of beer.

I was in Clancy's area, and dude was on fire last night. He's screaming COLD BEER in people's faces. Then, "What, you can't drink COLD BEER on a cold night?" Then, "Who said its against the rules to drink a COLD BEER at a ballgame?" Clancy was THE man last night...as he always is!

[atomic]

I was there last night. Really cold, and the wind made it worse. I saw a lot of people wearing shorts and t-shirts. I don't know how they stayed.

The best I can say is we came close to selling out 2 games this weekend, and a cold Monday night against the Jays isn't going to bring people out.

Good for the Nationals that they had 25K but they have more disposable income down there.

You can get tickets for 9 bucks and then move down to the box seats. I don't think 9 dollars is keeping people from going to the games. That is less than going to the movies. And there are plenty of people at the movies on the weekend. People don't want to go out on a cold Monday night. I can't blame them. If the game wasn't in my 13 game plan I wouldn't have gone. Still those that didnt' go missed a heck of a game. I think the Orioles have been kind to Plan C season ticket holders.. 2 games and 2 walk off victories.

Overall I have been to 4 games the Orioles have won 3 and lost 1. And the one loss was 4-3. So exciting baseball every game. Good product this year.

[mark_beckens]

By the way, this is one of those rare times when the Orioles and Nats are playing at home at the same time. The Nats drew 27,273 for their game with the Cardinals yesterday, and haven't drawn a crowd smaller than 24,412 this year, despite having crowds as low as 14,520 last season. It seems the "kids in school, weather is cold" rationale isn't stopping them from drawing fans on weeknights this April. I wouldn't have expected the O's to have as big an increase as the Nats this year, but I am still pretty surprised that weeknight attendance isn't up more substantially than it is.

I remember back in the mid/late 90's when I had season tickets. April week day games almost never drew well. I'm not sure if the attendance is the same as now. But even when we were winning every year these games didn't draw well. And there was no team in DC.

edit: did some research, seems my memory isn't as good as I remember.

[Tony-OH]

When you've had ten consecutive seasons of .500 or above baseball, I would think people would have far more reason to go to games. Plus, after looking at their website, it was dollar hot dog night. People like cheap or close to free promotions.

The Orioles are doing a better job, but I still think they are missing out on running these kinds of promotions. I would honestly make every seat in the upper reserve $5, Monday-Thursday for non prime games. I'd also offer up cheap food discounts like the Dollar dogs during these mid-week game.

[Great8]

Maybe an influx of Cardinals fans?

I definitely think there's something to that. I'm looking at their schedule, and outside the opening series against the Marlins, they've hosted the White Sox, Braves and Cards. The Braves and Cards have fairly big national followings, especially the Cards. While the White Sox aren't as popular as the Cubs, there are still a lot of Chicago transplants in the DC area, and that probably contributed to the attendance at least slightly. Let's remember, too, that there are enormous expectations for the Nats this year, they have 2 of the better players in baseball on their team in Harper and Strasburg, and yes, there's more money in the DC area than in Baltimore. All of that helps.

[Dipper9]

The Orioles are doing a better job, but I still think they are missing out on running these kinds of promotions. I would honestly make every seat in the upper reserve $5, Monday-Thursday for non prime games. I'd also offer up cheap food discounts like the Dollar dogs during these mid-week game.

The Orioles prices on concession are so high, people are finding alternatives to paying ballpark prices. Tonight the Mrs and I are going, but we are eating before we head to the Yard. Having $20 season tickets defeats the purpose if I'm gonna spend $50 on hot dogs and beers.

[Great8]

The Phillies have been competitive for a decade, have been to the World Series twice in that span, and won it once. They sell out most games before the season starts. Comparing our attendance to theirs is apples and oranges.

[SeaBird]

The Orioles are doing a better job, but I still think they are missing out on running these kinds of promotions. I would honestly make every seat in the upper reserve $5, Monday-Thursday for non prime games. I'd also offer up cheap food discounts like the Dollar dogs during these mid-week game.

Your idea of $5 UR seats is a good one but I have my doubts that Phillies fans decided to go to last night's game because they could get a $1 hot dog.

[ShaneDawg85]

The Orioles are doing a better job, but I still think they are missing out on running these kinds of promotions. I would honestly make every seat in the upper reserve $5, Monday-Thursday for non prime games. I'd also offer up cheap food discounts like the Dollar dogs during these mid-week game.

It's nice to get cheap food at the ballpark, but just because it's cheap doesn't necessarily make it worthwhile. Some friends and I did dollar dog night at a Nats game a few weeks ago, the line was outrageous, they ran out of hotdogs for a while, and the dogs were as generic and mediocre as could be.

[NewMarketSean]

Theres a lot more the Orioles could be doing to bring more people out to the game, I think this is universally agreed upon. I don't know what impacts it would have on the Orioles' bottom line, if dollar dog nights, or cheaper beer help/hurt their finances.* But other teams are doing it, even teams like Boston who've had great attendance in the past and have only recently had non-sellout games. So the question is, if Boston is doing this to get better attendance, why aren't the Orioles?

* I only mention their finances since the Orioles are a business, and the goal is to make money.

[Dipper9]

In addition to all of the reasons attendance is low, add the fact that some of the ushers are jackholes to the list!

http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php/132065-Missing-the-quot-Ask-the-Orioles-quot-Thread

[atomic]

They could have had 1 dollar seats and 1 dollar hot dogs last night and they wouldn't have had many more people there last night.

[Great8]

They could have had 1 dollar seats and 1 dollar hot dogs last night and they wouldn't have had many more people there last night.

We could've been playing the Yankees and I doubt we'd have had more than 15k there last night.

[BoltonBob]

They could have had 1 dollar seats and 1 dollar hot dogs last night and they wouldn't have had many more people there last night.

DISAGREE!! Marketing and Customer Service Division don't have the "Want To" Buck talks about. OH posters probably knew that he last 2 weekday series would be a low turnout for a variety of reasons.... And I bet at least one person in Marketing did too. If not, advance sales is a big indicator. :scratchchinhmm:

Far be it from me to turn a tragedy into a positive thing, BUT a $10 "General Admission" tic, where folks could move anywhere after 1 1/2 inning, (and move if the "real" ticket holder arrived late) with $3 from every ticket going to the "victim" fund, 1st responders in WACO, etc. would be an incentive to go and donate @ the same time. :clap3::clap3:

Additionally the Rays have 2-3 players signing autographs, by 1st base dugout on some weekdays. Or another ML team has Walgreen giving away a $10 gift certificate to "game goers" who donate blood (Bloodmobile there.)..... Or $2 hot chocolate on cold nights...... Or All You Can Eat Crabs and Chicken and a beverage before the game for $35. Or 2 fer ones on slow nights.... Or Bring your Pooch on a slow night! :hearts:

Staff and Ushers - a Few spoil it all, outshining the good ones.... Power Hungry!.

BB out!