2016 Attendance Thread

[Going Underground]

We should probably face the reality here. Baltimore is not a huge market unto itself and the presence of the Nationals down the road will always be a damper on attendance.

A terrible Orioles team drew an average of 32K in 2005, the first year of the Nationals. The Orioles have not drawn that many since. Playoff runs and young competitive teams, ballpark enhancements, new dining options....whatever. Unless the Orioles win a couple of World Series, attendance is unlikely to top 35K again.

I think they lost many fans before the Nationals even came due to a bad product.

1998 the Orioles drew 3,684,650

2003 2,454,523

A big drop due to a bad product. Attendance went down even more when the Nationals came but the Orioles had six seasons in a row where they lost over 90 games. 2006-2011. The Nationals also did not draw when they were bad,

In 2007 the Nationals drew 1,943,812. Then they moved to Nats Park and drew over 2.3 million in 2008. Bad teams and attendance from 2009 to 2011 was under 2 million.

[atomic]

I will say the O's dropped the ball with promotions this year. They've been downhill for awhile now.

Promotions are not promotions anymore. Whenever the O's give out "free stuff" they raise the prices on tickets more than the item is worth.

[ReclaimTheCrown]

That's slightly better than VA but sometimes not with traffic:)

You are dedicated. I would say you are the exception and not the rule.

I think the reasons for down attendance are:

1.weather in May

2. Lack of promotions to offset o creased ticket prices

3. Fans resisting watching Ubaldo pitch

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I'd argue it's worth because I've got to get across and out of the whole city (instead of just going around), but doesn't really matter.

I don't disagree with some of the reasons you list - certainly the disappearance of some discounts on tickets is a bit curious, especially given low attendance numbers. I just think there are a ton of excuses being made for a fan base that has been pretty pathetic this year. The team has played well and deserves better.

[Why Not?]

I think they lost many fans before the Nationals even came due to a bad product.

1998 the Orioles drew 3,684,650

2003 2,454,523

A big drop due to a bad product. Attendance went down even more when the Nationals came but the Orioles had six seasons in a row where they lost over 90 games. 2006-2011. The Nationals also did not draw when they were bad,

In 2007 the Nationals drew 1,943,812. Then they moved to Nats Park and drew over 2.3 million in 2008. Bad teams and attendance from 2009 to 2011 was under 2 million.

Absolutely, it was on a downward trend before the Nats. I'm not blaming low attendance singularly on the presence of the Nationals, but it is very much a factor. What team wouldn't suffer at the gate if another team opened shop 40 miles away?

[Tx Oriole]

They're home like we are cause they think we're gonna lose four in a row to the Red Sox.

Why not support the team? Yes they aren't playing well. But gosh they are the

O's.

[Ori-Al]

20,000 last night. What is Angelos thinking after all the money he spent this offseason?

[MurphDogg]

For me personally, it was prime ticket pricing. I am not going to go to a prime game unless there is a giveaway. I don't get any extra value in seeing the Red Sox in June.

[Going Underground]

For me personally, it was prime ticket pricing. I am not going to go to a prime game unless there is a giveaway. I don't get any extra value in seeing the Red Sox in June.

The Yankees during the week are even worse. Most Yankee fans don't care about the Yankees.

[slakattack]

How come nobody on one of these poor attendance threads ever seems to consider the effect of 8+ years of poor economy with little or no wage increases for the lower and middle class people that are found predominantly in the Baltimore area or the high cost of living in general in the Mid-Atlantic region?

I'm sure there are lots of folks that would rather spend a Wed. evening at OPACY instead of sitting on their couch, but they don't have $75-$100 to squander on a random Wed. night.

A lot of times, you'll see many young 20-something (likely childless) fans in the stands on weeknights...they are more likely to have the time and disposable income on a work night

to attend a ballgame. Also, the Oriole's fan base population just isn't as large as NY, BOS, PHI, WSH. Those cities, by shear numbers have more affluent people to pickup the slack

in the seats on weeknights. Plus, don't get me started on the weak corporate participation in this area...especially compared to 15 - 20 years ago.

[eddie83]

When the stadium opened games started at 730 not 7. I understand why baseball in general did that but that is a factor, maybe a small one for people to drive during the week.

Tomorrow night I bet will be packed but the difference in seats filled will be dramatic from the start of the game to let's say the 3rd inning. I have wondered for years why they don't have 730 games on Fridays. Many empty seats at 7 that will be filled by 730-745pm or so.

If this series was late June into July the attendance would be dramatically different.

[Rene88]

For me personally, it was prime ticket pricing. I am not going to go to a prime game unless there is a giveaway. I don't get any extra value in seeing the Red Sox in June.

I think this is a good point. Cheaper for NY and Boston fans but scares local fans away.

That is why promotions are important.

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[eddie83]

I think this is a good point. Cheaper for NY and Boston fans but scares local fans away.

That is why promotions are important.

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Look at the terrace box sections for games like tonight compared to the first level of lower seats. That should tell the Orioles all they need to know about pricing.

At some point they need to understand their fans better. This weekend I would imagine will be packed but until school stops the weekday games are an issue. I went to a Friday game around 2003 I think in late May, great weather, huge walk up and I didn't get into the stadium until like the 3rd inning. The weather has killed the walk up on the weekends so far.

[Norfolk orioles]

I still think the events of last year are still keeping people away a bit. Maybe not a significant number, but enough to make it noticeable.

Plus the ticket price increases rub people the wrong way after a .500 season, as someone else mentioned wages are stagnant and in the end, let's face it, why drive half an hour or so, pay 10-20 to park, pay 8 a beer and 6 for a hot dog or whatever and probably sit in the nosebleeds when you can stay home, watch on a big screen, drink a few beers or scotches or what have you's and save yourself a ton of time and money.

Hell no one is showing up to Yankee stadium either and that's the YANKEES we are talking about in the biggest city in America.

It's a multitude of factors and it's probably not improving any time soon unless prices are slashed dramatically (on both beer/food and tickets). So yeah, don't hold your breath

[Bird Dog]

They're home like we are cause they think we're gonna lose four in a row to the Red Sox.

I am so glad that I was 100% WRONG !!

[OFFNY]

o

4-GAME SET, vs. Red Sox (May 30th, 31st, June 1st, 2nd)

GAME 1:O 43,926 o(95.6%)

GAME 2:O 17,664 o(38.4%)

GAME 3:O 20,750 o(45.1%)

GAME 4:O 21,534 o(46.8%)

_________

4-GAME TOTAL: OO) 103,874

4-GAME AVERAGE: oo 25,969