Manny wants more fans at the games

[Rick_Schu]

I'm coming up from NC for Friday's game. I got six good seats and parking for a

very reasonable price.(Plus fireworks!) I'm gonna root like hell for the O's, especially Manny,

because these ARE the good old days!

[Redskins Rick]

I'm coming up from NC for Friday's game. I got six good seats and parking for a

very reasonable price.(Plus fireworks!) I'm gonna root like hell for the O's, especially Manny,

because these ARE the good old days!

Good for you, suggest you leave early. I-95 corridor through Virginia has been known to back up on a Friday afternoon.

[slakattack]

I'm coming up from NC for Friday's game. I got six good seats and parking for a

very reasonable price.(Plus fireworks!) I'm gonna root like hell for the O's, especially Manny,

because these ARE the good old days!

This. :agree: BTW, I just heard for the first time the other day that Schu is the Nat's hitting coach - never realized that before. "Those that can't, teach..."

[sportsfan8703]

The fans are still supporting the team. They are just watching on their HDTV's. TV ratings are great locally. I'd like to see attendance trends pre riots to now. Seemed like we were trending upwards with the sustained winning and all.

I'm willing to bet that there is at least 10-15% of fans that usually attend a few games, that haven't since then. That's just the reality.

[Charles1985]

It's a complex issue that I'm sure the Orioles' brass has taken a look at. I chalk it up part to ticket prices, part to general declining interest in the team (regardless of success - football has long since become king in MD), part the Nats... Lot of stuff.

I agree that raising the ticket prices played a role.

If you look at the last fifteen years overall, yes the emergence of the Ravens plays a big role in declining attendance. But it does not explain really the last year. Plus, a lot of Ravens games have their fair share of empty seats. The difference, of course, is that Ravens tickets are still being bought, even though several thousand people have stopped coming. At Oriole Park, the odds are that an empty seat has no ticket holder attached.

With the Nationals, if you look since 2005, yes. But again, we are looking at last year.

[NashLumber]

I'm coming up from NC for Friday's game. I got six good seats and parking for a

very reasonable price.(Plus fireworks!) I'm gonna root like hell for the O's, especially Manny,

because these ARE the good old days!

Good for you, suggest you leave early. I-95 corridor through Virginia has been known to back up on a Friday afternoon.

I live in NC and when I go, I now avoid I-95. For the last two years or so, I take I-85 from Durham (mostly rural in NC and the parts of VA there) to Petersburg, go around Richmond on I-295, pick up Hwy 301 after Mechanicsburg and take it to Bowie. From there, it's either 695 or the backroads to Balitmore. Far easier on the nerves to take this route. There's some traffic light slowdowns as you get closer to Baltimore, but nothing like the sitting still delays in the Fredericksburg to DC area.

[Going Underground]

I agree that raising the ticket prices played a role.

If you look at the last fifteen years overall, yes the emergence of the Ravens plays a big role in declining attendance. But it does not explain really the last year. Plus, a lot of Ravens games have their fair share of empty seats. The difference, of course, is that Ravens tickets are still being bought, even though several thousand people have stopped coming. At Oriole Park, the odds are that an empty seat has no ticket holder attached.

With the Nationals, if you look since 2005, yes. But again, we are looking at last year.

But before the Nationals even came to town the Orioles attendance went from 40,000 to 30,000 from 2000 -2003. Maybe three straight years of losing 90 games might have something to do with it. Also when the Nats came from 2006-2011 the Orioles lost over 90 games. That also hurt attendance.

[Redskins Rick]

I live in NC and when I go, I now avoid I-95. For the last two years or so, I take I-85 from Durham (mostly rural in NC and the parts of VA there) to Petersburg, go around Richmond on I-295, pick up Hwy 301 after Mechanicsburg and take it to Bowie. From there, it's either 695 or the backroads to Balitmore. Far easier on the nerves to take this route. There's some traffic light slowdowns as you get closer to Baltimore, but nothing like the sitting still delays in the Fredericksburg to DC area.

Been that way, many a time, but 301 has it share of bottlenecks too.

[NashLumber]

Been that way, many a time, but 301 has it share of bottlenecks too.

True. But I've seen folks texting while driving, bowel vacating styled road rage, weaving at 90mph, texting and driving 90 mph on 95 and that did it for me. And I've never lost an hour on 301 like I have on 95. I can tolerate 301 and its expected lights. And by the time those small town lights do occur, at least I can get Baltimore sports radio over the air, so I'm more relaxed. There are some long uninterrupted rural stretches on 301 where the scenery is lovely.

[ReclaimTheCrown]

The weather this year has been awful. Rained all May and has been hotter than hades the last month plus. I'll watch the o's as much as possible, but weather determines my attendance more than any other factor, since it influences my enjoyment more than any other factor.

It is a summer sport...and the Orioles are from Baltimore...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[allquixotic]

They could start not being a mediocre team; maybe that would put a few butts in the seats.

[atomic]

It would be embarrassing if the team isn't filling the stadium through a playoff push. Also, probably not the best advertisement for convincing a guy like Manny that it's where he wants to spend his next contract (long shot that it is).

Why would it be embarrassing? Is it embarrassing if the Zoo isn't crowded? If Manny wants more fans at games he can buy tickets and give them away.

[atomic]

Okay, but who has the best home record in MLB? Answer: The team with the 20th best attendance.

It's alarming. That's terrible. I don't care how you spin it. Not something to gloss over or to merely cherry pick other teams to somehow put a smiley face on.

Totally disagree.

How many games have you been to this year?

[McLovin]

It would be cool if Manny and the rest of the team started showing up too.

[SeaBird]

Machado and his teammates probably feels like they are playing an away game with Sox fans being in the majority of the seats. He's probably looking forward to free agency. For a contending team the Orioles rank 20th in MLB. 26,000 at last night's game is weak. The AL East looks like this:

AL East Standings and attendance ranking:

Toronto 4th

Boston 8th

Baltimore 20th

New York 6th

Tampa Bay 30th

As for contenders and their place in the attendance ranking:

AL Central:

Cleveland 28th

Detroit 14th

AL West

Texas 10th

Seattle 19th

NL East

Washington 13th

Miami 27th

NL Central

Chicago 5th

St. Louis 2nd

NL West

Los Angeles 1st

San Francisco 3rd