Attendance 2019

[Orioles1954]

22 hours ago, Going Underground said:

Not sure if it is as simple as that for baseball anymore. Cleveland wins and doesn't draw well.People can sit at home as posters have said and be comfortable and not pay outrageous prices for food and drink and hassle of getting to the stadium. As for the city it has huge problems and gross mismanagement. But the Billy Joel concert sold out at Camden Yards in a few hours. Granted resellers buy up many of the tickets.The play now at the Hippodrome is basically sold out except for a few seats.Hamilton will sell out for its month run in Baltimore  The Royal Farms Arena has hosted many country shows that have sold out.The MECU Pavilion (formerly Pier Six) has more shows then ever this year in Baltimore. These are things you cant watch on your big screen and people will come into the city to see ,crime and all.

Those are really one-time or limited run events. Not sure you can compare those to 81 game seasons. Regardless, the ship has sailed on 40,000+ regular season games....just not going to happen anymore. The maladies of the city are definitely not the fault of the Orioles, but they have done a crap job of promoting the team since the late 90s.

Edited April 23, 2019 by Orioles1954

[atomic]

5 minutes ago, Orioles1954 said:

Took my 11 year-old son to the DH on Saturday. After being approached by multiple crazy/street people on the way from the Chicken Box to the game, he kept telling me how scared he is of Baltimore. Couldn't really enjoy the game because he was worried about going to the parking garage. Don't have to worry about that at home or in Frederick. With the crap city/team, I wonder if minor league attendance has been affected?

I wonder what parking garage you parked at.  We have never had any issues walking from the parking garage we use.  We park on Lombard accross from the Arena. 

I have 5 year old daughter and she isn't afraid at all but she rates the Orioles a zero on the fun level.  Well below watching high school basketball and soccer.   She is afraid of the kids area.  Kind of different with all the parents not paying attention to their kids and the older kids just pushing the smaller kids out of the way.  

Also Frederick is kind of dodgy in places.  You can be a victim of violent crime in Frederick.  

[Going Underground]

23 hours ago, Punchandjudy said:

“Also, the stigma of the city, however undeserved it is, sticks around with people to an extent”

the stigma is completely deserved at this point.  I’m a lifelong resident and owner of two homes in the city.  A neighbor of my parents (70+ year old) was carjacked and assaulted returning home from Easter mass celebrations yesterday by 3 juveniles at noon yesterday in Guilford, a relatively safe neighborhood with its own private security.  People justifiably don’t feel safe and when they look to their “leaders” they see the city being led by an unethical crook who tried to swindle the city using his home as a rental property while he lived in the county...and he is only there bc he is replacing an unethical mayor who is out on leave hoping her scandal will blow over.  It’s sad and unfortunate, but calling the city’s rep “undeserved” is disingenuous, especially after all the hard work it’s taken for the criminals (both elected and otherwise) to earn that reputation.  

i guess this is your parents neighbor. Beating up a 78 year old is real  f'n disgusting.  Makes you a real tough guy. 

 A group of teens allegedly beat a 78-year-old man on Easter Sunday and stole his car, according to a Baltimore police report.

Officers responded around 12:15 p.m. to the 3800 block of Juniper Road in Baltimore’s Guilford neighborhood for a reported carjacking, the report states.

The man told investigators he was sitting inside of his 2017 Honda CRV in front of his home when three teens approached the driver side of the car, opened the door and punched the man in the face once before pulling him out of the vehicle, according to the report.

 

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-carjacking-20190423-story.html

[Punchandjudy]

Yeah the sad part it was in front of the house my mom grew up in caddie corner from the house I grew up in and they still live in.  The juveniles attacked the guy and put him in the hospital.  Sadly they still haven’t found the punks.  At some point people will channel their inner chuck Bronson and go all Paul Keasey (sp?) on them.  Even more sadly, I don’t think I’d care if someone did...and it disgusts me to think I’ve grown so despondent I’d even entertain such thoughts.  I’m sure some sanctimonious suburbanite will lecture me, but I could care less.  It’s gotten that bad here.   

[ChuckS]

11 hours ago, Orioles1954 said:

Took my 11 year-old son to the DH on Saturday. After being approached by multiple crazy/street people on the way from the Chicken Box to the game, he kept telling me how scared he is of Baltimore. Couldn't really enjoy the game because he was worried about going to the parking garage. Don't have to worry about that at home or in Frederick. With the crap city/team, I wonder if minor league attendance has been affected?

Were you threatened?  Did they put their hands on you? I'm not defending Baltimore, but you'll got approached by homeless/street people in every major city in America.  Federal Hill where you coming from and around the Harbor are actually some of the safer areas of the city.  

I can't speak for others, but I've been going to games in downtown Baltimore since I was 6 years old and never at any point was in fear for my life.  There are scarier things out there than getting approached by a panhandler.  If it was so traumatizing to your son that he couldn't enjoy the game, I suggest exposing him to these types of environments a little more often.  It's not healthy to live in a bubble.  

[Frobby]

31 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

Were you threatened?  Did they put their hands on you? I'm not defending Baltimore, but you'll got approached by homeless/street people in every major city in America.  Federal Hill where you coming from and around the Harbor are actually some of the safer areas of the city.  

I can't speak for others, but I've been going to games in downtown Baltimore since I was 6 years old and never at any point was in fear for my life.  There are scarier things out there than getting approached by a panhandler.  If it was so traumatizing to your son that he couldn't enjoy the game, I suggest exposing him to these types of environments a little more often.  It's not healthy to live in a bubble.  

I don’t agree with telling other people how to raise their kids or what should concern them.    I’ve never really had a bad experience on my way to or from the ballpark, but unless you were there, how can you judge?

[theocean]

On 4/22/2019 at 12:00 PM, Going Underground said:

Not sure if it is as simple as that for baseball anymore. Cleveland wins and doesn't draw well.People can sit at home as posters have said and be comfortable and not pay outrageous prices for food and drink and hassle of getting to the stadium. As for the city it has huge problems and gross mismanagement. But the Billy Joel concert sold out at Camden Yards in a few hours. Granted resellers buy up many of the tickets.The play now at the Hippodrome is basically sold out except for a few seats.Hamilton will sell out for its month run in Baltimore  The Royal Farms Arena has hosted many country shows that have sold out.The MECU Pavilion (formerly Pier Six) has more shows then ever this year in Baltimore. These are things you cant watch on your big screen and people will come into the city to see ,crime and all.

I think the impact the Nationals have had on the Orioles' ability to draw fans cannot be understated. Also, the O's have pretty much put a crap product on the field the past thirty years with the exception of a few fun - yet short - stretches. People love the Ravens because they're always relevant. The O's are still kind of a joke to most normal sports fans.

But, like you said - downtown can bring in people. Baltimore is big enough and Maryland is wealthy enough that it can fill a stadium. While there are some people probably too scared to go downtown for whatever reasons - I think the bigger issue is the product on the field and a lot of people under the age of 35 don't have a ton of reasons to be O's fans.

[theocean]

13 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

It's what it's all about.  My couch is ridiculously comfortable.  65 inch screen.  Finally solved the problem of working around MLB.TVs blackout effectively, I can stream the games with no problem, it comes in perfect.

Last night I fell asleep by the 4th inning.  No big deal.  

You bring up a good point - TVs are really good now. And relatively cheap. I mean - even the NFL has trouble filling stadiums and they only have eight games. It's just too comfy to watch a game at home.

[atomic]

19 minutes ago, theocean said:

You bring up a good point - TVs are really good now. And relatively cheap. I mean - even the NFL has trouble filling stadiums and they only have eight games. It's just too comfy to watch a game at home.

Football is better on TV ;  Baseball is better in person.  Well if you are in lower level it is.  I like going to games.  

The city is violent and it has a lot of crime.  But if you are going during the week you shouldnt have much problem parking in the b or c stadium lots with attendance what it is.  You also shouldnt have any problems with panhandlers walking from those lots.  

I love going to Camden Yards.  Beautiful stadium.  And there is nothing like drinking a beer and having some Boogs barbecue.

Really dont care too much for attending Ravens games.  Different types of fans going to those games.  Not a family atmosphere. 

[spiritof66]

I don't have the data to back this up, but what I've observed leads me to believe the following:

1.  An MLB team's "attendance" is built largely, and increasingly, on the sale of season tickets. (Keep in mind that what we refer to as attendance doesn't reflect the number of fans that pass through the turnstile. It's the number of tickets sold.) That's especially true of "full" season tickets, covering all 81 games, and less true of multi-game ticket packages.

2.  It's a lot easier to sell season tickets in cities where there are (a) large numbers of (big professional service firms (law firms, accounting firms, management consulting firms, etc.) that are prepared to spend on client entertainment and (b) lots of wealthy individuals. Before the Nats arrived, the Orioles did pretty on the first part by attracting season ticket holders from Washington's stable of large service firms. Now they are far, far behind three of their division rivals on both scores, with no hope of closing that gap.

3. Many season ticket buyers (and again, I'm talking about full season tickets) make their decisions to buy, including their decisions whether to hang on to existing full season tickets, well in advance of the season. Those decisions are made based on someone's (and maybe not a very knowledgeable someone's) sense of how the team shapes up for the coming season and how much interest its games will generate among clients, employees and friends. A couple of bad seasons, when season ticket holders see that clients and friends aren't eager to go to those games, will drive away season ticket buyers. If the team performs better than expected, or is more exciting and entertaining to watch than was expected, it's very hard to sell enough tickets on a game-by-game basis to replace those lost season ticket holders. 

4. Selling season tickets to the 2018 and 2019 Baltimore Orioles can't have been easy. The same will be true for at least a few more years.

Edited April 24, 2019 by spiritof66

[ChuckS]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I don’t agree with telling other people how to raise their kids or what should concern them.    I’ve never really had a bad experience on my way to or from the ballpark, but unless you were there, how can you judge?

I'm not telling anyone how to raise their kids.  I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that if a kid can't handle a normal city atmosphere that it might be a good idea if they were exposed to that more.  Or not.  Just stay in the suburbs and avoid the city environment at all costs.  

I was really just comparing my experience.  Me and plenty of my friends and family have been to the stadium dozens if not hundreds of times and have had zero issues involving our personal safety.  There is perception and there is reality.  There is also culture shock.  Which I sympathize with.  But only one way to get over that.  

  

[Going Underground]

10,550 for last nights game. First time they have been over 10,000 in a non weekend series game. Attendance should be somewhat better  in May. Have a Star Wars giveaway. Youth Baseball  Day. Two mid week series against the Red Sox and Yankees. The Yankee series includes a Game of Thrones giveaway and the Weather Day game. Weather Day game usually has over 15,000 school kids. A dugout club day .League of Their Own giveaway. The Tiger series to end the month should be less attended. Attendance so far is down across the league but some bad weather ,etc. The Twins expect rain and snow on Saturday with highs around 40 and low around 28. Let's play two. I spoke to someone who said the Orioles attendance might only be down a little but had the big drop last year.

[bobmc]

34 minutes ago, Going Underground said:

10,550 for last nights game. First time they have been over 10,000 in a non weekend series game. Attendance should be somewhat better  in May. Have a Star Wars giveaway. Youth Baseball  Day. Two mid week series against the Red Sox and Yankees. The Yankee series includes a Game of Thrones giveaway and the Weather Day game. Weather Day game usually has over 15,000 school kids. A dugout club day .League of Their Own giveaway. The Tiger series to end the month should be less attended. Attendance so far is down across the league but some bad weather ,etc. The Twins expect rain and snow on Saturday with highs around 40 and low around 28. Let's play two. I spoke to someone who said the Orioles attendance might only be down a little but had the big drop last year.

There were a bunch of kids there last night - and late after 9:30!

Then we have Nurse's Appreciation Week for the free scrubs!  

[Going Underground]

4 minutes ago, bobmc said:

There were a bunch of kids there last night - and late after 9:30!

Then we have Nurse's Appreciation Week for the free scrubs!  

 

[atomic]

On 4/24/2019 at 12:21 AM, spiritof66 said:

I don't have the data to back this up, but what I've observed leads me to believe the following:

1.  An MLB team's "attendance" is built largely, and increasingly, on the sale of season tickets. (Keep in mind that what we refer to as attendance doesn't reflect the number of fans that pass through the turnstile. It's the number of tickets sold.) That's especially true of "full" season tickets, covering all 81 games, and less true of multi-game ticket packages.

2.  It's a lot easier to sell season tickets in cities where there are (a) large numbers of (big professional service firms (law firms, accounting firms, management consulting firms, etc.) that are prepared to spend on client entertainment and (b) lots of wealthy individuals. Before the Nats arrived, the Orioles did pretty on the first part by attracting season ticket holders from Washington's stable of large service firms. Now they are far, far behind three of their division rivals on both scores, with no hope of closing that gap.

3. Many season ticket buyers (and again, I'm talking about full season tickets) make their decisions to buy, including their decisions whether to hang on to existing full season tickets, well in advance of the season. Those decisions are made based on someone's (and maybe not a very knowledgeable someone's) sense of how the team shapes up for the coming season and how much interest its games will generate among clients, employees and friends. A couple of bad seasons, when season ticket holders see that clients and friends aren't eager to go to those games, will drive away season ticket buyers. If the team performs better than expected, or is more exciting and entertaining to watch than was expected, it's very hard to sell enough tickets on a game-by-game basis to replace those lost season ticket holders. 

4. Selling season tickets to the 2018 and 2019 Baltimore Orioles can't have been easy. The same will be true for at least a few more years.

There are 7 mlb teams with lower attendance than the Orioles.  4 of those teams appear to be tanking like the Orioles.  No suprise that if you aren't making an effort to win games that people aren't going to pay to watch you.  

There are plenty of people with money in Baltimore.