Cardinals seeing continued decline in attendance and ticket sales

The Cardinals “are seeing a rare downturn in fan interest,” as evidenced by attendance and ticket resale data, coming off their “first losing season since 2007 and off to a slow start this year,” according to Ethan Erickson of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. The completion of the season’s first homestand, the Cardinals “saw a five-game average attendance of 34,909,” which covered all games on that homestand after the opener. That is the “lowest five-game average attendance at Busch Stadium since 2012.” With the same period at the start of last year, “more than 5,000 fewer tickets were sold for each of those five games -- a 13% drop on average per game.” With a “bit of a rebound during the just-ended second homestand,” the Cardinals averaged “about 2,700 fewer fans this year (in announced attendance) than in last season’s first 12 games.” Even with their lower-than-usual numbers, the Cardinals “remain among the MLB’s attendance leaders this season.” They rank sixth, down two spots from their final ranking last season and down four spots from 2022. Ticket resale data also indicates “reduced fan interest.” For the season-opening homestand this year, “far fewer tickets were resold on the secondary market, and for less money, than in 2023.” In the five games after the home opener, “10% of the tickets resold went for less than $10.” The figure was “4% for the corresponding games at the start of last season” (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/25).