Spring Training Attendance Total Flat, But Average Is New Record

MLB ended Spring Training with a total attendance of 4,025,874, relatively flat (-0.2%) from last year’s record total and the second best sum in league history. But with 11 fewer total dates compared to '15, this year’s Spring Training and exhibition season drew a record average of 8,566 per game. The figures do not include the 55,000 in attendance for the March 22 game in Havana between the Rays and the Cuban national team, but do include the 106,102 that attended two games last weekend in Montreal involving Blue Jays-Red Sox. Also included were the 61,128 fans that attended the two Rangers-Royals exhibitions in San Antonio on March 18-19. Spring Training per-game attendance over the past two decades has risen a total of 47%.

Clubs setting Spring Training attendance records in their current facilities include the White Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, Reds and Mariners, with the Cubs again setting a new league mark for an individual club with a total draw of 226,163 at Sloan Park.