Baseball HOF Attendance Dips 12%; Donations Also Drop

Baseball HOF Senior Dir of Communications & Education Brad Horn said that the museum "had a 12[%] drop in the number of visitors from the Memorial Day holiday on May 26 to Labor Day on Sept. 1, even after a record-setting June," according to Danielle Sessa of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Horn: "The immediate feedback was, it was too cost-prohibitive to make us a driving destination. Now it's more reflective of the economy in general." Horn said that the number of museum members, who donate $40-1,000 a year to the HOF, has "slipped to 28,000 from 32,000." The museum's annual operating budget is $12M. Meanwhile, the HOF also is "looking for a sponsor to replace DHL," which suspended U.S. operations. Horn said that the three-year sponsorship agreement with DHL "expired this year and the museum chose not to renew" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/12).