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Minor League Baseball Attendance Up Slightly Through July 20
The clubs affiliated with Minor League Baseball (MiLB) are averaging 4,042 fans per game this season, up slightly from the same period during the '10 season. The Triple-A Int'l and Pacific Coast Leagues continue to top all levels at the gate, however both leagues are seeing close to a 2% drop. The Int'l League Lehigh Valley IronPigs lead all clubs with 9,060 fans per game, flat compared to '10. The PCL Omaha Storm Chasers, who opened the new Werner Park this season after over 50 years in Rosenblatt Stadium, are averaging 5,711 fans per game, up 7%. With the league folding two struggling clubs from '10, the Triple-A Mexican League is seeing attendance up a MiLB-best 27% to date. The Single-A Florida State League is also seeing an 8% increase at the gate. Six leagues in total are seeing some sort of drop in attendance, with the Single-A Midwest League seeing the biggest decline (-4.1%). The chart below lists attendance for each league affiliated with MiLB through July 20, with comparisons to the same period last season (THE DAILY).
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ATTENDANCE THROUGH JULY 20LEAGUE LEVEL TEAMSGMSTOTALAVG.PREV.% +/-'10 GMSInternational AAA 146544,302,8916,5796,699-1.8%677Pacific Coast AAA 167614,543,3905,9706,074-1.7%751Texas AA 83661,934,6605,2865,498-3.9%362Mexican AAA 146613,139,1224,7493,75226.6%738Eastern AA 125492,560,9604,6654,6111.2%568New York-Penn Short-
Season A14222803,3303,6193,629-0.3%223Midwest Low-A 167102,446,6583,4463,593-4.1%722South Atlantic Low-A 146372,168,2153,4043,3711.0%652Carolina High-A 83561,210,6573,4013,3332.0%368Southern AA 104611,544,5283,3503,438-2.5%453Northwest Short-
Season A8132387,9932,9392,8752.2%131Pioneer Instructional 8114272,2782,3882,3133.3%119California High-A 104751,081,3172,2762,2760.0%476Florida State High-A 12556931,2821,6751,5537.9%554Appalachian Instructional 10142142,3421,0029683.6%142TOTALS 1746,79627,469,6234,0424,0140.7%6,936NOTE: All short-season and instructional leagues begin each year following the June MLB draft.
