Last night's Cubs-White Sox game drew the "smallest crowd in series history," as 33,215 "mostly silent South Side fans" attended the game at U.S. Cellular Field, according to Dave van Dyck of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The smallest previous crowd "was also this season, 34,537 at Wrigley Field." The smallest at U.S. Cellular Field "before this was last year's 35,155" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/19). White Sox Senior VP & GM Ken Williams said that his ability to "make trades and add salary for a second-half pennant drive continues to depend on ticket sales, which have been lagging at U.S. Cellular Field even though the Sox are in first place." Williams said, “I don’t want to expound. Then I get buried because I’m crying about money" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/19).
FANS WANTED: In Chicago, Danny Ecker noted the White Sox have "especially been pushing their prorated season ticket plans in recent weeks, hoping to capitalize on the team's red-hot performance in May." Those include a "47-game package, a 15-game plan for the rest of the weekend games and another 15-game set made up of select weekday games." White Sox Senior VP/Sales & Marketing Brooks Boyer said that e-mails have "gone out to former season ticket holders calling them to action, and the offerings have been promoted more frequently during game broadcasts in recent weeks." The prorated offers "are not new; the Sox have offered the deals" since '05. The team has "sold more prorated season ticket plans in the last three weeks than it had in the previous nine." Boyer suggested that the team "will be more aggressive in offerings similar to their $5 and $10 tickets that sold out for a mid-week series with the Toronto Blue Jays a couple weeks ago." That starts "later this week with the 'Paul Konerko seats' on sale for $14 apiece (down from $26) when the Milwaukee Brewers come to the South Side, and will likely continue until more fans start showing up" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 6/18).
