The 160 teams affiliated with Minor League Baseball (excluding the Mexican League) averaged 3,921 fans per game during the ’12 regular season, down 1.8% from a year ago. The top-drawing Triple-A level Int’l and Pacific Coast Leagues both saw average attendance drop this year. Only seven Triple-A clubs saw an attendance increase this season. Only three leagues -- the Single-A Carolina, Rookie Level Pioneer and Appalachian Leagues -- saw average attendance increase. The Short Season Single-A New York-Penn League saw the sharpest drop in average attendance, down 6.2%.
The Int’l League Lehigh Valley IronPigs led all of MiLB in attendance for the third straight year with 9,153 fans per game. That figure is down 1% from the club’s figure last season. The Single-A Midwest League Dayton Dragons continued their U.S.-record sellout streak this season, extending the mark to 913 games. The Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, who relocated after last season from Zebulon, N.C., after playing as the Single-A Carolina Mudcats, led all Southern League teams this season with 4,826 fans per game. The Blue Wahoos figure was a big increase over the city’s predecessor -- the Pensacola Pelicans -- who played in several independent leagues from ‘02-10, averaging about 1,500 per game at Pelican Park on the campus of the Univ. of West Florida. The Short-Season Single-A Northwest League Yakima Bears finished with an average of 1,629 fans this season. The club will move from Washington state to Hillsboro, Ore., next season (THE DAILY).
|
'12 MILB REGULAR-SEASON ATTENDANCE
|
| LEAGUE |
LEVEL
|
TMS
|
GMS
|
TOTAL
|
AVG.
|
PREV.
|
% +/-
|
'11 GMS
|
'11 TMS
|
| Int'l |
AAA
|
14
|
971
|
6,504,586
|
6,699
|
6,956
|
-3.7%
|
958
|
14
|
| Pacific Coast |
AAA
|
16
|
1,123
|
6,796,157
|
6,052
|
6,156
|
-1.7%
|
1,125
|
16
|
| Texas |
AA
|
8
|
549
|
2,834,864
|
5,164
|
5,207
|
-0.8%
|
542
|
8
|
| Eastern |
AA
|
12
|
812
|
3,791,241
|
4,669
|
4,868
|
-4.1%
|
806
|
12
|
| Midwest |
Low-A
|
16
|
1,095
|
4,084,343
|
3,730
|
3,754
|
-0.6%
|
1,061
|
16
|
| Carolina |
High-A
|
8
|
533
|
1,876,081
|
3,520
|
3,448
|
2.1%
|
519
|
8
|
New York-
Penn |
Short-Season A
|
14
|
517
|
1,701,001
|
3,290
|
3,507
|
-6.2%
|
499
|
14
|
| South Atlantic |
Low-A
|
14
|
932
|
3,056,097
|
3,279
|
3,358
|
-2.3%
|
931
|
14
|
| Southern |
AA
|
10
|
665
|
2,152,852
|
3,237
|
3,242
|
-0.1%
|
671
|
10
|
| Northwest |
Short-Season A
|
8
|
301
|
896,781
|
2,979
|
3,007
|
-0.9%
|
304
|
8
|
| California |
High-A
|
10
|
690
|
1,582,174
|
2,293
|
2,303
|
-0.4%
|
692
|
10
|
| Pioneer |
Rookie
|
8
|
300
|
695,052
|
2,317
|
2,228
|
4.0%
|
289
|
8
|
| Florida State |
High-A
|
12
|
763
|
1,215,020
|
1,592
|
1,642
|
-3.0%
|
790
|
12
|
| Appalachian |
Rookie
|
10
|
305
|
278,785
|
914
|
882
|
3.6%
|
335
|
10
|
|
MiLB TOTALS
|
160
|
9,556
|
37,465,034
|
3,921
|
3,992
|
-1.8%
|
9,522
|
160
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
'12 TOP-DRAWING MILB CLUBS EXCLUDES MEXICAN LEAGUE)
|
| CLUB |
LEVEL
|
LEAGUE
|
TOTAL
|
GMS
|
AVG.
|
| Lehigh Valley IronPigs |
AAA
|
Int'l
|
622,421
|
68
|
9,153
|
| Columbus Clippers |
AAA
|
Int'l
|
611,223
|
70
|
8,732
|
| Dayton Dragons |
Low-A
|
Midwest
|
588,689
|
69
|
8,532
|
| Indianapolis Indians |
AAA
|
Int'l
|
595,043
|
70
|
8,501
|
| Round Rock Express |
AAA
|
PCL
|
595,584
|
71
|
8,389
|
| Louisville Bats |
AAA
|
Int'l
|
570,003
|
70
|
8,143
|
| Sacramento River Cats |
AAA
|
PCL
|
586,090
|
72
|
8,140
|
| Albuquerque Isotopes |
AAA
|
PCL
|
568,417
|
70
|
8,120
|
| Toledo Mud Hens |
AAA
|
Int'l
|
550,900
|
70
|
7,870
|
| Pawtucket Red Sox |
AAA
|
Int'l
|
521,023
|
69
|
7,551
|
