Phillies President & CEO David Montgomery is concerned that a complete rebuilding process of the on-field product would have too negative an impact on the attendance at Citizens Bank Park, according to Kevin Cooney of the BUCKS COUNTY COURIER TIMES. Montgomery: “Some people say that the Phillies worry too much about attendance. Yes, we do. When you are low in attendance, the risk is only on the upside. When you are (drawing well), the risk is dropping any further. And that’s what we’re trying to avoid” (BUCKS COUNTY COURIER TIMES, 6/28). In Philadelphia, David Murphy writes, "From the looks of it, the vast majority of Sunday season-ticketholders showed up to Citizens Bank Park yesterday,” but the “collapse of an economy does not happen over night.” Murphy: “Once the contraction begins, only a dramatic stimulus reverses it. That’s how it usually works.” The Phillies entered yesterday “averaging 30,374 fans per home game.” Last year, that “number was 37,190,” preceded by an average attendance of 44,021 in ’12. However, the Phillies “still rank in the top half of the National League in attendance.” Citizens Bank Park attendance dropped 15.5% last year, and it is “on pace to drop” 18.3% this year. Maybe the Phillies’ “demand curve says that the precipitous decline in attendance will stabilize, that 30,000 per night is equilibrium for a 72-win team.” If so, it “contradicts the macroeconomic behavior exhibited by other big-market fan bases in recent years” (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 6/30).
