Though attendance for the MLB Rangers "will be down for the second straight season -- by more than 400,000" for '14 alone -- the club is not about to "scale back their plans for building a contender based on one big drop in attendance," according to Evan Grant of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The Rangers are still going to "rank in the top 10 in average attendance with more than 33,000 fans per game," and they "believe the strong season-ticket base they’ve built by winning 90 games in four of the last five seasons won’t erode overnight." President of Baseball Operations & GM Jon Daniels "won’t say anything about his projected payroll for 2015 except that he has a pretty good idea of what it will be." The Rangers’ payroll "may not increase dramatically from the record" of $133M on Opening Day this season. But sources said that "neither will it drastically decrease in light of what will likely be lost revenue" of $7-10M from the "drop in ticket sales and lost concessions and parking." Much, if not all, of the "lost revenue will be offset by the start of a new TV contract" with FS Southwest that begins next year. Based on "expiring contracts along with raises for players already under long-term contract and arbitration-eligible players, the Rangers could have around" $20M to spend and "stay close" to the '14 payroll. The Rangers "sold a little over" 21,000 season tickets for '14, "down about 1,000 per game" from '13. The club "began the official process of trying to retain those season-ticket holders this week when renewal notices went out" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/25).
MISSING THE TARGET: In St. Paul, Andy Greder reports "paid attendance at Target Field dropped for the fourth consecutive season" in '14. The Twins "stated attendance figures were more than 2.2 million this season, which is below" 2.4 million in '13, 2.7 in '12, 3.1 in '11 and 3.2 in '10. However, the club has "remained in the top half of attendance" in the AL "during the five-season tenure of Target Field" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 9/25). Meanwhile, in San Diego, Chris Jenkins notes the Padres this year "held steady in tickets sold at 2,195,373, an increase of 28,682" over the '13 season (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/25).
