Blue Jays Attendance Markedly Down Despite Strong Start
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Blue Jays' Average Attendance
Third-Worst Dip In Baseball |
The Blue Jays have "experienced one of the biggest attendance decreases in the majors -- a drop of almost 6,500 a game" from last season, as average attendance has dropped to 20,396 from 26,864 in '08, the "third-worst dip in baseball," according to Bill Lankhof of the TORONTO SUN. A Blue Jays official also acknowledged that season-ticket sales are "about 10% below last season." Blue Jays VP/Ticket Sales & Services Jason Diplock: "We knew we would have a difficult April and May. We knew the recession was real and that it would hurt. We had difficulties (selling) the mini-packages. A lot of those customers are families coming to 10 or 15 games and unsure if they're going to face unemployment. It wasn't: 'No, we're not coming to Jays games.' It was: 'We don't know.'" But Blue Jays interim CEO Paul Beeston said, "I'm not disappointed about our attendance. I'm not all that happy about it, either. I'd be happy if we were drawing a bit better, but it's April and, other than Detroit, we haven't played any teams that usually are our best draws." Beeston added of ticket sales for the team, which is currently 22-12 and in first place in the AL East, "We know that the walk-up crowd on the day of the game is significantly higher than any days last year. Which means that we don't have a good (season-ticket) base. We know people do recognize we're winning and playing entertaining baseball and coming to games. The future (attendance) should be better than we projected if we continue to play this way" (TORONTO SUN, 5/10).
SLIGHTLY DOWN THE NEW UP: In Seattle, Larry Stone reported the Mariners are down 27,376 total fans from '08 through the first 14 home dates of the season. Mariners Exec VP/Business Operations Bob Aylward said that he is "'ecstatic' with the numbers." Aylward: "We're 40 or 50,000 ahead of the plan we laid out for the year. You can start to feel the traction with the way the phones are ringing, the walkups, and things like that. It just bodes really great things for the summer." Stone noted "for the first time since they moved into Safeco Field for a full season in 2000, the Mariners haven't sold out the premium Diamond Club seats." However, the team will "begin selling those on a single-game basis" for the series against the Red Sox beginning Friday and beyond. Aylward: "We think they will fill back up. The economy has made us, instead of 100[%] full, we're 90[%] full. It's not great tragedy; it's just an adjustment we're having to make" (SEATTLE TIMES, 5/10).
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