Reports in New York and Atlanta this morning chronicle the
large number of empty seats the Braves and Mets have seen this
season. However, in Cleveland, the Indians are still reaping
benefits of the two-year-old ballpark: BRAVES: Columnist
Tim Tucker reports that the Braves, "aside from season tickets,
have sold less than 2,000 seats for today's opener of a 10-game
homestand," and the team has sold less than 5,000 for all but two
of the ten games. Tucker notes the Braves have sold 78% through
season ticket sales and that the rate generally has ranged from
25-50%. Last season, the Braves averaged 46,168. Tucker: "It
all makes you wonder anew: What are Don Fehr and Bud Selig doing?
Why are they not meeting, trying every day to find a way out of
this mess?" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 6/1).
METS: N.Y. POST columnist Wallace Matthews: "If there is
still any doubt that baseball and its fans are in the midst of a
lover's quarrel, yesterday's game wiped it out for good," as
13,794 attended yesterday's Padres game "on an afternoon baseball
was invented for." Matthews describes the number of fans left in
the 10th inning as "a handful" that "dwindled from what could
best be called a 'gathering' when the game began" (N.Y. POST,
6/1). While the Mets paid attendance is up this year, actual
attendance is down 3%. "Meaning each night, 31 percent of the
crowd is dressed as empty chairs. Last year, 28 percent of the
announced crowd never attended" (Anthony Gargano, N.Y. POST,
6/1).
INDIANS: In Cleveland, the Indians have sold over 2,233,771
tickets for the '95 season, guaranteeing them at least the second
highest mark in club history. Through 11 home dates, the team is
averaging 34,011 a game (Indians).
