Twins games averaged just over 17,000 fans through April, despite the team's improved playGETTY IMAGES
The Twins announced a special ticket offer for all 12 remaining home games this month, and the division leaders are hoping the sale effort, familiar opponents and better weather will "help the Twins' attendance numbers," according to the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Tickets starting at $5, with no processing fees, are "available for seats in the home run porch and grandstand seating areas." In 14 home dates through the end of April, the Twins averaged just 17,007 fans, down from the 21,072 the team averaged through April '18. The seven smallest crowds in Target Field history all came in the first 14 home games this season (STARTRIBUNE.com, 5/7).
DIRECT CORRELATION: White Sox SS Tim Anderson is leading MLB's push to add some fun and personality to the game, and THE ATHLETIC's James Fegan wrote in a league that is "seeing falling attendance, especially among rebuilding clubs like the White Sox," players see "something necessary in Anderson's decidedly more attention-grabbing style." White Sox P Lucas Giolito said, "I'm all for it. When guys play with more emotion and passion, it's going to attract more people to watch the game, which is what we want, is for more people to watch and be involved." White Sox P Ryan Burr said, "We've seen the attendance drop league-wide. People aren't coming to games like they used to. If that's going to bring people back then why punish people for showing emotion, being energetic, stuff like that?" (THEATHLETIC.com, 5/7).
DOES IT EVEN MATTER? SI.com's Jon Tayler wrote MLB's attendance drop "should be expected." The league is "plagued with tanking teams and rosters full of nobodies." Going to a game has "never been more expensive, between ticket prices, concessions, parking, and everything else." At the same time, it has "never been easier to watch a team through a variety of increasingly convenient mediums -- nor have there ever been more entertainment options as opposed to a sport that takes three-plus hours to play and features less and less on-field action." Tayler: "When it comes to fixing the attendance problem, then, is there anyone who actually considers that an issue?" There are "so many revenue streams for teams nowadays, most of them completely divorced from fan attendance or even interest." Baseball is a "booming business, and while gate receipts are down, how much does that matter when each team is drawing tens of millions from regional and national TV contracts?" (SI.com, 5/7).
