Only Tigers Worse In A.L. Than Yanks In Terms Attendance Drop From Last Year
Via Sean Forman’s new toy…attendance per game in the big leagues, last year compared to this year – with 2009 being games through May 15th:
Tm (A) (B) DiffPerGame NYM 49519 38595 -10924 WSN 29923 19696 -10227 DET 36488 26648 -9840 NYY 50713 44491 -6222 ATL 30476 24753 -5723 COL 32097 27286 -4811 SDP 30770 25979 -4791 HOU 33720 29386 -4333 TOR 25485 21265 -4221 LAD 46622 42578 -4044 OAK 21233 18030 -3203 BAL 24412 21833 -2579 CLE 22628 21020 -1608 PIT 16262 15240 -1022 STL 40105 39213 -892 SFG 33775 33085 -691 SEA 26687 26089 -598 ARI 27819 27301 -518 CHC 39938 39423 -515 CHW 25300 24925 -375 MIN 24937 24782 -155 BOS 37618 37752 134 CIN 21294 21756 462 LAA 39227 40660 1433 TEX 21488 23025 1536 MIL 34014 35953 1939 KCR 17392 21232 3840 PHI 39215 43109 3893 FLA 14467 20386 5919 TBR 16822 25757 8936 (A) = 2008 Att/Gm (B) = 2009 Att/Gm
I’m sure that the Law Firm of Levine & Trost will write this all off to that crazy new math. Speaking of the Yankees Egomaniacal Esquires…
Just this morning, around 8:30 am ET, I was listeing to Richard Neer on WFAN and he was referencing a trusted Yankees insider who told him that, with Big Stein now being out of the picture, it was “the lawyers” who were truly making all the calls for the Yankees these days – and, according to the insider, per Neer, this is bad news for the Yankees organization. Hearing this, I thought back to what I wrote two years ago:
Maybe that’s the issue with this Yankees organization – too many white-collar, pencil-pushing, general-ledger types and not enough people who have grown-up in the game calling the shots?
So, what do you think? Was I right two years ago? Do we need to see Levine and Trost sent packing? Will it ever happen while Itchie and Twitchie Steinbrenner (meaning Hal and Hank) are running the team? (In Peter Goldenbock’s “George,” it’s reported that a Yankees executive said “Did you ever hear of ‘Itchie and Twichie’? Hal and Hank. If you took both kids’ feet together at the same time, they couldn’t fit into George’s shoes.”) Or, will we just have to wait until the team is sold to be free from the Law Firm of Levine & Trost?
1. Higher prices
2. Deep recession all over
3. Poor weather just about every home day (either cold, or rainy or both every day of the last homestand)
4. Uninspiring play so far
The average attendance through last night 44,491, is actually 6,490 a game less than the average attendance through all home games up to May 15 last season, which was 50,981.
If the Yanks are in a tight race for the postseason, the attendance will pick up as the season goes along. The economy will probably limp along for most of the season.
Meanwhile, I would think that due to the seats and concessions costing more, they’re probably making more money than last year, though probably not nearly as much more as they figured they would.
They also still have the highest attendance in all of baseball…which in the end is all that really matters….especially in this economy you have to expect some drop off combined with overpriced seats
Are the Mets, Nationals and Tigers run by baseball people or lawyers?
Raf – the Mets new ballpark is much, much, smaller than the one they used last year. The Nats suck. And, just about everyone who works in Motown in now unemployed…
So the Mets Stadium being smaller is an excuse, but not the Yankees? It has 6,000 fewer seats. Combine that with the awful weather and the economy and you get a drop in attendance. They still lead baseball. Also, I think it makes sense for business people to make the business decisions. Or do you think they should have given the Stadium project to Stick Michael?
You’re looking at the wrong metric Steve.
In 2009, to date, the Yankees rank 6th in percentage of capacity with 85%.
For the previous five years here’s their rank: 8th, 5th, 5th, 7th and 5th.
For those same years the percentages have been: 83.1%, 87.9%, 91.2%, 91.7% and 92.3%.
Without getting into a ton of other numbers, the percentages are down across baseball, and it seems that for all the Yankees’ attendance issues they are still more or less within their recent historical norms.
yagottagotomo1, sean – so, does this mean that the new Yankee Stadium is a success and that Levine & Trost should be given gold stars for the job they’ve done moving the team into a new building, etc.?
Who said that? You were using evidence to make a point, we just pointed out that the evidence actually does not support the point. No one said they did a good job. You also implied that the jobs they were doing should be done by “baseball people,” a point I disagreed with. Nobody said they had done a good job, that’s just a total straw man argument that you are projecting onto us.
If you’re saying they didn’t do a good job, then it’s a bad job. And, Levine & Trost were in charge – so, they’re to blame.
Sure, the new Stadium has less seats. And, sure, the Yankees are doing the same % wise as last year in terms of filling the place.
But, you guys are forgetting. THIS IS THE NEW YANKEE STADIUM. And, because it IS SMALLER, they should be selling out – EVERDAY – like the Red Sox do at Fenway and the Indians did when the Jake first opened. And, the numbers show that they are not – this, bad job by the lawyers on setting the prices, etc.
If you’re saying they didn’t do a good job, then it’s a bad job. And, Levine & Trost were in charge – so, they’re to blame.
It’s not that black and white, and you know it.
Regardless, Yanks are 2nd in attendance (behind Anaheim), and 1st in average attendance. Those lawyers must be doing something right…
And Steve, we are also in the worst economic crisis this country has seen in a while. Almost all of the cheaper seats are sold out. The fact that percentage of capacity has stayed steady in the face of the economy suggests that the NEW Stadium has had an effect. Maybe not as much as the Yankees would have liked, but pretty significant nonetheless.
@ Steve Lombardi:
Steve,
The Yankees could sellout everyday – if they built it as small as the Jake or Fenway.
New Yankee Stadium holds ~10,000 more than the Jake and 14,000(!) more than Fenway (and about 7,000 more than TaxPayerField). If they built a 40,000 seater they’d sell out for sure, but I’m guessing that’d make you unhappy as well.
If the Yankees have trouble selling the high-roller seats that’s no sweat off my back because I’m not a high roller. Eventually Econ 101 will catch up and deal with the problem – either “the lawyers” will lower prices or the public will pay them, because I guarantee you, in a September pennant race, those seats are filled.
I’m going to do another post on this, tomorrow, that will prove my point here. Look for it tomorrow night – and, if I forget to do it, remind me!
Steve Lombardi wrote:
Hope what you have is better than what you’ve shown so far
