News: Citi Field Attendance is Down
According to Maury Brown, and the Biz of Baseball, the Mets are off 15 percent off in attendance at this point in the season compared to last season, which is sixth worst in baseball.
Brown says baseball in general is down just under two percent, while the Red Sox and Yankees have remained essentially the same, the Phillies have shown a six percent increase.
“Dave Howard, the Mets executive vice president for business operations, blamed the early-season decline on bad weather in April, the team’s disappointing play in recent years and the economic downturn,” says Michael S. Schmidt in the New York Times.
…i think howard is correct, but i also think Mets fans are pretty beat up and dejected… look, the Yankees put a great product on the field and they still have empty seats… it’s a strange climate out there, as these clubs are trying to play to the market, but also maximize profits…
… i said two weeks ago that most fans i know, myself included, feel pretty apprehensive… we love the team… i watch every game… but, i still feel like the team is standing on a banana peel, even when they’re playing well, and i think that has a lot to do with the back-to-back collapses, all the off-field drama, the injuries, the mocking from other fanbases, and the feeling of flux and turmoil that has surrounded us for the last 18 months… and so, when you add all of that to the weather, the economy and the quality of SNY’s broadcasts, people are staying home – for now…
“I’m sure it’s been the weather,” Jose Reyes told Schmidt, on the topic of weaker attendance. “It’s no big deal. The crowds will come. The fans still love us.”
