Are fans staying away this season?

  Well this is the 3rd spring training year in Scottsdale or as 67RS likes to spell out Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. So I looked at where the attendance was at this point over the last 3 years after only 4 games, so it's not much to bank on yet. Anyway at this point last season they were at 36,628, this year 23,461. 2011 after 4 games 30,654. I think the largest factor was opening day down in the "Bowels of Hell" 2011-12,528(although D-Backs were home team, same stadium)2012-12,514 and this year opening day saw 7,478. That right there tells me folks might be shying away.

I noticed the attendance numbers 4thefences and was quite surprised. I hope it doesn't portend a general falling off of interest in the Rockies...I hope Weiss and Company are given a chance to redeem themselves in spite of FO lack of action. I must admit I just don't know what people call SRFATS but I know that's a mouthful...wish I could spend some time there though.

  So I did some research on other teams in both Grapefruit and Cactus league play. It appears at the moment attendance is down  25%-30% pretty much across the board. In fact the Padres have played in front of less than 2,000 4 times home and away this spring. Just too early to speculate yet.

I have heard thaat it has been a lot cooler there than usual and people may not want to sit out in those frozen 60 degree temperatures. I know that a couple of days they had to contend with real snow- the kind that even sticks. Perhaps that is part of the issue. I don't mind people staying away though until the Rockies prove themselves to be a team worth watching. Last year we wanted fan disinterest to translate at the turnstiles to provoke change. Less fans at the outset this yeat may signal to the money counters that people are unhappy with the lack of action over this past offseason and the failure to bolster the pitching rotation. I guess we will see...

Well probably part of the reason it's been colder this year is that games began a full week sooner this year than in previous years. Colorado's first game this year was February 23, while last year it was played on March 3. And the earlier schedule may have something to do with reduced attendance season-to-date. A greater test will come with this weekend's games vs the start of last season. Give it a week and let us know how attendance compares with comparable dates.

All this because of the number of players committing to the WBC tournament. Some teams are losing quite a few players so needed to get guys in camp for some meaningful action before they all took off to their respective WBC camps.

I don't think this is baseball related at all, the economy sucks and it is not going to get fixed anytime soon, people are staying away as they cannot afford trips to Az. at this time.

Following is an article from CBS Sports today: 


Crowds at spring training baseball games are down this year, with several factors conspiring to cut into attendance.

Exhibition games started more than a week earlier this year to help major leaguers get ready for the World Baseball Classic. The games in February were under way before a lot of fans had arrived in Florida and Arizona on vacation and spring break.

Overall attendance is down by about 14 percent over last year, according to totals compiled by STATS.

Chilly weather led to empty seats in many ballparks. Fans have mentioned they've noticed watered-down lineups that are the result of injuries, players taking part in the WBC and other regulars resting up.

High ticket prices also were a factor. It can cost more than $50 a ticket for some exhibition games.

$50 a ticket is ridiculous for a ST game. I would never pay that price so once again they are squeezing the wallet so tight that people turn away rather than succumb to their highway robbery. I wouldn't even pay that for a regular season ticket and I don't. They are going to find out that people have ways to get tickets without anteing up to the ticket windows to buy them- at least during the regular season. For ST, I would say, just abstain.