Revenue / 08.29.19

What's Driving MLB's Attendance Woes? Let's Count the Ways

Access Staff

New York Daily News (08/24/19) Madden, Bill

The outlook for attendance at Major League Baseball games is bleak, with attendance slipping for the fourth straight year. Four of the top teams have seen falling attendance, and in May Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred blamed the secondary ticket market for eating into season ticket sales. However, there are strong indications that other factors are in play, not least of which is a lack of truly great teams and an overabundance of poor teams. Also affecting attendance is the growing dullness of home runs, to the point where so many are being scored that it erodes enjoyment of the game. Adding to games' tedium is a lineup of unimpressive starting pitchers, which a former general manager claimed "is maybe the biggest problem we face in baseball today. We have to get back to developing starting pitching, and by that I mean, starting pitchers that go deep into games. The analytics have totally discouraged this with the over-emphasis on velocity and match-ups."

Read the full article on New York Daily News.

Tags: Sports , News , Secondary Ticketing