Attendance down

[Banedon]

Rosenbloom made mention of it yesterday, but I refuse to mention anything he writes anymore...

 

But attendance is down at Wrigley...

 

After 36 home dates last season, the Cubs had drawn 21 crowds over 40,000. This year they have 11.

 

Last year they had one crowd under 38,000 compared to 11 this season.

 

Through 36 home games, the Cubs are down more than 50,000 compared to last year, an average drop of more than 1,400 fans per game

 

Hopefully the attendance drop will start to get the Ricketts attention.

[jersey cubs fan]

This happened in 2005/2006, so I'm not sure why some people are claiming that empty seats at Wrigley are unheard of. The quality of the team matters. There may be a baseline built in, where they aren't in much danger of hearing crickets, but people don't show up as frequently when the team stinks.

[Soul]

This happened in 2005/2006, so I'm not sure why some people are claiming that empty seats at Wrigley are unheard of. The quality of the team matters. There may be a baseline built in, where they aren't in much danger of hearing crickets, but people don't show up as frequently when the team stinks.

 

Correct.

 

It's just the reality of the situation. The team blows. Believe it or not, some Cub fans actually do care about the quality of baseball that they would be seeing if they shell out for tickets.

[Sammy Sofa]

Rosenbloom made mention of it yesterday, but I refuse to mention anything he writes anymore...

 

But attendance is down at Wrigley...

 

After 36 home dates last season, the Cubs had drawn 21 crowds over 40,000. This year they have 11.

 

Last year they had one crowd under 38,000 compared to 11 this season.

 

Through 36 home games, the Cubs are down more than 50,000 compared to last year, an average drop of more than 1,400 fans per game

 

Hopefully the attendance drop will start to get the Ricketts attention.

 

Why wouldn't be the Ricketts be aware of the idea that "a winning team = more people" already?

[Soul]

I'm sure they are. They're probably still hoping against hope that this team will turn around.

[CubColtPacer]

The Cubs are pretty close to middle of the pack in this. Attendance is down across MLB this year. Also last year the Cubs attendance didn't drop as much as MLB as a whole did so they have a higher number to shoot towards. This year is comparable to 2004/2005/2006 attendance, higher than 2003, and lower than 2007/2008/2009.

 

But there is also no doubt that the quality of the team has hurt attendance.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

How a team plays is usually the biggest factor in attendance and I feel stupid by even having to point that out.

 

Also, the economy is still playing a factor in this as well. Combined with ticket prices that go higher and higher, and it doesn't surprise me.

 

When I went to see the Cubs in Houston, I ended up with two row two seats down the foul line and got them on ebay for the face value of one on a weekend game.

[jersey cubs fan]

The Cubs are pretty close to middle of the pack in this. Attendance is down across MLB this year. Also last year the Cubs attendance didn't drop as much as MLB as a whole did so they have a higher number to shoot towards. This year is comparable to 2004/2005/2006 attendance, higher than 2003, and lower than 2007/2008/2009.

 

But there is also no doubt that the quality of the team has hurt attendance.

 

It's always a lagging indicator. Last year was buffeted by 2008's success, last year's disappointment has contributed to this year's attendance problems.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm sure they are. They're probably still hoping against hope that this team will turn around.

 

Sure, because there's not much else they can do over the course of this season (in terms if significantly improving this team as it is currently made up).

[UMFan83]

The general feeling that I have is that Ricketts has enough money to safely run a ballclub with a $140 mil payroll, but when attendance sags down to 30,000 a game (not saying its there or could ever get there without multiple down years), I think his margins get a lot tighter and maybe the payroll drops $30 mil or something.

 

So I am not sure why people think that not going to games is going to "show ricketts" anything. I generally believe he wants to win and will show it when he has an opportunity to. But he can't and won't spend $160+ million to do so. So there was nothing he could do this year, other than maybe fire Hendry, which we'd all love. More importantly than that, I'd love to clean the entire front office out and start over. If you want to start fresh and really signal a new era of Cubs baseball, doing that would be much more effective than buying a few ballplayers.

[Ballgame64]

Maybe people are hoping the family will realize that changing the bathrooms, adding food choices and installing a Toyota sign were not and are not things fans really care about. The whole "fan experience" crap makes me sick. A winning team is the best experience. Why the Ricketts family worries about "perserving Wrigley Field for the next generation of Cub fans" is beyond me. THE tradition at Wrigley Field is losing, do they not realize that?

 

Every team in the division has a new stadium, except for the team that has made the most money.

[Sammy Sofa]

This guy is REALLY angry over the bathrooms.

[SouthSideRyan]

So Ricketts reaction to losing is going to be to slash payroll?

[jersey cubs fan]

So Ricketts reaction to losing is going to be to slash payroll?

 

and urinal cake budget

[SouthSideRyan]

So Ricketts reaction to losing is going to be to slash payroll?

 

and urinal cake budget

 

As long as they still have Bison dogs, he can slash whatever he wants!!

[Soul]

If the end result of all this is that I can pick up a couple of after-market tix for much less, then I guess things could be worse.

[Prizefight]

Maybe people are hoping the family will realize that changing the bathrooms, adding food choices and installing a Toyota sign were not and are not things fans really care about. The whole "fan experience" crap makes me sick. A winning team is the best experience. Why the Ricketts family worries about "perserving Wrigley Field for the next generation of Cub fans" is beyond me. THE tradition at Wrigley Field is losing, do they not realize that?

 

Every team in the division has a new stadium, except for the team that has made the most money.

 

 

](*,) Thoughts like this hurt my brain. Clearly Ricketts doesn't care about winning at all since he's given us so many examples of that over the 6 months he's owned the team. :? A nicer Wrigley is a good thing. Embrace that.

 

I"m sorry he didn't come in with the fire and passion and fire everyone the first day. Or that isn't on the front page of the Trib ranting and raving like idiot owners like Cuban/Jones etc. How about we give the man a year or so to see what he wants to do with the club?

[Irrelevant Dude]

So Ricketts reaction to losing is going to be to slash payroll?

 

and urinal cake budget

 

As long as they still have Bison dogs, he can slash whatever he wants!!

I couldn't tell whether that was sarcastic or not. So far I have stuck with the standard Chicago dog with grilled onions... do I need to try the bison dog?

[UMFan83]

Do people understand that spending money on Wrigley Field's bathrooms doesn't affect the payroll in the slightest bit. He's not saying "Hmm we could sign a better SS, but I'm not gonna lie, I'm a big Cubs fan but I'm an even bigger bathroom guy. I could not live with myself knowing that my fellow Cubs fans are using such shoddy facilities. I'll work on winning next year I guess.....unless there are more bathroom improvements to make!"

[J.R.]

I like the emphasis on the ballpark, but Ricketts' decision to go sauntering around in Africa while the season burns does not inspire confidence.

 

Next up for the Ricketts family? Maybe a sailing regatta on the Isle of Wight with Tony Hayward.

[Banedon]

Why wouldn't be the Ricketts be aware of the idea that "a winning team = more people" already?

 

There's a myth that the Cubs don't have to do anything at all, and that the park will just magically fill itself up every day because the Cubs fans just want to go to Wrigley and drink beer.

 

Thus far, the lack of any action by the Ricketts as far as the on-field product is concerned, and instead worrying about new ads and "fan experience" changes could cause one to think that they've bought into this myth. Now, of course, that's a huge leap to make that conclusion. But I think a lot of Cub fans had expectations of change when the new owners took over, and any failure to meet those expectations start people making those kinds of leaps.

 

What it comes down to is that I want to see this team get better, so I'm probably just looking for something...anything...to get this team to start doing something about it. So maybe I'm looking for more information out of something like attendance figures than there really is. But I'm ok with that.

[Guest]

What exactly would "action by the Ricketts as far as the on-field product is concerned" look like?

[Sammy Sofa]

The Ricketts have a business investment here. Attendance isn't going to go plunging to Pirates-like levels any time soon, and it's not like improving this team is a hopeless prospect for the indefinite future. It's just smart business to improve and attempt to further capitalize on key parts of buying the Cubs (Wrigley, advertising) so that those are in the place when the team is, ideally, improved and attendance goes up again. Edited June 22, 2010 by Sammy Sofa

[Prizefight]

The Ricketts have a business investment here. Attendance isn't going to go plunging to Pirates-like levels any time soon, and it's not like improving this team is a hopeless prospect for the indefinite future. It's just smart business to improve and attempt to further capitalize on a key parts of buying the Cubs (Wrigley, advertising) so that those are in the place when the team is, ideally, improved and attendance goes up again.

 

Thank you.

[Banedon]

What exactly would "action by the Ricketts as far as the on-field product is concerned" look like?

 

Well...ok...maybe that's worded badly, but change in front office personel and management is pretty much what I was meaning. Kenney, Hendry, Piniella, etc. A top down change. Maybe that's still coming...