Smallest Wrigley crowd since 2002

[DivineBovine]

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/3756/cubs-draw-smallest-crowd-since-2002

 

So much for the "Cub fans will show up to Wrigley no matter what" theory. Put a winner on the field Ricketts. I'm sure they'll show up. :-"

[OleMissCub]

Yeah I was wondering about that today. It looked mighty sparse on TV.

[OleMissCub]

edit: double post Edited April 5, 2011 by OleMissCub

[BCVM22]

It was a cold, damp, overcast day game in April against the Diamondbacks, and yes, let's be honest, they are coming off an 87-loss season and they did lose 2 of 3 to Pittsburgh over the weekend.

 

If they're still drawing poorly in May and June with school out and the sun out and the days warmer than 45 degrees and the Cardinals and Brewers and Yankees in town, then it'll be news.

[Tracer Bullet]

why isn't it news now? for nearly 10 years, tickets for almost all of their games have been scattered singles within 3 days of going on sale. how many games are sold out now, almost 2 months after tickets went on sale and 4 games into the season? it's a story now.

[Sammy Sofa]

It is?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

This has more to do with ticket prices than anything. The placing of the tax after the purchase which resulted in an increase even if it doesn't appear to be when just looking at prices and the jacking up of the prices has created a lack of people buying.

 

I'm planning a trip to Wrigley over Memorial Day weekend. In the past, I would have already gotten tickets. Right now, there are plenty available and the prices are so high, I don't see the need to buy in advance.

[Sammy Sofa]

This has more to do with ticket prices than anything. The placing of the tax after the purchase which resulted in an increase even if it doesn't appear to be when just looking at prices and the jacking up of the prices has created a lack of people buying.

 

I'm planning a trip to Wrigley over Memorial Day weekend. In the past, I would have already gotten tickets. Right now, there are plenty available and the prices are so high, I don't see the need to buy in advance.

 

Pretty much. You couple that with the generally uninspiring nature of the team as it stands and I don't see why anyone would be surprised that attendance would be down significantly for a cold Monday afternoon game against the Diamondbacks.

[Jon]

It's more than just ticket prices, though. It's anticipation of how fast tickets will sell and the secondary market. This is the first year that people realized that only the most desired games are going to sell out. Before, people would buy up whatever tickets they could since they knew others were going to do the same. The demand was elevated beyond the level of what people actually wanted to buy. Without that anticipation of a buying frenzy, there's no reason to settle for the games that people never really wanted to attend that much in the first place.

[davearm2]

I dunno, if attendance is returning to 2002 levels, I'd say that's a pretty big story.

 

(Not that one game proves this is happening.)

[Sammy Sofa]

Why wouldn't they if the team wasn't winning?

 

Man Passes Out After Holding Breath For Too Long

 

Swimming In Pool Gets A Person Wet

 

Baseball Team Sells Fewer Tickets When It Is Bad

 

Such tales to tell!

[davearm2]

Why wouldn't they if the team wasn't winning?

Since you need it spelled out for you, the theory has long been that Wrigley insulates the Cubs from the sort of performance-based attendance cycles you're describing. If that's not so true anymore, it's a story.

[UMFan83]

Why wouldn't they if the team wasn't winning?

Since you need it spelled out for you, the theory has long been that Wrigley insulates the Cubs from the sort of performance-based attendance cycles you're describing. If that's not so true anymore, it's a story.

 

http://uchiblogo.uchicago.edu/archives/2011/04/bad_hops.html

 

All those people who think Wrigley Field is more of a bar than a ballpark might be onto something. A Chicago economist attempting to explain 102 years of Cubs futility identified a staple of bleacher appeal as a key culprit: cheap beer.

 

In his recent book Scorecasting, Tobias J. Moskowitz, the Fama Family professor of finance at Chicago Booth, charts Wrigley Field’s highs (ticket prices) and lows (number of wins). He and coauthor L. Jon Wertheim write that neither factor diminishes attendance—in contrast to most other Major League Baseball teams—but that increased beer prices do.

 

From 1984 to 2009, “attendance was more than four times more sensitive to beer prices than to winning or losing.” That sensitivity is evident at the concession stand. A beer at Wrigley Field, Scorecasting reports, costs just $5, cheaper than everywhere except at Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates games.

[Sammy Sofa]

Why wouldn't they if the team wasn't winning?

Since you need it spelled out for you, the theory has long been that Wrigley insulates the Cubs from the sort of performance-based attendance cycles you're describing. If that's not so true anymore, it's a story.

 

But that theory doesn't really hold up to close scrutiny. Again, look at long stretches of the 90's, the 80's and the 70's: when the team sucked they didn't sell nearly as many tickets as when they didn't suck.

[Guest]

Why wouldn't they if the team wasn't winning?

Since you need it spelled out for you, the theory has long been that Wrigley insulates the Cubs from the sort of performance-based attendance cycles you're describing. If that's not so true anymore, it's a story.

 

It's a story. I don't know where the obstinance originates.

 

I don't think one data point early in the season means a whole lot, but I suspect if the Cubs are sub .500 come May there will be plenty of games like yesterday.

[Sammy Sofa]

Why wouldn't they if the team wasn't winning?

Since you need it spelled out for you, the theory has long been that Wrigley insulates the Cubs from the sort of performance-based attendance cycles you're describing. If that's not so true anymore, it's a story.

 

It's a story. I don't know where the obstinance originates.

 

I don't think one data point early in the season means a whole lot, but I suspect if the Cubs are sub .500 come May there will be plenty of games like yesterday.

 

That's why it's not a story. Who here honestly thought that the Cubs would been drawing near-capacity crowds if they had or with the promise of another mediocre (or worse) year?

[Derwood]

Why wouldn't they if the team wasn't winning?

Since you need it spelled out for you, the theory has long been that Wrigley insulates the Cubs from the sort of performance-based attendance cycles you're describing. If that's not so true anymore, it's a story.

 

It's a story. I don't know where the obstinance originates.

 

I don't think one data point early in the season means a whole lot, but I suspect if the Cubs are sub .500 come May there will be plenty of games like yesterday.

 

That's why it's not a story. Who here honestly thought that the Cubs would been drawing near-capacity crowds if they had or with the promise of another mediocre (or worse) year?

 

it's a story because the Cubs coasted through several terrible seasons in the 00's without a noticeable drop in ticket sales. the story is that the sales are finally catching up to the quality of the product

[Sammy Sofa]

Why wouldn't they if the team wasn't winning?

Since you need it spelled out for you, the theory has long been that Wrigley insulates the Cubs from the sort of performance-based attendance cycles you're describing. If that's not so true anymore, it's a story.

 

It's a story. I don't know where the obstinance originates.

 

I don't think one data point early in the season means a whole lot, but I suspect if the Cubs are sub .500 come May there will be plenty of games like yesterday.

 

That's why it's not a story. Who here honestly thought that the Cubs would been drawing near-capacity crowds if they had or with the promise of another mediocre (or worse) year?

 

it's a story because the Cubs coasted through several terrible seasons in the 00's without a noticeable drop in ticket sales. the story is that the sales are finally catching up to the quality of the product

 

Right, but you saw the drop off in attendance in 2006 and 2010 (different than sales, I know).

[CarolinaCubFan]

Why wouldn't they if the team wasn't winning?

Since you need it spelled out for you, the theory has long been that Wrigley insulates the Cubs from the sort of performance-based attendance cycles you're describing. If that's not so true anymore, it's a story.

 

It's a story. I don't know where the obstinance originates.

 

I don't think one data point early in the season means a whole lot, but I suspect if the Cubs are sub .500 come May there will be plenty of games like yesterday.

 

That's why it's not a story. Who here honestly thought that the Cubs would been drawing near-capacity crowds if they had or with the promise of another mediocre (or worse) year?

 

it's a story because the Cubs coasted through several terrible seasons in the 00's without a noticeable drop in ticket sales. the story is that the sales are finally catching up to the quality of the product

 

I concur.

 

Is it also possible, the fan base is shrinking on a national scale? The deal with WGN sure isn't what it used to be.

[Sammy Sofa]

Is it also possible, the fan base is shrinking on a national scale? The deal with WGN sure isn't what it used to be.

 

That's something I think will definitely have an impact down the line once they're off of WGN altogether.

[bukie]

I have a feeling that the weather forecast also affected the attendance yesterday, since it was supposed to be cold, windy and rainy yesterday. Wouldn't be surprised to see a bigger crowd today.

[Guest]

Is it also possible, the fan base is shrinking on a national scale? The deal with WGN sure isn't what it used to be.

 

Not only that, but I'm sure San Diego isn't the only market that doesn't have a WGN HD. I'm going to know they are on because I'm looking for them. Potential new customers/viewers won't even see that they are on if they are anything like me when it comes to browsing tv channels and not even bothering with non-HD channels.

 

Probably insignificant overall, as out-of-towners aren't going to sell many tickets to games. But the national crowd is dying off.

[Guest]

I have a feeling that the weather forecast also affected the attendance yesterday, since it was supposed to be cold, windy and rainy yesterday. Wouldn't be surprised to see a bigger crowd today.

 

But what is the actual discussion? Ticket sales or attendance? You don't know in advance that it might be cold, windy and rainy other than it's likely to be cold, windy and rainy in April. That there are tickets available for these games is the story, although one I'm not the slightest bit surprised at.

[bukie]

I have a feeling that the weather forecast also affected the attendance yesterday, since it was supposed to be cold, windy and rainy yesterday. Wouldn't be surprised to see a bigger crowd today.

 

But what is the actual discussion? Ticket sales or attendance? You don't know in advance that it might be cold, windy and rainy other than it's likely to be cold, windy and rainy in April. That there are tickets available for these games is the story, although one I'm not the slightest bit surprised at.

Last week they were projecting Monday to be the worst conditions of any day in the opening week. Ticket sales are obviously a separate issue, but attendance was likely affected by the weather forecast. Coupled with the opponent and the game time, yesterday's game was a hard sell for the casual fan. Secondary market is awful right now.

[davearm2]

Why wouldn't they if the team wasn't winning?

Since you need it spelled out for you, the theory has long been that Wrigley insulates the Cubs from the sort of performance-based attendance cycles you're describing. If that's not so true anymore, it's a story.

 

But that theory doesn't really hold up to close scrutiny. Again, look at long stretches of the 90's, the 80's and the 70's: when the team sucked they didn't sell nearly as many tickets as when they didn't suck.

You'd need to compare the impact of performance on attendance relative to every other club in MLB for this theory to hold any water.