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The All-Star Break is typically a time for MLB teams to take stock of their situations, and the league is doing the same, starting with one glaring issue: declining attendance.
The league averaged 26,409 tickets sold per game in the first half of the season, down 5% compared to the same period in 2019.
- Should the trend hold, this year would be the eighth in a row in which MLB attendance dropped, not counting 2020 and 2021, in which attendance was severely limited due to pandemic-related restrictions.
- A 5% decline in attendance would be the largest since the 6.9% dip in 2009.
Compared to last season, when many teams restricted ticket sales, attendance is up 113%.
Manfred Speaks
No team’s attendance has tumbled more since 2019 than that of the Oakland A’s, who drew an average of 20,521 that year and have so far averaged an MLB-low 8,637 this season.
“The condition of the Coliseum is a really serious problem for us,” Manfred said Tuesday, referring to the A’s RingCentral Coliseum. “It is not a major league-quality facility at this point.”
He noted that A’s owner John Fisher must either make a deal with the city of Oakland on a new $12 billion ballpark and surrounding development — or relocate.
Manfred also said that he believes the Tampa Bay Rays may be best suited for Tampa, as opposed to their current home in neighboring St. Petersburg, but there are a number of factors at play.
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