Attendance In Cleveland Dropping To Floridian Levels

The Indians are averaging just 14,660 in per game attendance this season, the lowest number in baseball. Although the low attendance numbers in Toronto have generated a fair amount of attention, Cleveland’s fall to the Major League basement is in some ways more noteworthy.

↵In the last decade, attendance in Cleveland has eroded. In 1999 and 2000, Cleveland led the AL in attendance, and in 2001 they finished third behind New York and Seattle. By 2003 however, Cleveland had fallen to 12th in the American league, and aside from a mini comeback in 2007-8 (Cleveland’s division winning season and the year after) when the Tribe finished 9th in the AL, attendance figures in Cleveland have steadily dropped.

↵Facing a full-fledged rebuild and an uninspiring start, it appears that Cleveland fans have mostly decided to spend their money elsewhere. Last season, the Tribe managed 22,492, 53% higher than what they’re currently pulling. Yes, attendance will improve once all the schools are out and the weather gets warm, and to be sure, there will be a handful of near sellouts when the Yankees and Red Sox come to town. That being said, the weather this April hasn’t been as bad in recent years, and the home slate for the Indians hasn’t been terrible. Cleveland has already hosted every division rival save the Royals, and if fans don’t want to watch the team play the Tigers or the White Sox, then they might want to pickup a new team.

↵Attendance is down roughly 2.2% across Major League baseball this season, so the Indians certainly aren’t alone. Nevertheless, this season’s dead-worst average of 14,660 is really really low. No team has averaged a number that low since the 2006 Marlins. Anything under 17,000 is Marlins and The-Rays-When-They-Were-Bad territory. All kinds of factors are driving the low attendance in Cleveland, including a full half-decade of Cavs mania that’s surely eaten up a lot of disposable income. However, if the Indians end up finishing last in baseball in attendance - below Oakland, below Tampa, below Pittsburgh, it will represent one final indignity for a franchise that has seen too many in recent years.