As our friend Dave Cameron points out, when it comes to the factors that influence attendance, there's still a lot we don't know. Case in point: the Orange County Angels, who have seen a significant attendance drop this season, despite signing big-time free agents before this season and high expectations.
Mystery Solved?
Is there an obvious reason for the Angels’ attendance falling off by four percent? Yeah, and I think you can summarize that reason with one word ...
The Dodgers’ attendance is up this season, and by a lot more than four percent: nearly 13 percent.
The Dodgers’ attendance is up by roughly 4500 per game this season; the Angels’ is down by roughly 1500 per game. I’m sure that most of those “extra” 4500 fans going to Dodgers games are Dodgers fans, who just needed a a reason to come back this season. Between the new ownership and the winning, they’ve got it. But doesn’t it seem likely that some of those 4500 live somewhere between Los Angeles and Anaheim, and are happy to visit either ballpark? But maybe happier to visit the Dodgers because ... well, you know ... they’re the Dodgers.
There are other things we’d like to know, of course. Which is sort of Cameron’s point, that when it comes to attendance fluctuations, there are a lot of things we’d like to know. To this point, we don’t know of anyone who’s put it all together. Though I suspect that some bright boys who work for the teams have come pretty close.
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