Phillies have a totally expected attendance problem
It might not surprise you that the attendance at Friday’s Phillies game was low. It’s hard enough to get fans excited about a team expected to lose 93 games without the weather being rainy and dreary.
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It might not surprise you that the attendance at Friday's Phillies game was abysmally low. It's hard enough to get fans excited about a team expected to lose 93 games without the weather being rainy and dreary.
The official paid attendance was just 19,047, a record low at Citizens Bank Park and the lowest home draw since 18,002 fans came out to the Vet to watch a face off against the Expos. Of course, judging by shots of the crowd throughout the game, the actually number of fans actually present at the ballpark was much lower.
In their first five home games this season, the Phillies averaged an abysmal 27,643 fans per game. Only Oakland, Miami and Tampa Bay drew in less fans per game. It's even more than 2,000 fewer fans per game that last year's pitiful 29,924 attendance average.
In fact, take away the Phillies home opener, which drew in 45,549 fans, and the team averaged just 23,168 fans per game over that span. Keep in mind these terrible numbers come at the beginning of the season against marquee teams like the Red Sox and the Nationals. I can't wait to see what the attendance numbers will be like when the Diamondbacks and the Rockies visit in May.
It's important to remember that as recently as 2013, the Phillies were still a draw for fans, bringing in 37,190 fans per game. And in 2012 (just three seasons ago) the team led the league, with average home attendance reaching 44,021 per game. In fact, other than 2014 (and unless something crazy happens in 2015), the team hasn't averaged less than 33,000 fans per game since they moved into Citizens Bank Park in 2004.
So for now, enjoy the upside of fans not caring about the great reconstruction of the Phillies - cheaper seats, more room to spread out, the ability to walk over and snag every foul ball. It's not all doom and gloom.
Here are some more cartoons I've drawn about the Phillies attendance problems (click cartoons to enlarge):
And remember, it could always be worse: