2019 Major League Attendance Analysis Released

David P. Kronheim from NumberTamer.com has released his 262-page Major League Baseball attendance analysis for the 2019 season.  Mr. Kronheim has been kind enough to share his data with us over the last few years, and this and other reports can be found at the bottom of our Attendance Rankings page.  You can view his 2019 Major League Baseball Attendance Analysis here.

2019 Minor League Attendance Analysis Released

David P. Kronheim from NumberTamer.com has as released his 211-page minor league baseball attendance analysis for the 2019 season.  Mr. Kronheim has been kind enough to share his data with us over the last few years, and this and previous reports can be found under our Attendance Rankings page.  View Kronheim’s 2019 Minor League Baseball Attendance Analysis here.

PawSox Attendance Drops

Attendance at Pawtucket Red Sox (Triple-A, International League) games has dropped as the team prepares to depart Rhode Island for Massachusetts.  The PawSox are averaging just 5,254 fans a game (as of Sept. 3), which is a drop from 5,982 in 2018.  It’s the third-lowest attendance in the International League.  Read more here.  The team was at 6,406 in 2017.  Doing business as the Fightin’ Quahogs last Friday probably didn’t hurt.

The Best College Baseball Stadiums According to Fans

The NCAA last summer asked fans to name their favorite college baseball stadiums.  After much debate, 13 college baseball stadiums most beloved by fans were named.  Checking in again this summer on Facebook and Twitter, fans came through again for 2019.  Read more here.

Vibes Lead Pioneer League in Attendance After Inaugural Opening Weekend

The Rocky Mountain Vibes (Rookie, Pioneer League) now lead the Pioneer circuit in attendance with an average of 3,959 fans per game after the team’s inaugural three-game homestand this past weekend.    That’s still filling less than half of a 8,500-seat venue that hosted a Triple-A club until the end of last season, but it’s a great start.   As we’ve suggested before, we worry about the impact the lack of intimacy of a half-empty ballpark will have on the fan experience and long-term attendance.  We’ll see.  Read more here.  Watch video here.

What other baseball team gives fans post game S’mores? 🍫🔥✌️ pic.twitter.com/FeX5EH9Blt

— Vibes Baseball (@VibesBaseball) June 22, 2019

Ridgefield Raptors’ Inaugural Home Opener

The first-year Ridgefield (WA) Raptors (Summer Collegiate, West Coast League) held their inaugural home opener at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex in Ridgefield (WA) on Tuesday night in front of an estimated crowd of 2,200.  Read more and view eight photos here.

WOW! Thank you, Southwest Washington! We had an amazing time last night at opening night of our inaugural season with a few thousand of our closest friends.

We're ready to do it all again tonight! 😀 ⚾️https://t.co/yMHVnYqt54 #GoRaptors #baseball pic.twitter.com/6iyzKXIVft

— Ridgefield Raptors (@RRaptorsBB) June 5, 2019

Ranking the 10 Craziest Food Items in MLB

With the start of the 2019 professional baseball season right around the corner, the folks at For the Win have ranked the 10 most-outrageous (and delicious) ballpark foods in Major League Baseball.  Read more and view food photos here.

2018 Minor League Attendance Analysis Released

David P. Kronheim from NumberTamer.com has provided us with his 100-plus-page annual analysis of minor league baseball attendance for 2018.  This and previous reports can be found under our “Attendance Rankings” tab.  View Kronheim’s 2018 Minor League Baseball Attendance Analysis here.

No More Upper Deck Seating for Rays Games

The Tampa Bay Rays, who ranked next to last in the majors in attendance last season, are eliminating more than 10,000 seats in the upper deck in an effort to create a more “intimate” experience for fans at Tropicana Field.  The Rays also indicated that will would add a premium seating section in the lower level.  Read more here.

2018 Major and Minor League Attendance Highlights

David P. Kronheim from NumberTamer.com has provided us with his summary analysis of Major and Minor League Baseball attendance for 2018.  The full analysis for MiLB is expected to be released in January, followed by the full report for MLB in May.  View Kronheim’s 2017 Major and Minor League Baseball Attendance Summary Analysis here.

Mock Lists His Personal Top 100 Ballpark Thrills

It wasn’t easy, but Joe Mock of BaseballParks.com has dug deep into his personal memory database to compile a list of his 100-biggest moments at the ballpark.  Read more here.

Ranking the Best Independent Professional Baseball Stadiums of 2018

Stadium Journey takes a look at the top independent baseball stadiums in North America.  The results were similar to their first rankings two-years-ago, but there have been a few new facilities that made the 2018 list.  Read more here.

Great Record, Empty Seats: Will New A’s Ballpark Significantly Boost Attendance?

As well as the Oakland A’s are playing, one look at their anemic attendance at the Coliseum will tell you why the team is looking to move to Howard Terminal.  Read more here.

Minor League Baseball Attendance Reaches Nearly 40.5 Million in 2018

PRESS RELEASE – A total of 40,450,337 fans passed through the gates at Minor League Baseball games in 2018, marking the 14th consecutive season that Minor League Baseball’s 176 teams in 15 leagues drew more than 40 million fans.

IronPigs players and fans celebrate a victory in Lehigh Valley. (Ken Inness/MiLB.com)

Ballpark Business Releases 2018 Attendance Mega-Rankings

The Ballpark Business 2018 Per Game Average Attendance Mega-Rankings are here.  The Columbus Clippers (Triple-A, International League) take the crown at #1.  The St. Paul Saints (American Association) are the top independent club flexing their muscles in the #8 spot.  The Madison Mallards (Northwoods League) are once again the top summer collegiate performer moving up from #23 to #22. 

The annual list combines and ranks the per game average attendance of all affiliated minor league, independent professional, and Top-100 summer collegiate franchises in the U.S. and Canada.  View rankings here.

Boulders Break Attendance Records

Despite losing to the Quebec Capitales in the first round of the Can Am League (Independent Professional) playoffs, the Rockland Boulders have announced that they broke a league attendance record this year with an average of 2,772 per game.  The team also shattered their single-game attendance record with a gate of 7,336 for Fan Appreciation Day.  Read more and watch video here.

Ranking All 30 MLB Ballparks by Building Only

Tim Newcomb of Popular Mechanics has ranked all 30 Major League Baseball Parks in a recent post, “based solely on the buildings.”  We don’t think there will be much for big surprises here, at least at the top, for most ballpark tourists, but it’s worth a quick read.  Read more here.

Ballpark Business Releases 2018 Summer Collegiate Top 100 Attendance Rankings

The 2018 summer collegiate baseball regular season has come to a close, and our annual summer collegiate per game average attendance ranking for each of the top 100 teams is now available.

Start-Up Expedition League Wraps Up Regular Season, Playoffs Underway

The start-up Expedition League (Summer Collegiate) wrapped up its first regular season this past weekend with all eight teams still in operation.  If you have experienced this new league and attended any games, feel free to share your feedback here in comments or via e-mail at contact@ballparkbiz.com.  In the meantime, view attendance numbers here.  Read more here.

Somerset Patriots Welcome 7-Millionth Fan

The Somerset Patriots welcomed their 7,000,000th Fan to TD Bank Ballpark on Thursday, July 26th. At 6:34 pm, Dan Heitkamp of Washington Township purchased the ticket to the game and entered the main gate with his 4-year old godson Logan where he was greeted by Somerset Patriots President/General Manager Patrick McVerry and Manager Emeritus Sparky Lyle among the fanfare.

Ranking the 30 MLB Parks by Neighborhoods

The Chicago Tribune’s Colleen Kane, Mark Gonzales and Paul Sullivan have ranked all 30 MLB ballparks based on their neighborhood surroundings.  Read more here.

Dogs Open Inaugural Home Stand in Front of Packed House

There is now professional baseball in Rosemont (IL), courtesy of the Chicago Dogs (Independent Professional, American Association). The team’s inaugural home opener at the new $60 million Impact Field stadium was Friday night in front of a crowd of 6,317.  Read more and view photo gallery here.  Watch news report here.

Baseball America Ranks the Top College Ballparks

The college baseball fan’s attention largely focused on the game on the field, which is almost completely unlike the family-friendly atmosphere of the minor leagues, where on-field action is almost secondary to promotions, mascots and concessions.  Read more here.

Baseball America Ranks the Top-10 MiLB Ballparks

Three years ago, Baseball America took a crack at ranking the best ballparks in the minor leagues.  Now, they’ve given it another go.  They sent surveys to broadcasters and scouts across the country and asked them for their take on the subject.  Read more here.

Augusta GreenJackets Attendance in New Ballpark Looking Good, So Far

While the last game of the Augusta GreenJackets’ (Single-A, South Atlantic League) inaugural four-game home stand at the new SRP Park was postponed because of weather, attendance for the first three games was enough to put the team in fourth place out of 14 teams in the South Atlantic with 5,102 fans per game.  The team averaged 2,743 fans per game in 2017.  Watch a clip of home opener below:

Ranking All 30 MLB Ballparks

As we close in on Major League Baseball’s Opening Day on Thursday, March 29th, Bizball LLC owner and Forbes contributor Maury Brown ranks all 30 MLB ballparks to get our baseball juices flowing.  Read more here.

Parkview Field Ranks No. 1 Fan Experience Again

Parkview Field, home of the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Single-A, Midwest League), is featured on the cover of the January issue of Stadium Journey for being ranked the number one ballpark experience in minor league baseball for the fourth consecutive year.  Read more here and here.

2017 Major and Minor League Baseball Summary Analysis Released

David P. Kronheim from NumberTamer.com has provided us with his summary analysis of Major and Minor League Baseball attendance for 2017.  The full analysis for MiLB is expected to be released in January, followed by the full report for MLB in May.  View Kronheim’s 2017 Major and Minor League Baseball Attendance Summary Analysis here.

The Best MLB Stadiums for Craft Beer

There’s nothing better than a beer and bratwurst while watching baseball — America’s great pastime.  And while the major macro brewers out there tout being “America’s beer,” some stadiums are also great locations to enjoy America’s craft beer.  Read more here.  See ReviewTrackers study here.

MiLB Attendance Tops 41.8 Million in 2017

PRESS RELEASE – A total of 41,832,364 fans passed through the gates at Minor League Baseball games in 2017, the fifth-highest attendance total in the history of the organization, which was established in 1901.

A New Way to Rank MLB Ballparks

Joe Mock from BaseballParks.com talks with Max Schleicher from the start-up firm in Chicago called ReviewTrackers.  Max explains that the company, among other things, analyzes online reviews of products and services to assess “customer service insights.”  Using the company’s data collection and analysis capabilities, there is now a new way to rank MLB ballparks.  Read more here.  See ReviewTrackers’ MLB stadium ranking here.

Ballpark Business Releases 2017 Attendance Mega-Rankings

The Ballpark Business 2017 Per Game Average Attendance Mega-Rankings are here.  The Indianapolis Indians (Triple-A, International League) take the crown at #1.  The St. Paul Saints (American Association) are the top independent club maintaining last year’s #7 spot.  The Madison Mallards (Northwoods League) are once again the top summer collegiate performer moving up from #28 to #23. 

The annual list combines and ranks the per game average attendance of all affiliated minor league, independent professional, and Top-100 summer collegiate franchises in the U.S. and Canada.  View rankings here.

United Shore League Wraps Up Successful Sophomore Season at Jimmy John’s Field

The United Shore Professional Baseball League wrapped up its sophomore season Sunday with a 4,050 fans gathered at Jimmy John’s Field in Utica (MI) for the developmental league’s title game.  On the season, the USPBL averaged 3,350 fans per game and sold out 60 of its 75 games — up from 42 last season.  Read more here.

GWL Overall Attendance Tops First Season

PRESS RELEASE – Following a stellar inaugural season, Great West League overall attendance showed an increase in 2017. “We’re extremely happy with how are infant league is growing,” said GWL Commissioner Ken Wilson. “We had more fans attend our games this season than last.”

RiverDogs Break Franchise Attendance Record

With the announced crowd of 4,762, the Charleston RiverDogs (Single-A, South Atlantic League) set the franchise’s new attendance record with 296,647 fans having now passed through the turnstiles at Riley Park this year.  Read more here.  Actor/Director Fun Bill Murray provided fans with a personal thank you below:

Ballpark Business Releases 2017 Summer Collegiate Top 100 Attendance Rankings

The 2017 summer collegiate baseball regular season has come to a close, and our annual summer collegiate per game average attendance ranking for each of the top 100 teams is now available.

Sports Illustrated’s 2017 MLB Ballpark Food Safety Rankings

Sports Illustrated has posted its ranking of Major League Baseball ballparks based on food safety records from public inspection records gathered from local health departments in the United States and Canada.  Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, comes in at the bottom.  Read more and view list here.

Ranking the MLB Ballparks

Washington Post sports columnists Tom Boswell has ranked all 30 MLB ballparks and provided commentary for each. Complimenting Boswell’s rankings is an interactive ballpark guide (checklist, travel guide and ranking).  Read more here.  Michael Rand from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune takes issue here with Target Field’s #13 spot.

Despite Hosting MLB All-Star Game, Florida Teams Struggling for Fans

A Miami Marlins fan walks into a bar, and this is no joke:  He wants to watch his team play, but all 10 televisions are tuned to other games in other time zones.  The bar, located near Marlins Park, broadcasts the lack of allegiance for the home team loud and clear.  Read more here.

Seattle Seahawks Punter Adds Kick to Portland Pickles Operations

When Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan purchased a minority stake in the Portland Pickles baseball club back in April, he stated his intention to be involved in the operations of the team, while helping to craft an eccentric atmosphere at the ballpark.  As of July 3, the team is averaging 1,642 fans per game.  Read more here.  Read about the Pickles’ 2017 home opener here.  View home opener photos here.