It wasn’t supposed to be this way. A consultant’s study used by county officials to justify spending $64 million on the stadium said Gwinnett’s demographics and economy made it “one of the strongest markets in the country to support a minor league baseball team.” Conventions, Sports & Leisure International estimated the team would average 6,000 to 6,500 fans a game after an initial “honeymoon” period in which attendance might be higher.
In 2009 the team drew an average of 5,858 fans a game – up from 4,455 the previous year when the team played in Richmond, Va.
But the average fell to 4,818 last year and has rebounded slightly to 5,084 this year, with just two home games left.
The Gwinnett Braves rank 24th out of 30 AAA teams in average attendance this year.
Story here. And it was unexpected! I’m not familiar with the area per-se where the Gwinnett Braves play, but having been to numerous minor league games around the midwest in the past 20+ years and having watched a few minor league games on the internet, predicting an average of 6,000-6,500 fans after the honeymoon seems a wee bit high.
Despite being a perrenial contender, the Atlanta Braves draw poorly as well. They routinely finish in the middle of the pack in MLB attendence and have probably been the best team in baseball (onaverage) since 1990. That entire region (SC, GA, NC) has an affinity for college sports and tends to be poor supporters of most pro sports frachises. Why anyone would build that size of a stadium for a minor pro sports franchise is beyond me. MLB attendence – http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance …. ave MiLB attendence – http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance
Yup. One need only consider the run of national champions in football over the past few years to understand where the average sports fan in the southeast spends his money.
Apparently all AAA teams are averaging about 5,900; my home-town tean (Indianapolis Indians) is apparently around 9,000. So Gwinnett ain’t even average.
However, given the high price of Atlanta Braves tickets – $24 for bleacher seats ($35 on Saturdays!) – I would have thought the minor league club would have attracted more folks who like baseball but didn’t want to, or couldn’t afford, the Major League prices.