A few attendance tidbits today: The South Bend Silver Hawks (Low Class A; Midwest League) set a new team attendance record, while the Richmond Flying Squirrels clinched the Eastern League attendance crown.
At Four Winds Field, the Silver Hawks drew 5,012 fans last night, putting the final 2014 season attendance at 258,836, exceeding the previous record (set in 1994) by 412.
“We would like to say thank you to the best fans in baseball,” said team president Joe Hart. “It has been an amazing season and to have the opportunity to set a new single season record is awesome. The support we have received over the last three years has been overwhelming. I am happy for the community and region for having the chance to be a part of history. Baseball is alive and well in South Bend.”
In Richmond, a crowd of 6,889 at The Diamond saw two big events: the Flying Squirrels clinched their first-ever regular-season Western Division title, and also clinched the Eastern League attendance crown. With the announced crowd, the Squirrels’ overall attendance is 399,452, with three dates remaining. That surpasses the 394,458 fans attending Reading Fightin Phils games. Reading has no more home dates, while every other team in the league is eliminated based on the maximum capacity of their respective ballparks.
Considering how poorly the season started in terms of weather and rainouts, it’s nice to see attendance records on the books. (This week we saw attendance records announced by the Clearwater Theshers and St. Paul Saints.) We’re sure we’ll see other similar announcements in the next week.
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