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Crunching the 2014 MiLB attendance numbers

Ballpark DigestLast Friday we ran the raw numbers for 2014 Minor League Baseball attendance by league, total and average. Today we put some of those numbers into perspective.

You can find the three listings here:

We’ve broken down the numbers one step further: here’s a list of the MiLB teams recording the biggest attendance jumps by average:

  Team League Total Gms Av. 2013A  +/-
1 El Paso Chihuahuas PCL 560,997 71 7,901 2,818 1.80
2 Charlotte Knights IL 687,715 71 9,686 3,803 1.55
3 High Desert Mavericks CalL 147,231 70 2,103 1,359 0.55
4 Johnson City Cardinals AppL 40,351 32 1,261 826 0.53
5 Kingsport Mets AppL 30,464 32 952 757 0.26
6 Bristol Pirates AppL 25,743 30 858 700 0.23
7 Salem Red Sox CL 220,782 66 3,345 2,735 0.22
7t Akron RubberDucks EL 350,704 68 5,157 4,221 0.22
9 Dunedin Blue Jays FSL 60,044 67 896 768 0.17
10 Jupiter Hammerheads FSL 71,713 63 1,138 997 0.14
11 Palm Beach Cardinals FSL 74,887 68 1,101 972 0.13
11t Arkansas Travelers TL 326,179 64 5,097 4,519 0.13
13 Connecticut Tigers NYP 78,118 37 2,111 1,910 0.11
14 Birmingham Barons SL 437,612 70 6,252 5,669 0.10
14t Mississippi Braves SL 211,200 67 3,152 2,861 0.10
14t Quad Cities River Bandits ML 237,005 61 3,885 3,533 0.10
17 Potomac Nationals CL 243,559 63 3,866 3,534 0.09
17t Tulsa Drillers TL 403,732 65 6,211 5,704 0.09
17t Portland Sea Dogs EL 359,427 65 5,530 5,096 0.09
20 Myrtle Beach Pelicans CL 241,026 66 3,652 3,370 0.08
21 Tennessee Smokies SL 283,038 69 4,102 3,828 0.07
21t Reno Aces PCL 379,439 72 5,270 4,921 0.07
21t Auburn Doubledays NYP 44,640 36 1,240 1,158 0.07
21t Durham Bulls IL 533,033 70 7,615 7,125 0.07
21t Clearwater Threshers FSL 195,063 70 2,787 2,608 0.07

(We’re excluding the Mexican League teams from this list: though that league plays under the auspices of MiLB, we claim no particular expertise when it comes to baseball south of the border.)

Some things to note:

  • No surprise the top two in this list play in new ballparks and also benefited from lame-duck seasons in 2013: El Paso in Tucson and Charlotte at the old Knights Stadium. Charlotte ended up leading all of stateside Minor League Baseball in total and average attendance, a status befitting the city’s size and health. And the Durham Bulls showed some impressive attendance growth after an extensive ballpark renovation.
  • A revamp of the front office propelled the High Desert Mavericks, Johnson City Cardinals, Tennessee Smokies and Reno Aces to impressive growth. In Adelanto, new GM Ryan Cook overhauled operations, sold naming rights to Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium and boosted attendance by some 55 percent. In Johnson City, new GM Tyler Parsons brought new life to an established franchise and enjoyed a similar boost. In Kodak, new ownership and a new front office led by WP/COO Chris Allen led the Tennessee Smokies to a notable 2014. In Reno, Eric Edelstein took the reins of an underperforming Aces franchise and showed some immediate results at the front office.
  • Usually a team drops in attendance when talk of a new ballpark dominates the offseason, as it did when the Potomac Nationals presented plans for a new facility. The opposite happened: the team set a new season-attendance record in what many consider to be a second-rate ballpark. Again, the power of having good people leading the franchise — most notably VP/GM Josh Olerud.
  • The installation of a Ferris wheel and other amusements certainly pushed the Quad Cities River Bandits to another attendance boost.
  • The rookie Appalachian League saw a 11 percent bump in attendance. The youngsters like Tyler Parsons helped lead the way, as the league fulfilled its mission as a proving ground for young talent. For the most part, anyway; it was good to see the Pulaski Mariners register a 4 percent attendance bump with a veteran operator like John Dittrich at the helm.

Here’s a secondary list we put together: the Old Reliables, established franchise that manage to excel every season without big dips or spikes in attendance.

  Team League Total Gms Av. 2013A  +/-
1 Indianapolis Indians IL 660,289 70 9,433 8,980 0.05
2 Lehigh Valley IronPigs IL 614,888 68 9,042 9,016 0.00
3 Columbus Clippers IL 628,980 70 8,985 9,212 -0.02
4 Sacramento River Cats PCL 607,839 71 8,561 8,435 0.01
5 Dayton Dragons ML 573,709 68 8,437 8,405 0.00
6 Round Rock Express PCL 595,700 71 8,390 8,181 0.03
7 Buffalo Bisons IL 535,275 66 8,110 8,273 -0.02
8 Albuqueque Isotopes PCL 564,625 70 8,066 7,994 0.01
9 Louisville Bats IL 567,256 71 7,990 8,185 -0.02
10 Toledo Mud Hens IL 545,265 71 7,680 7,779 -0.01
11 Iowa Cubs PCL 492,060 70 7,029 6,977 0.01
12 Fresno Grizzlies PCL 467,862 69 6,781 6,771 0.00
13t Rochester Red Wings IL 422,454 66 6,401 6,098 0.05
13t SWB RailRiders IL 401,618 68 6,401 6,409 0.00
15 Brooklyn Cyclones NYP 231,628 37 6,260 6,276 0.00
16 Oklahoma City RedHawks PCL 429,190 71 6,045 5,797 0.04
17 Kane County Cougars ML 415,571 69 6,023 6,154 -0.02
18 Fort Wayne TinCaps ML 406,715 70 5,810 5,766 0.01
19 Omaha Storm Chasers PCL 393,946 70 5,628 5,666 -0.01
20 Corpus Christi Hooks TL 393,769 70 5,625 5,498 0.02

In general, these represent many of the best-run teams in Minor League Baseball. Hang around MiLB owners and you’ll soon run into discussions of overperforming and underperforming franchises: numbers can be misleading if a team has a good market and great facility and could accomplish much more on the attendance and revenue equations. Now, you could argue that despite the numbers, a few of these teams do underperform for various reasons, but for the most part there are amazing success stories here. The Indianapolis Indians benefited from ballpark renovations in 2014, but the team has been a steady draw over the last several years. By attracting 614,888 fans to Coca-Cola Park in 2014, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are the only Minor League Baseball team to attract 600,000 fans annually since 2008, with six straight years averaging over 9,000 fans a game; Kurt Landes has put in place a machine. The Dayton Dragons have been selling out games since dinosaurs walked the earth. And the Fort Wayne TinCaps continue to amaze with smart promotions, dedicated customer service and a fan-friendly ballpark, all overseen by Mike Nutter, once again breaking a season attendance record — in Year Six of Parkview Field, no less.

All in all, Minor league Baseball had a great year: The final number represent increases in both total number of fans (857,413) and percentage of fans (2.1 percent) from 2013. The 2014 attendance figures follow third only to 2008’s all-time record-setting attendance of 43.3 million and 42.8 million in 2007. All of Minor League Baseball’s top 10 regular season attendance years have been in the last decade.

“The fact that Minor League Baseball has recorded its top 10 attendance totals in the past decade demonstrates the cumulative power of the brand and validates our place among recognizable sports properties,” said Minor League Baseball president and CEO Pat O’Conner in a statement. “MiLB continues to prove year after year that it is a quality product, not just in terms of entertainment on the field, but also as a sound partner in its communities and with both local and national marketing sponsors. The tremendous support of our fans has afforded us the opportunity to accomplish these milestones.”

We will be continuing our attendance analysis after the indy season ends later this month.

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