Puzzling Numbers

Used to be Blue Jays fans, and the organization, would look fondly back upon the championship years of the early 1990s when packed houses of 50,000 or more were all but guaranteed every night.

These days, the good old days that spawn fond memories seem to be 2007 and 2008, at least from a business standpoint. Average attendance of 29,000-plus seemed to indicate local interest was on the uptick.

Now, it doesn't seem that way.

With a shocking attendance figure of 10,658 from Thursday night, the Jays average attendance for this season has dipped a little further to around the 20,700 mark, a stunning 30 per cent drop over the past three seasons. The last time attendance was this low was way back in 2002 when the team average 20,208 per game.

Baseball in general, of course, is down, and has been for two years. This year it appears the overall figure will reflect a league-wide drop in attendance of about seven per cent, while, the Jays will be down about 10 per cent from last year.

Not good.

The confusing part is that with Paul Beeston back in charge, the disliked J.P. Ricciardi gone, a local boy running the front office and an appealing youth movement, it was expected this would the year GTA baseball fans began to feel more enthusiastic about the team.

Instead, attendance suggests the Jays are less popular now than they were last year, and definitely from three or four years ago.

'Tis a puzzlement.

Wtih Jose Bautista swatting homers at a major league-leading pace, an impressive young pitching staff featuring Brandon Morrow and some exciting prospects on the way, one might have thought there was an opportunity at hand for the Jays to recover some lost ground, not lose more. Generally speaking, local media types have approved of the direction of the team, some suggesting this has been nearly a triumphant season despite a record just about .500. Moreover, its not like any of the other pro teams in town are producing championship-quality teams.

So what's the reason behind the drop? Well, the stadium, of course. The Rogers TV issues haven't helped. Having a caretaker manager doesn't exactly get the masses excited. And, as has been the case for a long, long time, no meaningful games in August, let alone September, kills interest. Playing in the tough American League East continues to be an issue, although another competitive season from low payroll Tampa Bay is gradually taking away the division in which the Jays play as a meaningful excuse.

The season began with some shockingly low numbers, but then there was some recovery. Now, it seems the season may end on a low, which has to leave the Jays thoroughly puzzled as to what it will take - if anything - to bring the people back.

Comments

[Mike]

Baseball is set up not to be competitive. In the AL most years it's about the Yankees and Red Sox trying to win yet another title. All the Jays can hope for is to get individual honours. When was the last time the Jays wern't out of it by the All Star Break?

MLB should add a salry cap, shorten the season, and add a round or two to the playoffs. Then more teams would be competitive and people would get interested.

The league won't do this though. The Union won't take the cap and a shorter season means players won't be able to break individual records. And baseball is all about stats, not winning.

[Jani7]

Ticket prices are too expensive. It's more comfortable and convenient to watch the game at home in HD.
When good tickets near Hockey prices, that's when I decide to stay home.

[ostrich_lover]

The Jays could easily turn attendance around with three simple steps, which Beeston if youre reading, I will accept a job. Here they are : 1- produce a good team. This is coming along nicely, if only the manager would play Snider and J,P. 2 - Reduce the price of consessions and beer dramatically and then advertise that you have the cheapest consessions in baseball / entertainment. If an extra 20 k fans come everyday, then the costs to cutting prices would be entirely covered 3) Stop being so down on your best customers i.e 19-32 year olds who go to the game with their buddies, drink several beers and get a bit rowdy. If you arent in the 500 level, some usher is always telling you to shut up, threatening you etc. If you advertise that the game was beer friendly, you would have 10k more per night easy. Make Sunday games 'family day' and everyother day 'manic monday' tall-boy tuesday' 'wasted wednesday' 'thirsty thurdsay', 'five beer friday' and for saterday you can encorage hot girls to come to the park with 'sassy saterday'

[DLind]

"The confusing part is that with Paul Beeston back in charge, the disliked J.P. Ricciardi gone, a local boy running the front office and an appealing youth movement, it was expected this would the year GTA baseball fans began to feel more enthusiastic about the team."

That is 100% wrong.

With the Halladay trade, and the admission that the the team would be rebuilding yet again, fan frustration reaching a boiling point at the beginning of this season. In my life, I have never seen the Jays portrayed as negatively as they were from about Nov 09 to May 10.

With the good play of the team and promising future, fans have started to come back and since May, attendance has actually been decent up until this week. And, as someone else mentioned, the TV ratings have been fantastic.

If the Jays keep this up, attendance will improve quickly. Don't forget, it's been 17 years without a playoff race.

[Chad]

Personally for me it's not the product on the field. I enjoy watching a good baseball game no matter how fair or foul the team is in the standings. To me it's almost a summer tradition to take in 2 or 3 games a year. Ticket prices? M'eh, they're manageable. Now mind you I don't have an entire family to take down with me. Usually it's just me and one or two of my buddies. But regardles, on a per ticket basis I would say the prices are reasonable. Try getting a field level seat in Boston or New York for less then $50. Good luck! I can't comment on the quality of the food because I generally stay away from eating at the game. I usually hit a good Front St. restaurant either before or after. The stadium in my opionion needs to be cannonballed to the ground, and re-built and re-located with a more open atmosphere. Right now, when the roof is closed a small feeling of claustrophobia sets in. But a new stadium in itself will only grab the public's attention for a short burst. However, that's all just my personal feelings. There are probably a whole slew of reasons why the general population of the GTA no longer heads down to the good 'ol ball park.....poor economy; expensive ticket & concession prices; local traffic; out dated stadium; the ever increasing coverage via the media, internet, or various other techie gadgets that take away the necessity to watch it live; etc., etc., etc.. The list can go on forever. But at the very top of the list is always the product itself. If it ain't workin, there's no reason to buy it!

[Paul]

The Blue Jays need a few things: an actual outdoor ballpark, an owner that gives a damn, and ballgames on regular TV not pricey special networks. It couldn't hurt to offer every post-secondary institution cheap, student flex packs of some sort too

[Adam]

Perhaps the mid-summer sports pages being dominated with fascinating items like whether or not Tomas Kaberle likes his coach might have something to do with it too.

The Jays do not get a sniff of print from october-april, and still have to share the sports pages with the Leafs during the summer.

I don't hear year-round daily radio talk-shows in this town dedicated to baseball. Outside the games, I don't see hours of content on the television about baseball and the Blue Jays during the summer. Etc..etc.. I see a 15 minute pre-game, the game, and thats it.

Stadium concessions all over this country are pricey and deliver poor service. So I don't buy that one.

Most people in general need to be told what to think - so how's about brainwashing the locals with some solid Jays coverage. Or even just baseball coverage in general.

[Leepin Luigy]

What do we need to get the fans back? Quite simply a salary cap, so some team other than the Yankees and Red Sox can make the post season.

[Mark C]

The attendance figures are not shocking to me. I just got back from a road trip through Pittsburgh and Cleveland. The parks there are fantastic. There was a real baseball atmosphere unlike the sterile dome.
I agree with previous posters regarding Sportsnet One. The Blue Jays are alienating their customers. I will not spend one dime on the Blue Jays because of this stupid decision.I don't think Roger's realizes how much they have upset a big portion of their fan base.

[Joanne]

SportsnetONE doesn't help the situation. The station literally discriminated those who are not subscribed to Rogers DIGITAL cable.

There is no problem with Skydome/Rogers Centre. They should really consider rename it back to Skydome because that is what everyone remembers. There is nothing wrong with the team. It is exciting and fun to watch what has been happening this year. Ticket prices are the best in town. Good outfield seats are $24. However, I will complain about the ridulous service charge ($5) AND $2.50 to PRINT your own ticket. If I'm trying to be environmentally friendly, why are you charging me to print my own tickets? But even then, it is still better then a $100 nosebleed seats for ACC.

The problem really lies in the division they play in. Since 1995, to have the team finish 2nd ONCE and still miss the playoffs is terrible for the fans to take. Now that you add in Tampa's run, the Jays can finish no better then 4th. And considering that 3 of the 5 teams have more then 75 wins and the possibilies for the Jays finish 75 wins this season only means a steeper climb for the Jays.

For the attendence to rise again, we, as the fans, have to have a reason to attend when it comes down to the August/Sept run and know the Jays still have a change to fight for the AL East or Wild Card title.

[Baljit]

It's a Rogers product those blood suckers will never see another cent from me you reap what you sow.

[FormerJaysAttendee]

Crap and stupidly expensive concessions are what keep me away. $10.50 for a beer or a hideous sandwich that looks like it was made by a chimp on a dirt floor out of spoiled refrigerator leavings? Get lost, Rogers.

[Neil Briden]

Unless you have been on Mars, you need to look no further than the Sportsnet fiasco. Fans are voting with their feet. I live in Deep River. Each year my family (5) would spend a weekend or two at the ballpark. Between tickets,gas, food, accomodation, about $700. Sad to say, but when you treat your fans like **** they are going to react. Too bad. At least I get to watch the Yankees for free tonight.....

Ex Blue Jay fan

[Patrick Sweeney]

i took my dad to a jays game and it cost me nearly 200 bucks for mediocre seats. the seemingly random extra fee's added on in typical Roger's Communications fashion is infuriating and the constant nickle and diming at the consession stands are a joke. The fan interest is there, but not at that price. Most fans watch it, listen to it, but sure as heck don't go to it for that price

[Nuno Aguiar]

To quote Homer Simpson baseball is "BORRRRRINNNG!!!!!!"

[Wheresthebeef]

I don't think it's the stadium that's the issue and it's pretty lame of you Damien to pick on it. The problem the Jays have is the same as 16 other teams in MLB, so it's not something isolated to just this market. My personal belief is that it's pretty disheartening to know in June that your team isn't going to make the playoffs and so you don't really care about the team. What MLB has to do is bring back the excitement to the game. MLB is the only professional league in the world where only a quarter of the teams make the playoffs. And as the boys at Rogers like to state, they rather sell the tickets they do and have only 20,000 warm seats a night then reduce the ticket prices to attract more people to going and watching the games. And really, who's going to go to a 1 pm game on a Wednesday afternoon? Scheduling also plays a factor into why attendance is so poor at a lot of these games, not only in Toronto.

So to all those "baseball" fans out there, get off the stadium as being the "problem" and fix the problems with the game itself that turn people off of the game. All these low attendance figures just point out that baseball really isn't that great of a game to watch.

[Capt. Obvious]

I can't speak to the other things here, but I agree with the Sportsnet One thing being a BIG mistake. It wasn't rolled out well (what, two weeks notice?), and like people are saying, it's cut out a lot of loyal fans. No one wants to shell out the extra $$ for a second station Rogers already owns. Jeez, just look at the comments anytime there is an article on cell phones-- guaranteed, people will be in there complaining about Rogers gouging them and poor service. The company has an extremely negative issue, and I think people have had about enough of the disregard for customers in search of a few more $$.

One more thing: I remember, though I was very young, the year the Argos decided to start blacking out games in the Toronto area. They went from an attendance of over 40-45K regularly, to half that in a few years. They lost the youth audience, and people switched to other sports. In a way, SN1 is a similar mistake-- they've "blacked out" a bunch of games that people with other cable companies can't see, and increased the cost for the rest of it. It will come back to haunt them, guaranteed.

[JC]

Here is an idea....

Change to the national leauge like milwakee did.

If we weren't in a division with the yanks, sox or rays, we'd be a contender this year and many previous years for at least a wildcard spot. If the playoff format changed, this would do us well, but good luck getting those boneheads at MLB to change. they want the yanks to win every year.

But who in toronto wants to see the bluejays replicate the exact same thing we see in the leafs from October to March every year since 67? Unfortunalty, its not for a lack of trying, and why i am still a faithful jays fan. the fact we do not have even close to the budget NY or Bos has made it impossible to win the pennant let alone the wildcard. I'd put my money on a best of 7 series with any of them, but when will be the next time that happens?

They are a good team, always exciting to watch their young talent.

But every september, 10 - 20 games behind or more, another loosing hockey season to look forward too, who is interested?

Now that EA NHL 2011 is out, i can tell you what will be on my TV for the next few months.

[Peterborough Tigers]

I can take the overpriced concession prices by just not eating or drinking when I'm there. If I park far enough away the prices are still bad, but I can handle them. Sit in the outfield and the cost of the seats is lower. Not as much fun but OK. None of these drive me away. Why I don't go to the games are the Gestapo they have have for security. No heckling, constantly checking your tickets, searching every bag like you are boarding a plane and constantly watching over you. You always here the players complain about the lack of noise but if you dare make noise they escort you out. I have also cancelled my yearly trip to the Jays game that I take my baseball team on in protest over not being able to see the Jays on TV anymore.

[KQ]

wow -a lot of people seem to care about the jays after all judging by the # of responses here.

[Get some sales people to run it not accountants]

Stale atmosphere enforced by the morality police, overpriced and low quality drink and food. Seats too close together, maybe they can space them out a bit better so we can sit more comfortably, why not have sound jacks in each chair so you can hear the broadcast which would be very entertaining, or at least have it closed captioned on a big screen. Ahhh hot cheerleaders, oh yeah the morality police again. Seems like pretty simple stuff...the 'adult' zone is a great idea where people can sound off on the games notable events. The team doesn't have to be a 'winner' to put butts in the seats but it better be entertaining and confortable to attend.

[Ben]

Mr. Cox, I think the irony is unreal when one week you are wondering aloud if baseball players like Jose Batista are improving their production because of doping and drugs, and another week you are wondering aloud why the Jays attendance is falling.

As a baseball fan, my thought is that the media has been quite unkind to ball players in recent years, some of it earned (strike, steroid use, etc.) but some of it unwarranted, such as blogs alleging baseball still does not do enough to catch cheats when in fact MLB now has a testing system in place that does catch offenders. That kind of media coverage can contribute to keeping fans away from the ball park in a very saturated, band-wagon pro sports market like ours.

[Rossvegas]

I think people stopped going because they realized that they were watching baseball. It's one thing to go when it's new or when the team is in the hunt; it's another to sit through 9 painful innings of a snoozefest in the name of "entertainment". Personally, unless they change their name to the Yankees, I don't think the attendance is ever coming back.

[charade]

MLB needs to double the amount of playoff teams.

Straight up.

Never mind no meaningful games in August or September most teams don't play meaningful games in May.

A fan likes to pretend at least. They say in baseball that that is what opening night is about. And they're right cuz that's about the last time a solid 14 teams have a chance.

[2nd Guess]

The Blue Jays have landed in a perfect storm of apathy.

Reason No. 1 for the poor attendance, without doubt: the team has not contended for 17 years. I seem to remember them being reasonably close till Labour Day in 1998, but otherwise -- not a whiff of pennant or wild-card race since, well, since before they had wild cards.

Winning fixes a lot of problems, but losing exacerbates the others. Start with the Rogers Centre -- how many complaints have we heard over 20 years about outrageous concession prices, overzealous security personnel, the absence of scoreboard replays and a closed roof? Fewer and fewer fans regard a day at the former SkyDome as an enjoyable experience.

The other business of the Rogers ownership, amplified by the current Sportsnet One fiasco, has generated no shortage of bitterness (even if there is much to be said about stable local stewardship). Baseball itself is barely a niche sport among the under-35 demographic (not just in Toronto, but throughout most of Canada)-- think about it, how often do kids of the Twitter generation (or young adults of MTV vintage, for that matter) talk baseball? Throw in the recession, MLB's favouritism toward the Yankees and Red Sox (how else to explain the absence of a meaningful salary cap?), anger toward Ricciardi's tenure and the Halladay trade, and the team's failure to integrate itself more fully into the community and grassroots baseball programs -- and it's no mystery why the Jays face an uphill battle to again make baseball matter in these parts.