2013 Minor League Baseball Attendance Analysis
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MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2013 ATTENDANCE ANALYSIS Compiled and Written by David P. Kronheim [email protected] © 2014 2013 MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ATTENDANCE TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages Summary of 2013 Minor League Baseball Attendance…………………………………………………………… 2-6 How Data Was Compiled. List of Sources. How Baseball’s Minor Leagues are Organized…..…………... 7-8 NAPBL and Independent Leagues Overview………………………………………………………………..…….. 9 Biggest Gains and Declines in 2013 by Classification. TV Markets. Weather and Attendance…………… 10 Number of Minor League Playing Dates by Season (1992-2013)………..……………………………………… 11 2013 Playoff and All Star Game Attendance……..…………………………………………………..………….… 12-13 Yearly Number of Teams with Attendance Increases. Small Year-to-Year Changes in Team Attendance.. 14-15 Average Attendance per Date Summary and Highlights…………………….…………………………………… 16-18 Teams with the Biggest Total Attendance Gains and Declines in 2013………………………………………… 19 New Markets, New Ballparks, and ‘Same Ballpark’ Attendance Growth……………………………………….. 20 2013 Individual Team Attendance Growth Compared with 2003, 1993, and 1983……………………………. 21-23 Minor League Baseball in Major League Markets………………………………………………………………… 24-25 Minor League Affiliates Who Play in the Geographic Region of Their Parent Teams………………………… 26 NAPBL Annual Total Attendance (1946-2013), Yearly Number of Teams, Average Attendance per Team.. 27 2013 NAPBL Minor League Attendance Highlights……………………………………………………………….. 28 Annual NAPBL Full-Season and Short-Season Team Attendance Leaders: 1940-2013…...………………… 29-30 NAPBL Total Attendance Highs and Lows…………………….………………………………………………….. 31 NAPBL INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE AND TEAM HIGHLIGHTS Class AAA - International, Pacific Coast, and Mexican Leagues……………….……………..………………… 32-36 Class AA – Eastern, Texas, and, Southern Leagues………………………… ………………………………….. 37-40 Class A Full-Season - California, Carolina, Florida State, Midwest, and South Atlantic Leagues…..……….. 41-47 Class A Short-Season, and Rookie – Northwest, New York-Penn, Appalachian, and Pioneer Leagues…… 47-51 NAPBL Individual Teams – 2013 Attendance, Average per Date, Changes vs. 2012………………………… 52-56 NAPBL and Independent Leagues – 2013 Total and Average per Date Attendance, Changes vs. 2012….. 57 INDEPENDENT INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE AND TEAM HIGHLIGHTS Independent Leagues Overview, Yearly Attendance and Team Leaders…….………………………………… 58-59 American Assn., Pacific Assn., Atlantic, Pecos, Can-Am, Frontier, United and Freedom Leagues…………. 60-64 Independent League Individual Teams – 2013 Attendance, Average per Date, Changes vs. 2012………… 65-66 Single Season Attendance Records for all NAPBL and Independent Teams………………………………….. 67-72 Minor League and Major League Attendance Growth - 2013 vs. 1999, 1989, 1979, 1969..….……….…….. 73-79 NAPBL Minor league Attendance Growth vs. Other Sports – 2013 vs. 1999, 1989, 1979, 1969…....………. 80-81 New Ballparks. Minor League Baseball Attendance Compared to Minor League Hockey Attendance…… 82 Minor League Attendance Records in Cities that Later Joined the Major Leagues…………………………… 83 1949 - Minor League Baseball’s Best Attendance Year until 1999 (all leagues) and until 2004 (NAPBL)…. 84-87 1961 and 1962 - Minor League Attendance Reaches a Low Point………..…………………………………….. 88-90 Minor League Attendance Recovers in a Big Way. College Baseball Attendance. Just for Fun Stats…… 91 2013 MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ATTENDANCE This report is an analysis of Minor League Baseball attendance for the 2013 season. Features include: A summary of 2013 Minor League Baseball attendance highlights. Attendance notes for each league and for individual teams. Listing of 2013 total attendance and per-game average attendance for every league and team. A comparison of 2013 vs. 2012 total attendance. A table shows attendance increases and decreases for all leagues and teams. It also notes the year nearly all current Minor League ballparks opened. A list of teams with the biggest gains and worst declines in attendance in 2013. A feature on the growth of Minor League Baseball in Major League Baseball markets. A section about the tremendous increase in Minor League Baseball attendance over the past 44 years. Tables show how league attendance has grown vs. 1999, 1989, 1979, and 1969. There is also a comparison of Minor League attendance growth with attendance gains for other sports. A comparison of individual team attendance in 2013 with attendance in 2003, 1993, and 1983. 2013 Playoff and All-Star Game attendance. A look back at 1949, when Minor League attendance was a then-record-high 39,640,443. That record was not broken until 1999 (for the combined total of NAPBL and Independent leagues), and 2004, just for NAPBL teams. There were many more teams and leagues in 1949 than now. This section lists attendance for each 1949 league, and also lists the individual teams with the highest and the lowest attendance in each league. It also notes attendance in cities which had Minor League teams in 1949, but now are in the Major Leagues. A look back at 1961, when Minor League average attendance per team reached its lowest post World War II low, and at 1962, when total attendance was at its post-war low. A yearly listing of teams leading the NAPBL Minor Leagues in attendance, which includes the full- season and short-season leaders, going back to 1940. Yearly total independent leagues attendance since 1993, along with team leaders. A listing of each current Minor League market’s record-high attendance. A table of record-high Minor League attendance in cities that later joined the Major Leagues. NOTE TO LEAGUES, TEAMS, AND MEDIA You can download this report, and the 2013 Major League Baseball Attendance Analysis, in PDF form, at numbertamer.com. Go to the website’s ‘Baseball Reports’ page for the PDF links to each report. Permission is granted for you to copy, distribute, publish, and use any of the material, including tables, appearing in these attendance analyses. Credit to numbertamer.com would be appreciated. Please contact David Kronheim ([email protected]) if you have any questions about these reports. Comments, corrections and suggestions are always welcome. Note that these reports are copyrighted. 2013 MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ATTENDANCE Page 2 SUMMARY OF 2013 MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ATTENDANCE Baseball’s Minor Leagues, in particular, those affiliated with the Major Leagues, were hit hard by the weather in 2013. Yet despite many more postponements than usual, especially early in the season, attendance held up quite well. Combined attendance for NAPBL – known as ‘Minor League Baseball’ (Major League affiliated) leagues, and from those independent leagues who reported regular season attendance, was 48,262,074 in 2013, down 146,242 (0.3%) from 2012. Combined attendance rose 0.7% in 2012, and fell 2.9% in 2011, 0.1% in 2010, and 3.8% in 2009. The 181 post-season NAPBL games, including the Mexican League, drew 701,216, an average of 3,874 per game. Mexican League teams averaged 10,149 per game in the playoffs. Attendance data was available for 45 independent league post-season games, and they drew 103,963, an average of 2,310. 10 NAPBL All-Star games drew a combined 67,782. In 2013, there were 176 NAPBL teams that reported attendance, the same number as in 2012. There were 53 independent league teams reporting attendance, down from 55 teams in 2012. The independent North American League ceased operations after 2012. Some of its teams moved to the new United League or to the new Pacific Association. Attendance was listed for 249 fewer combined NAPBL/independent playing dates in 2013 compared to 2012. The NAPBL leagues had a combined 120 fewer dates. 13 of the 15 NAPBL leagues that charge admission to their games had fewer dates in 2013 than in 2012. The Midwest League played 41 fewer dates than a year ago, and the South Atlantic League had 27 fewer dates. Only the California League (6 more) and the Appalachian League (3 more) had more dates in 2013 than in 2012. Among the more established independent leagues, the American Association, Frontier, and Can-Am Leagues all played fewer dates in 2013 than in 2012, and the Atlantic League had 6 more dates in 2013. Weather can also affect attendance significantly even if games are played. Cold weather early in the season, brutal summer heat, and threatening storms, can result in lower attendance, even if it does not postpone games. Combined NAPBL/independent average attendance per date was 3,771, up 61 from 2012. The 15 NAPBL Leagues that charge admission to their games drew 41,553,781, which is a gain of 273,399 (0.7%) from 2012. These 15 leagues averaged 4,040 per date, up 73 from 2012. The 53 teams in the 7 independent leagues that reported attendance drew 6,708,293, down 419,641 (5.9%) from 2012. Their average per date fell by 29 to 2,668. Combined NAPBL/independent attendance surpassed 40 million for the 15th straight year. It has been above 48 million in each of the last 9 seasons. ‘MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL’ (Major League Affiliated Leagues – Formerly NAPBL) The total 2013 attendance of 41,553,781 was the 5th best in NAPBL history. It was the 9th straight year above 40 million. The average per date of 4,040 was also the 5th best ever. The record high average per date is 4,174 in 2008. Record total attendance is 43,263,740 in 2008. New ballparks opened in 2013 in Birmingham of the Southern League, in Scranton-Wilkes Barre of the International League, where the team returned to after playing home games in 6 different cities while their park was totally rebuilt in 2012, and in Hillsboro, OR, of the Northwest League. That team was in Yakima in 2012. 6 NAPBL leagues had increases in total attendance in 2013. The International League posted the best total increase, up 261,856 (4.0%). The Southern League had a 163,739 increase, and the Northwest League was up 87,651. Other leagues with gains in total attendance were the California, Carolina, and Midwest Leagues. Best percentage gains were by the Northwest League, up 9.8%, and the Southern League, up 7.6%.