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A14 sports
Saturday 23 July 2022
MLB struggling to get attendance back to pre-pandemic levels

By STEVE MEGARGEE reduced ticket sales.
AP Sports Writer Teams have been particu-
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Blame larly hard hit in group sales.
it on lingering effects of Rick Schlesinger, the Brew-
the pandemic, resentment ers' president of business
over the lockout or eco- operations, said last month
nomic fears. at a Milwaukee Press Club
Major League Baseball is gathering that the team's
struggling to fill the stands group-ticket sales normally
at pre-COVID levels as the total about 600,000 annu-
sport heads into the last 2 ally. Schlesinger estimated
1/2 months of its first season that total would be about
since 2019 without capac- 400,000 this season.
ity restrictions. He noted some businesses
MLB reached the All-Star are still working remotely
break with an average at- and therefore are having
tendance of 26,409. That fewer group outings, and
represents a drop of 5.4% that not as many schools as
from the All-Star break of usual have made ballpark
2019 — which was 10 days trips.
earlier than this year. "The group business has
League officials remain en- Fans attend the first baseball game of a doubleheader between the Oakland Athletics and the not returned to anywhere
couraged and point to the Detroit Tigers in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, July 21, 2022. near normal levels, frankly
recovery. Associated Press not surprisingly," Schlesinger
"We have come back to said.
between 94-95% of where since. and is staying at home School of Management, Oakland's attendance has
we were prior to the pan- "Attendance has been more often, but he also noted that single-game plunged nearly 55% from
demic," MLB chief revenue dropping about 1% a year believes the high price of ticket sales remain solid but its 2019 All-Star break level.
officer Noah Garden said. — year after year — for attending games may be season ticket sales have The Athletics dramatically
"So we feel really good about the last 15 years," keeping fans away. That gone down. He said the cut payroll amid concerns
about the progress we said Victor Matheson, a could prove particularly NBA faced a similar prob- about the franchise's fu-
have made on the atten- Holy Cross economics pro- true this year as inflation lem this season. ture in the Bay Area as they
dance side rebounding fessor who specializes in causes more people to Lindsey cited inflation as a seek a new stadium.
strongly from a situation sports economics. "Major spend more carefully. leading cause and said the Other teams whose at-
that threatened the very League Baseball atten- "I think people are maybe pandemic may have con- tendance has dropped at
core of how we operate as dance peaked in 2007 and more concerned," Hearing tributed to a lesser extent. least 15% from where they
an industry." has been falling pretty con- said. "There's not as much "But those are factors that were at the 2019 break in-
Attendance is up over 70% sistently year after year for expendable income." are common across all sorts clude Arizona (26.7%), Pitts-
from the season-ending over a decade. What we'd Matheson said MLB relies of recreational experienc- burgh (20.8%), Washing-
average in 2021, when just normally expect after more than other profession- es," Lindsey said. "And a lot ton (19.7%), Philadelphia
only Texas started at full about three years is about al sports leagues on out-of- of recreational entertain- (17.9%), Cincinnati (17.8%),
capacity and all 30 teams 3% lower attendance." town fans. That makes MLB ment — dining out, travel Cleveland (16.3%), LA An-
weren't at 100% until July 2. Bob Heaning, a 48-year-old particularly vulnerable to is- — a lot of those areas are gels (15.1%) and Kansas
MLB played its abbreviated fan from Cranford, New Jer- sues that could curtail tour- back to pre-pandemic lev- City (15.1%).
2020 regular season with- sey, said he used to attend ism. els." The only teams with atten-
out spectators. about a dozen New York "If travel's disrupted, either Lindsey believes dissatis- dance increases from their
While MLB's average at- Yankees games per year. by expensive gas prices or faction because of the 2019 break averages are
tendance had fallen each He's attended just three this expensive airline tickets or lockout may have caused Toronto (48.5%), San Diego
year since 2015, most of the season, has tickets for two just general travel disrup- some fans not to renew (29.4%), Miami (23.3%),
drops were by less than 2%. more games and doesn't tions, that could make a their season tickets. He Atlanta (19.1%), Seattle
Average attendance was plan to attend any others. big dent," Matheson said. also speculated some fran- (12.7%), the Chicago White
over 30,000 for 14 straight Heaning said he stopped Charles Lindsey, an associ- chises might have reduced Sox (9.5%), Detroit (6.9%)
seasons from 2004-17 but going as often because he ate professor of marketing their staffs during the pan- and the New York Mets
hasn't reached that mark bought a house last year at the University at Buffalo demic and paid for it with (4.8%).q

ATP men's tennis tour hoping to

increase LGBTQ inclusion

LONDON (AP) — The ATP is year education partnership of rejection, isolation from
teaming up with You Can with You Can Play, which others on tour, and loneli-
Play, a group working to has worked with the NHL, ness as being likely barriers
increase LGBTQ inclusion in MLS and NASCAR. to LGBTQ+ players publicly
sports, after 75% of players The ATP's anonymous, on- disclosing their sexuality to
who participated in a sur- line survey was distributed others." There are no open-
vey by the men's tennis tour to hundreds of players last ly gay athletes in men's ten-
said they had heard other year; 65 responded. Some nis currently.
players use homophobic also agreed to be inter- The tour said a majority of
This is a view of Arthur Ashe Stadium during the U.S. Open tennis slurs. viewed. participants "were support-
tournament in New York, Sept. 1, 2016. The tour announced Friday The ATP said its findings ive of ATP taking action to
Associated Press
that it is launching a multi- "indicated a strong fear combat homophobia."q