MiLB Attendance in 2022 Didn’t Return to “Normal”

Going into 2022, many MiLB operators described this season as the first “normal” season in three years. 

By their explanation, the last normal season had been 2019, which was prior to the pandemic and before the massive reorganization of the minors in 2021.

The 2020 MiLB season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 2021 season saw a delayed start because of the pandemic, many teams faced capacity restrictions and ticket sales were affected.

So the hope was that 2022 would be the point where teams would return to where they were in 2019, with full houses on big nights and much improved attendance numbers.

When compared to 2021, that was absolutely true. But now that the 2022 MiLB season is complete, MiLB teams have to hope that 2022 wasn’t normal after all. Because if it was, then MiLB teams are operating at significantly reduced attendance levels from where they were pre-pandemic.

The 120 affiliated MiLB teams drew 30,916,465 fans during the 2022 season as reported by the teams themselves. That’s up significantly from last year’s 22,088,997 fans.

While it may have been a bump up from 2021, it was also a big dip from what teams have historically drawn. From 2005 to 2019, the 120 full-season MiLB clubs averaged between 33 and 35 million fans per season. The worst mark over those seasons was the 33,203,745 fans that came through the gates in 2018.

Those numbers are comparisons of apples to apples. MiLB’s reported attendance numbers for 2005-2019 topped 40 million fans each and every year. But that included ticket-selling short-season and rookie ball teams as well as the Mexican League, which was affiliated with MiLB. MLB’s reduction of the minors in 2021 from 160 to 120 ticket-selling teams has likely assured that the all-time MiLB attendance record of 43,263,740 fans, set in 2007, is a record that will likely never be broken. 

On an average per game basis, MiLB clubs averaged 3,910 fans per game this year. That is up from the 3,205 fans per game who came through the gates in 2021, but from 2005 to 2019, MiLB full-season teams averaged more than 4,150 fans per game in every one of those 15 seasons.

MiLB operators around the country said they believed the decrease is largely due to a dip in the group and corporate sales. While individual ticket sales seemed to have largely bounced back, multiple teams said they struggled to sell the same number of larger group packages. Other clubs said that season ticket sales have not yet bounced back to what they were pre-pandemic.

Remarkably, a Class A team, the Dayton Dragons, ascended to the top of MiLB when measured by average attendance per game. The Dragons drew an announced average of 7,935 fans per game in 2022 for 444,346 total fans. Because the High-A Midwest League plays fewer games, the overall total attendance leader was the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, who drew 555,576 fans (an average of 7,611 fans per game).

The drop in the top average attendance is also notable. In 2019, there were seven teams that topped 8,000 fans per game, led by the Las Vegas Aviators (9,299 fans per game), Columbus Clippers (8,684) and Nashville Sounds (8,631).

Here are all 120 full-season clubs’ total and average attendance numbers for 2022, ranked by average per game reported attendance.

Rk	Team	Total	Dates	Lost	Avg
1	Dayton Dragons	444,346	56	11	7,935
2	Lehigh Valley IronPigs	544,220	71	5	7,665
3	Columbus Clippers	534,393	70	6	7,634
4	Nashville Sounds	555,576	73	2	7,611
5	Indianapolis Indians	534,610	72	3	7,425
6	Worcester Red Sox	532,152	73	2	7,290
7	Charlotte Knights	531,465	73	2	7,280
8	Albuquerque Isotopes	515,498	73	2	7,062
9	Las Vegas Aviators	518,221	75	0	6,910
10	Buffalo Bisons	451,859	66	11	6,846
11	El Paso Chihuahuas	496,805	74	1	6,714
12	St. Paul Saints	473,911	72	4	6,582
13	Durham Bulls	472,090	75	0	6,295
14	Rochester Red Wings	432,580	70	6	6,180
15	Richmond Flying Squirrels	406,560	66	4	6,160
16	Hartford Yard Goats	402,123	67	2	6,002
17	Iowa Cubs	437,543	74	1	5,913
18	Salt Lake Bees	434,616	74	1	5,873
19	Toledo Mud Hens	426,499	73	2	5,842
20	Portland Sea Dogs	379,100	66	3	5,744
21	Louisville Bats	424,035	74	1	5,727
22	Oklahoma City Dodgers	410,730	73	2	5,626
23	Reading Fightin Phils	368,068	66	3	5,577
24	West Michigan Whitecaps	337,167	61	5	5,527
25	Round Rock Express	412,988	75	0	5,507
26	Tulsa Drillers	357,200	65	3	5,495
27	Amarillo Sod Poodles	379,029	69	0	5,493
28	Somerset Patriots	351,142	67	2	5,241
29	Vancouver Canadians	313,256	61	6	5,135
30	Fort Wayne TinCaps	303,680	60	7	5,061
31	Rocket City Trash Pandas	327,007	65	4	5,031
32	Tacoma Rainiers	366,469	73	2	5,020
33	Frisco RoughRiders	341,243	68	1	5,018
34	Norfolk Tides	365,292	73	2	5,004
35	Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp	358,094	72	3	4,974
36	Sacramento River Cats	372,769	75	0	4,970
37	Greenville Drive	317,150	65	1	4,879
38	Reno Aces	336,079	70	4	4,801
39	Syracuse Mets	335,490	70	6	4,793
40	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders	331,286	71	4	4,666
41	Lansing Lugnuts	288,840	62	5	4,659
42	Winston-Salem Dash	287,529	64	2	4,493
43	Arkansas Travelers	300,042	67	2	4,478
44	South Bend Cubs	285,977	64	2	4,468
45	New Hampshire Fisher Cats	282,514	65	4	4,346
46	Altoona Curve	285,777	66	4	4,330
47	Tennessee Smokies	294,334	68	1	4,328
48	Jersey Shore BlueClaws	256,141	60	6	4,269
49	Greensboro Grasshoppers	265,943	63	5	4,221
50	Pensacola Blue Wahoos	281,972	67	3	4,209
51	Omaha Storm Chasers	294,511	71	6	4,148
52	San Antonio Missions	272,144	66	4	4,123
53	Augusta GreenJackets	262,172	64	3	4,096
54	Fredericksburg Nationals	260,546	64	3	4,071
55	Fresno Grizzlies	261,652	65	1	4,025
56	Charleston RiverDogs	251,491	63	3	3,992
57	Sugar Land Space Cowboys	285,827	72	5	3,970
58	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	247,926	63	3	3,935
59	Birmingham Barons	266,921	68	1	3,925
60	Corpus Christi Hooks	257,991	66	4	3,909
61	Akron RubberDucks	253,735	65	3	3,904
62	Springfield Cardinals	259,044	69	0	3,754
63	Spokane Indians	231,081	63	5	3,668
64	Harrisburg Senators	244,433	68	1	3,595
65	Northwest Arkansas Naturals	240,615	68	2	3,538
66	Fayetteville Woodpeckers	214,470	62	5	3,459
67	Midland RockHounds	226,249	66	1	3,428
68	Columbia Fireflies	217,225	64	3	3,394
69	Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	206,805	61	7	3,390
70	Memphis Redbirds	239,605	71	4	3,375
71	Wichita Wind Surge	220,528	66	5	3,341
72	Chattanooga Lookouts	213,685	66	2	3,238
73	Gwinnett Stripers	216,177	73	3	2,961
74	Kannapolis Cannon Ballers	192,161	66	0	2,912
75	Salem Red Sox	181,287	63	4	2,878
76	Hudson Valley Renegades	184,055	64	3	2,876
77	Lake County Captains	169,574	59	7	2,874
78	Great Lakes Loons	174,050	62	4	2,807
79	Asheville Tourists	172,726	63	3	2,742
80	Brooklyn Cyclones	167,846	62	6	2,707
81	Bowie Baysox	174,537	65	5	2,685
82	Quad Cities River Bandits	170,731	64	2	2,668
83	Erie SeaWolves	175,810	66	3	2,664
84	Montgomery Biscuits	156,356	62	12	2,522
85	Delmarva Shorebirds	154,786	62	6	2,497
86	Bowling Green Hot Rods	155,975	64	3	2,437
87	Clearwater Threshers	151,982	63	4	2,412
88	Mississippi Braves	150,491	63	9	2,389
89	Binghamton Rumble Ponies	146,679	62	9	2,366
90	Hillsboro Hops	150,792	64	2	2,356
91	Biloxi Shuckers	148,865	64	10	2,326
92	Eugene Emeralds	136,360	61	8	2,235
93	Carolina Mudcats	138,579	64	2	2,165
94	Cedar Rapids Kernels	136,360	63	4	2,164
95	Inland Empire 66ers	141,792	66	0	2,148
96	Rancho Cucamonga Quakes	138,533	66	0	2,099
97	Peoria Chiefs	135,784	65	1	2,089
98	Everett AquaSox	128,836	65	2	1,982
99	Aberdeen IronBirds	121,916	62	5	1,966
100	Wilmington Blue Rocks	118,754	61	9	1,947
101	Visalia Rawhide	121,006	66	0	1,833
102	San Jose Giants	115,074	66	0	1,744
103	Tri-City Dust Devils	108,136	62	6	1,744
104	Stockton Ports	114,480	66	0	1,735
105	Hickory Crawdads	105,378	62	2	1,700
106	Beloit Sky Carp	102,794	63	4	1,632
107	Lake Elsinore Storm	102,950	65	1	1,584
108	Fort Myers Mighty Mussels	86,987	55	16	1,582
109	Daytona Tortugas	91,156	58	12	1,572
110	Down East Wood Ducks	98,328	65	0	1,513
111	Lynchburg Hillcats	91,232	61	6	1,496
112	Modesto Nuts	94,253	66	0	1,428
113	Rome Braves	89,176	63	6	1,415
114	St. Lucie Mets	71,213	61	7	1,167
115	Tampa Tarpons	46,627	51	16	914
116	Bradenton Marauders	56,522	65	3	870
117	Jupiter Hammerheads	42,156	63	4	669
118	Lakeland Flying Tigers	35,855	58	13	618
119	Palm Beach Cardinals	36,880	61	9	605
120	Dunedin Blue Jays	24,402	64	3	381

 

When comparing the 120 full-season clubs just to the 120 full-season clubs that existed in 2019 and the years prior, attendance is down almost everywhere. Looking at a team-by-team basis, the breadth of the attendance decreases are notable. Of the 104 MiLB teams that were in full-season affiliated baseball in 2019 and 2022, only 16 (15%) reported any increase at all in average attendance (when comparing 2019 and 2022). Another 12 teams (12%) reported decreases of fewer than 100 fans per game. But 21 teams (20%) saw decreases of more than 1,000 fans per game when comparing 2019 and 2022. Round Rock (-3,035 fans per game), Sacramento (-2,879) and Las Vegas (-2,379) all saw decreases of over 2,000 fans per game.

Kannapolis (+1,779), which opened a new ballpark in 2021, is the only MiLB team that saw an increase of more than 1,000 fans per game when compared to 2019. Myrtle Beach (+554) is the only other club to register an increase of over 500 fans per game.

Over half (56 of 104) of the teams that were full-season clubs in 2019 and 2022 have seen average attendance decreases of more than 10% when comparing this year to 2019. There were 17 MiLB teams that saw average attendance decreases of over 25%.

Here is a look at the 104 MiLB teams who were in full-season affiliated baseball in 2019 and 2022, as measured by the percentage difference in average attendance from 2022 compared to 2019.

Rk	Team	Per Game Diff.	Pct Change	Rk	Team	Per Game Diff.	Pct Change
1	*Kannapolis Cannon Ballers	1779	157.02%	53	Albuquerque Isotopes	-921	-11.54%
2	Dunedin Blue Jays	178	87.68%	54	Nashville Sounds	-1020	-11.82%
3	*Beloit Sky Carp	451	38.19%	55	Rancho Cucamonga Quakes	-285	-11.95%
4	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	558	16.52%	56	Salt Lake Bees	-798	-11.96%
5	Salem Red Sox	313	12.20%	57	Columbus Clippers	-1050	-12.09%
6	Quad Cities River Bandits	194	7.84%	58	Amarillo Sod Poodles	-798	-12.68%
7	Winston-Salem Dash	221	5.17%	59	Indianapolis Indians	-1205	-13.96%
8	Lansing Lugnuts	216	4.86%	60	Buffalo Bisons	-1135	-14.22%
9	Augusta GreenJackets	176	4.49%	61	Charlotte Knights	-1264	-14.79%
10	West Michigan Whitecaps	149	2.77%	62	Oklahoma City Dodgers	-1003	-15.13%
11	Portland Sea Dogs	67	1.18%	63	Corpus Christi Hooks	-715	-15.46%
12	Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	36	1.07%	64	San Antonio Missions	-768	-15.70%
13	Greenville Drive	30	0.62%	65	Omaha Storm Chasers	-826	-16.61%
14	Dayton Dragons	35	0.44%	66	Bowling Green Hot Rods	-500	-17.02%
15	Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp	14	0.28%	67	Fort Myers Mighty Mussels	-327	-17.13%
16	Tennessee Smokies	9	0.21%	68	Louisville Bats	-1207	-17.41%
17	Reno Aces	-2	-0.04%	69	Bowie Baysox	-571	-17.54%
18	Biloxi Shuckers	-5	-0.21%	70	Durham Bulls	-1373	-17.91%
19	Tulsa Drillers	-12	-0.22%	71	Northwest Arkansas Naturals	-778	-18.03%
20	Asheville Tourists	-19	-0.69%	72	Inland Empire 66ers	-479	-18.23%
21	Great Lakes Loons	-32	-1.13%	73	Midland RockHounds	-769	-18.32%
22	Richmond Flying Squirrels	-95	-1.52%	74	Hickory Crawdads	-384	-18.43%
23	Tacoma Rainiers	-89	-1.74%	75	Toledo Mud Hens	-1345	-18.71%
24	Arkansas Travelers	-96	-2.10%	76	Lynchburg Hillcats	-362	-19.48%
25	Hartford Yard Goats	-191	-3.08%	77	Erie SeaWolves	-651	-19.64%
26	Pensacola Blue Wahoos	-145	-3.33%	78	Montgomery Biscuits	-667	-20.92%
27	Syracuse Mets	-169	-3.41%	79	Springfield Cardinals	-1003	-21.08%
28	Visalia Rawhide	-66	-3.48%	80	Binghamton Rumble Ponies	-634	-21.13%
29	Cedar Rapids Kernels	-79	-3.52%	81	Iowa Cubs	-1613	-21.43%
30	Mississippi Braves	-94	-3.79%	82	Akron RubberDucks	-1173	-23.10%
31	Fayetteville Woodpeckers	-173	-4.76%	83	Bradenton Marauders	-262	-23.14%
32	Norfolk Tides	-300	-5.66%	84	Delmarva Shorebirds	-767	-23.50%
33	Altoona Curve	-274	-5.95%	85	Carolina Mudcats	-682	-23.96%
34	Tampa Tarpons	-59	-6.06%	86	Lake Elsinore Storm	-950	-24.54%
35	Reading Fightin Phils	-368	-6.19%	87	San Jose Giants	-573	-24.73%
36	South Bend Cubs	-302	-6.33%	88	Las Vegas Aviators	-2389	-25.69%
37	Gwinnett Stripers	-208	-6.56%	89	Daytona Tortugas	-544	-25.71%
38	Jupiter Hammerheads	-376	-6.96%	90	Frisco RoughRiders	-1784	-26.23%
39	Harrisburg Senators	-269	-6.96%	91	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders	-1717	-26.90%
40	New Hampshire Fisher Cats	-370	-7.85%	92	Birmingham Barons	-1499	-27.64%
41	Chattanooga Lookouts	-280	-7.96%	93	Peoria Chiefs	-831	-28.46%
42	Down East Wood Ducks	-138	-8.36%	94	Modesto Nuts	-598	-29.52%
43	Charleston RiverDogs	-375	-8.59%	95	Fresno Grizzlies	-1734	-30.11%
44	Lakeland Flying Tigers	-201	-8.63%	96	Memphis Redbirds	-1591	-32.04%
45	Fort Wayne TinCaps	-480	-8.66%	97	Stockton Ports	-866	-33.29%
46	Columbia Fireflies	-326	-8.76%	98	Round Rock Express	-3035	-35.53%
47	St. Lucie Mets	-123	-9.53%	99	Jersey Shore BlueClaws	-403	-35.98%
48	Rochester Red Wings	-666	-9.73%	100	Rome Braves	-801	-36.15%
49	Clearwater Threshers	-276	-10.27%	101	Sacramento River Cats	-2879	-36.68%
50	Greensboro Grasshoppers	-489	-10.38%	102	Lake County Captains	-215	-37.49%
51	Lehigh Valley IronPigs	-940	-10.92%	103	Palm Beach Cardinals	-368	-37.82%
52	El Paso Chihuahuas	-864	-11.40%	104	Wilmington Blue Rocks	-1784	-47.82%
*New ballpark