Minor League Baseball Attendance Improves By Four Percent In 2023

Image credit: (Photo by Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)

Across the affiliated minor leagues, attendance increased by four percent compared to 2022, giving minor league operators their best year since the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the 2020 season.

Minor League Baseball’s 120 ticket-selling clubs drew 32,137,365 fans in announced attendance in 2023. That’s up from 30,916,465 fans in 2022, which is a 3.95% increase. On a per-game basis, the average attendance improved to 4,076 fans per game, up from 3,910 fans per game in 2022. That’s a 4.25% increase. The discrepancy between total attendance increase and per-game averages was because there were slightly fewer games played in 2023.

It’s not all good news however. Comparing the 120 full-season clubs that remain after the MiLB reorganization to the 120 full-season clubs that existed in the 2010s, attendance remains significantly below where it was before the 2020 MiLB season was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The worst average attendance for the 120 full-season clubs in the 2010s was 2018 where teams averaged 4,184 fans per game.

In total attendance, when only looking at 120 full-season clubs to keep the comparisons equal, the 2023 attendance, while improved, remains more than one million fans below the worst season of the 2010s.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs were the 2023 attendance champs with 567,322 fans. Nine teams drew more than 500,000.

Attendance By Average

Team	Total	Openings	Openings Lost	Average
Lehigh Valley IronPigs	567,322	71	6	7,990
Columbus Clippers	557,131	71	5	7,847
Nashville Sounds	556,962	72	4	7,736
Indianapolis Indians	556,775	71	5	7,842
Albuquerque Isotopes	521,521	74	1	7,048
Dayton Dragons	520,433	66	0	7,885
Worcester Red Sox	519,651	70	5	7,424
El Paso Chihuahuas	507,907	75	0	6,772
Las Vegas Aviators	506,047	74	1	6,838
Charlotte Knights	498,816	73	2	6,833
Durham Bulls	491,753	73	2	6,736
Buffalo Bisons	487,205	68	9	7,165
St. Paul Saints	460,918	71	5	6,492
Toledo Mud Hens	447,384	72	4	6,214
Salt Lake Bees	443,494	72	3	6,160
Rochester Red Wings	437,561	72	5	6,077
Iowa Cubs	432,246	72	5	6,003
Richmond Flying Squirrels	428,541	67	2	6,396
Round Rock Express	411,550	74	2	5,561
Norfolk Tides	411,429	71	4	5,795
Portland Sea Dogs	403,957	66	4	6,121
Hartford Yard Goats	402,731	64	6	6,293
Oklahoma City Dodgers	399,908	71	6	5,633
Louisville Bats	396,840	72	3	5,512
Sacramento River Cats	388,246	75	0	5,177
Reading Fightin Phils	384,563	65	6	5,916
Tacoma Rainiers	384,498	73	2	5,267
Reno Aces	372,926	74	1	5,040
West Michigan Whitecaps	360,999	63	3	5,730
Tulsa Drillers	356,002	68	1	5,235
Amarillo Sod Poodles	355,440	66	3	5,385
Somerset Patriots	352,293	68	1	5,181
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp	347,723	68	7	5,114
Frisco RoughRiders	343,606	67	3	5,128
Fort Wayne TinCaps	340,038	64	2	5,313
Syracuse Mets	336,492	67	10	5,022
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders	336,162	68	7	4,944
Wichita Wind Surge	322,637	69	0	4,676
South Bend Cubs	314,591	64	3	4,915
Rocket City Trash Pandas	314,306	64	5	4,911
Altoona Curve	308,003	67	2	4,597
Arkansas Travelers	307,607	67	2	4,591
Omaha Storm Chasers	304,129	73	3	4,166
Greenville Drive	303,328	61	4	4,973
Lansing Lugnuts	299,449	64	2	4,679
Sugar Land Space Cowboys	299,055	73	2	4,097
Vancouver Canadians	297,437	61	6	4,876
Tennessee Smokies	295,603	65	5	4,548
Corpus Christi Hooks	294,986	67	2	4,403
Pensacola Blue Wahoos	293,581	69	0	4,255
Winston-Salem Dash	290,534	62	5	4,686
Jersey Shore BlueClaws	287,602	60	7	4,793
San Antonio Missions	284,419	68	1	4,183
Greensboro Grasshoppers	279,061	62	7	4,501
Fresno Grizzlies	277,089	66	0	4,198
Harrisburg Senators	273,768	65	7	4,212
Charleston RiverDogs	270,170	63	3	4,288
Myrtle Beach Pelicans	268,600	64	2	4,197
Fredericksburg Nationals	265,960	64	3	4,156
Akron RubberDucks	265,938	66	3	4,029
Augusta GreenJackets	260,060	62	4	4,195
Springfield Cardinals	256,947	66	3	3,893
Northwest Arkansas Naturals	256,552	68	1	3,773
Birmingham Barons	253,232	66	3	3,837
Spokane Indians	249,012	63	5	3,953
New Hampshire Fisher Cats	236,809	60	11	3,947
Bowie Baysox	234,527	67	2	3,500
Midland RockHounds	233,724	69	0	3,387
Gwinnett Stripers	230,801	71	6	3,251
Chattanooga Lookouts	228,940	67	2	3,417
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	227,119	65	2	3,494
Memphis Redbirds	223,751	73	3	3,065
Columbia Fireflies	219,277	61	6	3,595
Erie SeaWolves	207,555	67	2	3,098
Binghamton Rumble Ponies	206,911	65	4	3,183
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers	195,500	64	3	3,055
Lake County Captains	193,436	55	12	3,517
Delmarva Shorebirds	189,749	60	8	3,162
Fayetteville Woodpeckers	187,195	63	2	2,971
Great Lakes Loons	186,080	62	4	3,001
Hudson Valley Renegades	183,649	64	2	2,870
Asheville Tourists	183,034	61	7	3,001
Brooklyn Cyclones	182,875	64	2	2,857
Salem Red Sox	177,083	61	10	2,903
Quad Cities River Bandits	173,724	66	0	2,632
Montgomery Biscuits	168,751	66	3	2,557
Mississippi Braves	162,862	64	6	2,545
Cedar Rapids Kernels	161,205	65	1	2,480
Hillsboro Hops	158,723	66	0	2,405
Biloxi Shuckers	158,586	65	5	2,440
Peoria Chiefs	158,209	64	2	2,472
Clearwater Threshers	157,072	63	4	2,493
Wilmington Blue Rocks	156,200	62	6	2,519
Bowling Green Hot Rods	155,447	62	6	2,507
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes	151,082	66	0	2,289
Eugene Emeralds	145,896	63	3	2,316
Aberdeen IronBirds	141,019	64	2	2,203
Everett AquaSox	140,937	63	3	2,237
Inland Empire 66ers	139,534	65	1	2,147
Carolina Mudcats	138,299	60	9	2,305
Visalia Rawhide	126,235	66	0	1,913
San Jose Giants	124,129	66	0	1,881
Tri-City Dust Devils	120,444	66	0	1,825
Stockton Ports	117,377	66	0	1,778
Hickory Crawdads	112,287	61	5	1,841
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels	108,879	65	1	1,675
Lynchburg Hillcats	108,725	65	1	1,673
Beloit Sky Carp	104,411	65	2	1,606
Down East Wood Ducks	96,160	63	3	1,526
Rome Braves	95,120	62	4	1,534
Lake Elsinore Storm	94,385	61	8	1,547
Daytona Tortugas	93,894	62	6	1,514
Modesto Nuts	83,077	66	0	1,259
St. Lucie Mets	74,213	67	6	1,108
Bradenton Marauders	65,598	61	6	1,075
Tampa Tarpons	58,150	59	5	986
Lakeland Flying Tigers	38,202	62	5	616
Jupiter Hammerheads	35,515	40	7	888
Palm Beach Cardinals	33,067	38	4	870
Dunedin Blue Jays	31,210	63	3	495

The increases in attendance in 2023 were extremely broad based. More than half (62) of all MiLB clubs saw attendance gains of 5% or more in 2023 when compared to 2022. Only 18 clubs saw attendance drops of 5% or more.

On a percentage basis, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Wichita Wingnuts and Palm Beach Cardinals led the minors with attendance increases of more than 40% when compared to average attendance in 2022. Here’s a look at all 120 MiLB clubs in order of percentage change from 2022.

Attendance By Percentage Change

Team	2023 Avg Attendance	2022 Avg Attendance	Difference	% Change
Binghamton Rumble Ponies	3,183	2,237	946	42.3%
Wichita Wind Surge	4,676	3,289	1,387	42.2%
Palm Beach Cardinals	870	613	257	41.9%
Delmarva Shorebirds	3,162	2,261	901	39.8%
Bowie Baysox	3,500	2,531	969	38.3%
Everett AquaSox	2,237	1,660	577	34.8%
Wilmington Blue Rocks	2,519	1,913	606	31.7%
Dunedin Blue Jays	495	389	106	27.2%
Erie SeaWolves	3,098	2,438	660	27.1%
Peoria Chiefs	2,472	1,957	515	26.3%
Cedar Rapids Kernels	2,480	1,979	501	25.3%
Lake County Captains	3,517	2,810	707	25.2%
Aberdeen IronBirds	2,203	1,768	435	24.6%
Great Lakes Loons	3,001	2,421	580	24.0%
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	3,494	2,843	651	22.9%
Stockton Ports	1,778	1,466	312	21.3%
Jupiter Hammerheads	888	741	147	19.8%
Bradenton Marauders	1,075	904	171	18.9%
West Michigan Whitecaps	5,730	4,826	904	18.7%
Jersey Shore BlueClaws	4,793	4,057	736	18.1%
Hillsboro Hops	2,405	2,040	365	17.9%
Norfolk Tides	5,795	4,940	855	17.3%
Spokane Indians	3,953	3,375	578	17.1%
South Bend Cubs	4,915	4,203	712	16.9%
Harrisburg Senators	4,212	3,673	539	14.7%
Asheville Tourists	3,001	2,620	381	14.5%
Akron RubberDucks	4,029	3,519	510	14.5%
Tri-City Dust Devils	1,825	1,612	213	13.2%
Fort Wayne TinCaps	5,313	4,704	609	12.9%
Eugene Emeralds	2,316	2,066	250	12.1%
Tacoma Rainiers	5,267	4,709	558	11.8%
Lynchburg Hillcats	1,673	1,499	174	11.6%
Brooklyn Cyclones	2,857	2,566	291	11.3%
Salt Lake Bees	6,160	5,544	616	11.1%
Beloit Sky Carp	1,606	1,447	159	11.0%
Hudson Valley Renegades	2,870	2,589	281	10.9%
Gwinnett Stripers	3,251	2,952	299	10.1%
Charleston RiverDogs	4,288	3,910	378	9.7%
San Jose Giants	1,881	1,719	162	9.4%
Hartford Yard Goats	6,293	5,790	503	8.7%
Greensboro Grasshoppers	4,501	4,144	357	8.6%
Altoona Curve	4,597	4,233	364	8.6%
Portland Sea Dogs	6,121	5,640	481	8.5%
Corpus Christi Hooks	4,403	4,084	319	7.8%
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes	2,289	2,126	163	7.7%
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders	4,944	4,595	349	7.6%
Vancouver Canadians	4,876	4,539	337	7.4%
Winston-Salem Dash	4,686	4,367	319	7.3%
Durham Bulls	6,736	6,288	448	7.1%
Biloxi Shuckers	2,440	2,284	156	6.8%
Northwest Arkansas Naturals	3,773	3,532	241	6.8%
Toledo Mud Hens	6,214	5,821	393	6.8%
Buffalo Bisons	7,165	6,715	450	6.7%
Lansing Lugnuts	4,679	4,394	285	6.5%
Reno Aces	5,040	4,741	299	6.3%
Lehigh Valley IronPigs	7,990	7,522	468	6.2%
Columbus Clippers	7,847	7,413	434	5.9%
Springfield Cardinals	3,893	3,692	201	5.4%
Tampa Tarpons	986	937	49	5.2%
Sacramento River Cats	5,177	4,921	256	5.2%
Fredericksburg Nationals	4,156	3,953	203	5.1%
St. Paul Saints	6,492	6,176	316	5.1%
Tennessee Smokies	4,548	4,338	210	4.8%
Hickory Crawdads	1,841	1,758	83	4.7%
Indianapolis Indians	7,842	7,500	342	4.6%
Rochester Red Wings	6,077	5,845	232	4.0%
Omaha Storm Chasers	4,166	4,010	156	3.9%
Richmond Flying Squirrels	6,396	6,167	229	3.7%
Mississippi Braves	2,545	2,457	88	3.6%
Salem Red Sox	2,903	2,807	96	3.4%
Columbia Fireflies	3,595	3,489	106	3.0%
Reading Fightin Phils	5,916	5,755	161	2.8%
Augusta GreenJackets	4,195	4,083	112	2.7%
Arkansas Travelers	4,591	4,474	117	2.6%
Sugar Land Space Cowboys	4,097	3,999	98	2.5%
Quad Cities River Bandits	2,632	2,574	58	2.3%
Rome Braves	1,534	1,501	33	2.2%
Frisco RoughRiders	5,128	5,026	102	2.0%
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels	1,675	1,643	32	1.9%
Iowa Cubs	6,003	5,918	85	1.4%
Carolina Mudcats	2,305	2,280	25	1.1%
Somerset Patriots	5,181	5,134	47	0.9%
Pensacola Blue Wahoos	4,255	4,242	13	0.3%
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers	3,055	3,046	9	0.3%
Syracuse Mets	5,022	5,009	13	0.3%
Bowling Green Hot Rods	2,507	2,501	6	0.2%
Worcester Red Sox	7,424	7,409	15	0.2%
Down East Wood Ducks	1,526	1,526	0	0.0%
Dayton Dragons	7,885	7,902	-17	-0.2%
Greenville Drive	4,973	4,987	-14	-0.3%
Myrtle Beach Pelicans	4,197	4,211	-14	-0.3%
Visalia Rawhide	1,913	1,937	-24	-1.2%
Oklahoma City Dodgers	5,633	5,742	-109	-1.9%
El Paso Chihuahuas	6,772	6,909	-137	-2.0%
Fresno Grizzlies	4,198	4,283	-85	-2.0%
Round Rock Express	5,561	5,700	-139	-2.4%
Amarillo Sod Poodles	5,385	5,542	-157	-2.8%
Las Vegas Aviators	6,838	7,046	-208	-3.0%
Nashville Sounds	7,736	8,002	-266	-3.3%
Lakeland Flying Tigers	616	641	-25	-3.9%
San Antonio Missions	4,183	4,359	-176	-4.0%
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp	5,114	5,344	-230	-4.3%
Chattanooga Lookouts	3,417	3,608	-191	-5.3%
Albuquerque Isotopes	7,048	7,453	-405	-5.4%
Montgomery Biscuits	2,557	2,710	-153	-5.6%
Daytona Tortugas	1,514	1,606	-92	-5.7%
Louisville Bats	5,512	5,855	-343	-5.9%
Clearwater Threshers	2,493	2,658	-165	-6.2%
New Hampshire Fisher Cats	3,947	4,216	-269	-6.4%
Inland Empire 66ers	2,147	2,333	-186	-8.0%
Rocket City Trash Pandas	4,911	5,361	-450	-8.4%
Charlotte Knights	6,833	7,483	-650	-8.7%
Birmingham Barons	3,837	4,205	-368	-8.8%
Midland RockHounds	3,387	3,737	-350	-9.4%
Lake Elsinore Storm	1,547	1,711	-164	-9.6%
Tulsa Drillers	5,235	5,791	-556	-9.6%
Memphis Redbirds	3,065	3,541	-476	-13.4%
St. Lucie Mets	1,108	1,291	-183	-14.2%
Fayetteville Woodpeckers	2,971	3,494	-523	-15.0%
Modesto Nuts	1,259	1,642	-383	-23.3%