Why Ballparks Are Getting Smaller…

References:
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www.baltimoresun.com/2022/02/...
www.ballparksofbaseball.com/b...
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www.scribd.com/document/37444...
www.denverpost.com/2014/04/02...
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deadspin.com/marlins-park-cam...
www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...
web.archive.org/web/201004082...
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"19950825 09 Coors Field, Denver, CO" by davidwilson1949 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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"Progressive Field renovations" by Erik Drost from United States is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Beautiful day, but the upper deck at Progressive Field is almost completely empty." by KalinaSoftware is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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"Eutaw Street Entrance -- Camden Yards Baltimore (MD) July 2013" by Ron Cogswell is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

[@anthonydileonardo8156]

Also, football and baseball teams no longer share stadiums

[@williamlloyd3769]

The word “experience” says it all. The increased cost meant that I only go to games a few times a year when relatives come to town. Perhaps the changes to speed up games will help. PS - Personally, I go as often as I can to Jackie Robinson stadium to see PAC 12 play ball. Perfect weather, reasonable cost and parking, great future major league players plus plenty of nearby restaurants for after the game!

[@campanella39]

It is ironic that the lost jewel box ballparks: Ebbets Field, Shibe Park, Forbes Field, Sportsman's Park, Griffith Stadium, Crosley Field etc. all had lower capacities than 40,000 and were beloved in large part for their intimacy. We are back to those capacities with much more creative commercial structures to extract substantially more revenue than the 55,000 seat mulit-use stadia.

[@mls515]

I used to love getting those wallet size fold out schedules that showed the seating diagram and the ticket prices.

[@bjdon99]

Of the big four sports, baseball used to be the only one that was really affordable for a family to go to. That is no longer the case. Even though they have 40,000 seats available 81 games per season, they jack up the prices and make it unaffordable For a family of four to go very often to a game. The economics of baseball are killing it.

[@andygross6634]

Nice video. Glad to see you’re back in business

[@Rab35]

It's because of the increasing costs of attending a game for an average person, let alone a family. Tickets, parking, concessions, etc. are expensive. Plus, many stadiums are located in a bad part of the city. With games being readily available to watch on TV, it's easier and cheaper to stay at home.

[@tonypreston7278]

So that stadiums can charge more for tickets

[@secretagentnewt]

Nobody wants to be crammed into a tiny seat for 3+ hours. People want to be able to walk around the stadium and enjoy the whole experience

[@MrRapmaster19]

Exactly. Baseball serves best in the spring and summer as a social experience. The game is merely the background setting for most people at a ballpark, unlike other sports, due to the nature of baseball and the sheer insignificance of most of the season's games.

[@MaddMan621]

That's what the Rockies got down pat and they don't even invest into the actual team

[@MrRapmaster19]

@@MaddMan621 Honestly I'm from NY and people joke now that Yankee Stadium is just the best baseball themed sports bar in the Bronx. I've given up watching baseball, but still love going to games with friends just to be social with something interesting on in the background.

[@philbrown9764]

Not having games on television, doesn’t make me want to go to them. Years ago, there was a local TV channel that regularly showed the Rangers games. Seeing them on TV, made us want to go, so we’d travel the 50-60 miles and pay to see them. When the MLB stopped airing them, we stopped going. We were surprised that the Rangers WS games were on TV and we watched most of them.

[@DavidLimofLimReport]

Good to see ya back. Hope KZbin sorts your demonetising issue out soon bro.

[@forgottenplaces9780]

Its been fixed

[@adamsteele6148]

Excellent ​@@forgottenplaces9780

[@DavidLimofLimReport]

Awesome news!!@@forgottenplaces9780

[@snowtrooper514]

Glad to hear it! ​@@forgottenplaces9780

[@archstanton6102]

​@@forgottenplaces9780Good to hear

[@paulbroderick8438]

Way far too much emphasis and importance put on all sports. Taxpayers shouldn't have to a dime to any of their stadium constructions.

[@bmla88]

I agree with you. At least with baseball stadiums they get used 81 times a year

[@rickrose5377]

I'm curious where you live, sir, and what your history is. I like to think I'm not a moron. I went to our public schools when they were still good, and then to college at Yale, and graduate school at Harvard and at NYU. My father first took me to Wrigley Field when I was 5 years old. Alexander Pope wrote that sport sublimates the energies that otherwise would be spent on war. Not always, but usually, sports teaches us wonderful lessons about life, and sometimes (in baseball, at least) there's something like genuine poetry. And although I partly agree with you about public money being spent, if you go to Wrigleyville in Chicago or Kenmore Square near Fenway in Boston, or many other places, the presence of a great ballpark and the excitement, passion, and revenue they generate, greatly increases the quality of civic life. And nearby businesses, cultural institutions, and neighborhoods thrive and are invigorated by their proximity to the ballpark and its patrons.

[@richiemartinez8078]

A. Price gauging and artificial scarcity is a big reason, look at the Mets going from 57k plus capacity at Shea to 41k at Citi Field, even after a 4 million attendance season and 3 million plus for consecutive years, Citi Field should’ve been in the 47-50k range, but creating artificial scarcity around tickets especially when you are in a pennant race is important, the Yankees have no attendance issues either, but why do they continue to decrease capacity at Yankee Stadium from 50,000 to damn near 45,000. B. Those who say baseball didn’t recover after 94 are in a sense correct, AL and NL teams saw record attendance numbers in attendance in 1993 from Florida to Toronto to Atlanta, 1994 was on its way to being another great attendance year, but we all know what happened, the Great Lakes Gang screwed themselves and their small market teams in a pissing contest they lost and faced the consequences for the next 3 decades. Attendance has since gone through valleys and peaks but baseball would’ve most likely continued and upward attendance and ratings climb if not for Selig and Co’s 1994 debacle. So stadiums built after have to adjust to that reality, it didn’t help cities like Cleveland and Baltimore that their NFL franchise either returned or returned and became a winner during their baseball teams stretch of drawing 3 million plus. Those cities are also shrinking, along with a lack of emphasis on team rivalries similar to the NFL won’t allow teams to draw, Cincinnati vs Pittsburgh, etc should be much bigger rivalries than they are, Rust belt baseball should have their rivalries emphasized because aside from the NE That’s where you find the most hardcore fans when their teams are good, but baseball would rather go the way of other sports and force meaningless inter league games down our throats, most don’t even draw, Cincinnati vs Detroit, Kansas City vs Colorado are usually the lowest attended games. So downsize the stadium to match the fact that the schedule doesn’t appeal to many fans anymore.

[@viccolantonio1691]

There are seats wider because fans are getting bigger and obese compared to a generation ago

[@spacemansports4129]

The only teams that have high attendance are the Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, mostly. Than the rest.

[@williamford9564]

8 teams drew over 3 million last year. Dodgers were at 3.8 million, BUT the Padres, Cardinals, Braves, Phillies, Astros and Blue Jays were all ONLY LESS THAN 160,000 less than the Yankees $3.2 million. Also, if you watch Yankees game, there are a lot of empty seats in the lower level behind home plate. These seats are probably sold to corporations and though they count as "attendance/sold seats", they often go unused. If you watch a Phillies home game on any TV broadcast, the stadium is filled almost every night.

[@spacemansports4129]

@@williamford9564 Phillies are one of those big market teams but I’m talking about teams like the Marlins, Mets, Rays, Pirates, Angels, etc

[@dolbra4]

The Braves, too.

[@spacemansports4129]

@@dolbra4 Dodger Stadium is full on Night Games than during the day due to the heat in LA.

[@dolbra4]

Dynamic pricing should not be allowed. I experienced that with the Marlins. The cheapest seats in the house for single-game tickets there is the "Home Run Porch" in the outfield [the upper level of the outfield seats]. The tickets there go for an average of $10-$11 dollars. But there were times when the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets- and when the Cubs had their great teams right after their 2016 World Series title- would come in and all of the sudden, they would sell those same seats for $35-$40 dollars. A rip-off. That's "dynamic pricing" for you.

[@williamford9564]

2:48: This is spot on!

[@blue06lt]

Baseball has never recovered from the 1994-1995 strike.

[@anthonydileonardo8156]

I used to absolutely LOVE baseball.....now, I find it a grossly overpriced bore...last year, my vet and her 2 girls at Citifield's opening day.....$600 dollars...and they were nosebleed seats...it's just not worth it anymore

[@Enginshim]

@@anthonydileonardo8156opening day is a rip off. I’m sitting in the Pepsi Porch for $20 against the Tigers April 2.

[@steelhammer103]

Also the use of Steroids has divided the fan base as well

[@grapefruitsodags8387]

⁠@@anthonydileonardo8156 open day is always expensive, but if you go during like some Thursday afternoon during the summer you would probably end up spending 150 bucks for 3 people and some snacks and drinks

[@neneshubby]

Also, the world has sped up while baseball slowed down making it seem dull and boring to young people. They are finally trying to change that but it may be too late.

[@99somerville]

Less seats and higher prices to watch players who don’t know or don’t care about the fundamentals.

[@chipcook5346]

Wait. There's still MLB?

[@FranciscoRodriguez-ly9so]

I hear what this guy is saying, but also the MLB is saying that attendance is also up. 26 out of 30 teams saw attendance go up. And for the first time 8 teams saw an attendance of over 3 million fans. Those teams were the dodgers, Yankees, cardinals, braves, padres, Phillies, astros, blue jays. The dodgers average almost 48,000 per game and sold out 25% of their home games…that’s 56,000 people.

[@forgottenplaces9780]

It went up, however it is still a far cry from its higher days in the 90s and 2000s

[@Deeplycloseted435]

In the late 1970’s, TWICE as many people watches the World Series as today, yet the population was HALF it’s current size. That is a 400% decline in per capita viewership. That is a DISASTER, that we pretend isn’t happening.

[@2001mark]

81 home dates, MLB is still followed locally - yet far more via tv & online. Post-season is a tv show, home teams don't need 54,000 ppl to make it matter more - if those are half empty all summer.

[@Mulerider4Life]

Baseball Stadiums will continue to shrink.

[@archstanton6102]

5 stadiums to go and done them all.

[@billbeliakoff5589]

Removing cheap seats in favor of places were people can spend more money is management's way of saying " we only want you here if you plan on emptying your wallet or maxing out your credit card. We don't care about the casual fan."

[@TheJoelef]

I don’t think it’s a bad thing I mean there’s 162 games . That’s tough to fill 40000 day in and day out

[@higherground9888]

Could it be that no one has any FUCKING MONEY FOR BASEBALL?!

[@daviejz6698]

Baseball is the cheapest ticket in the 4 major sports.

[@stevenundisclosed6091]

I suggest we stop voting for idiots to elected offices.

[@kennethloki7011]

Minor league games are better to go to. Smaller stadiums let you feel more involved. Usually, some sort of deal or gimmick is going on. Cheaper. Less chance of dealing with entitled jerks. Easier parking. Less traffic. Quicker pace of play.have yet to meet a player who wasn't excited to be there and actually enjoyed having experiences with the fans. Heck, when i was a kid at a St Lucie mets game, we were talking with a player who was missing home. So we invited a few over and had a big ol family meal together. I only wish i remembered names. Would like to know how their careers went.

[@christianchellis9057]

Stadiums of every sport shrink. It’s not about the quantity of stadia It’s about the quality of stadia. Including the seating.

[@DaemonPix]

Teams having a 200+ million dollar payroll is hitting the fans pockets. I attend 1 game a year at this point. It’s just too costly otherwise. I suspect having games blacked out plays into shrinking the seating capacity.

[@GypsieGaming]

rob manfred also one of the worst things to happen to the game. when a game needed to evolve manfred was still stuck in the stone age

[@johnkelly6925]

35-40k is a good capacity figure for a baseball park.

[@mgjmiller1995]

Talk of the A's going to be in Vegas and being 'forced' to be in the nice < 5 yr old ballpark holds no weight to me. Some minor league ballparks are AWESOME. Plus, if you are the A's turning your back on the fanbase, how many 'fans' will actually attend? Let's be honest, in Vegas, it'll be opponent fan bases or, more likely, tourists just looking for something to do

[@skipbolance]

Fewer people go to games

[@Kirkvanhouten55]

I don't need to drop big bucks to see people standing around and only occasionally moving. I can go to the DMV and see it for free

[@mikeedwards2621]

Same situation with NASCAR too. Nobody cares anymore. Just look at the sponsors on the cars. Probably never heard of 90% of them. Gone are the Lowes,Home Depot, John Deere,Coors,DuPont etc…

[@DUNEATV]

Teams who go WOKE they go broke!

[@user-en7qh9jv4b]

It shouldn't be shrinking their ballpark they should be leaving those seats their and pay for thiee own maintenance cost on the structures. Taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the bill.

[@anthonyrivera4735]

Why is there lower demand for baseball?

[@tleoipl37]

Ask the tiktok glue eaters that can not sit still for more than 45 mins

[@zspolson]

It's terrible to watch on tv because of the endless commercials, and terrible to go to a game because of the outrageous prices for tickets and concessions. Basically the big media companies and the franchise owners have conspired to profiteer off fans and folks have stopped paying attention because of it. All pro sports have this problem, but baseball (and nascar) have been the first to feel the effects.

[@awill891]

Used to be on FREE antenna TV or basic cable. Now you need to spend hundreds $$ for a special cable/streaming package. I live in Central California and we used to get Giants games for free on the local The WB affiliate and even though I'm a Dodger fan I'd still watch Barry Bonds hit all those home runs into the bay. It was cool to see it as a kid. But now there's no casual way to watch the sport. And of course every team within 700 miles is blackout on the streaming service. Don't feel like jumping through hoops using a VPN and also paying hundreds $$$ to watch a sport I barley have interest in. If it was free, I'd watch it more often though. Same thing with NBA. NFL is 95% on free TV and look how big it is.

[@josephdhippolito5456]

@@tleoipl37that is brilliant and outrageously Funny!

[@jamesanthony5681]

I'm not convinced that there is a lower demand. People say it's boring, but they've been saying that for 60 years. That's a reason why they brought in the DH in 1973. Give me stadium attendance and TV viewer numbers, decade over decade, since 1970.

[@SuperSirianRigel]

Also... baseball itself just isn't as popular as it once was. Especially with younger generations. Young people look at baseball as the antiquated and boring sport a lot of the time. Something that is basically a part of an era that their fathers and grandfathers enjoyed but as long since passed it's time. Heck young people struggle to enjoy sports in general it seems like these days. lol. And I feel it won't be long until soccer passes baseball in popularity. Just an idea based off observations. Idk when this might happen. But I really feel like it's possible.

[@richarddenny5340]

baseball simply does not the hold the interest among sports minded people like it once did. the recent rules changes might help but the game is not TV friendly, like football or basketball

[@cjones3710]

This why people will NOT go, not true at all. This thought process it totally wrong.

[@davidchodds]

This totally sucks for us middle class fans who just want to go to the games to watch the game. We have to pay enormously outrageous ticket prices compared to our childhood because of this artificially created by the owners' decreased supply for demand.

[@MrRapmaster19]

Baseball and Hockey, funny enough, seem to be switching places and are on opposite trajectories. MLB has become a more localized league with very little national presence or appeal amongst younger people, while the NHL has slowly become a league gaining popularity in virtual circles and on the national level.

[@89Ayten]

Baseball is stale and is the best suited of the North American sports to adopt promotion & relegation. Too long have the do-nothing owners in MLB had nothing to fear, refused to compete.

[@anthonydileonardo8156]

Baseball has become a bore of million $ players fouling off 12 pitches before they strike out......wanna improve the game....Russian roulette...every hitter gets 3 pitches...hit one or you're OUT

[@AshleeWalkerTea]

I thought you said,why are they 'STINKING'🦨🦨🦨!