15, they're 9-3-3 when I'm there.dweebe wrote: ↑Mar 31, 2025How many Blues games have you been to this year?Auggie wrote: ↑Mar 31, 2025This just isn't a good excuse when the Bruins, Predators, and Kraken have averaged sellouts all season.Otthouse wrote: ↑Mar 31, 2025Yeah, the Blues really weren't competitive all season long until after the 4 Nations and they seriously caught fire.
As an example: You could buy a pair of tickets for a weekday game for ~$20 earlier this year. Now those games are getting ~$100 for a pair of upper deck shoot twice seats.
The Blues were in a lottery position earlier this year (Top 10 draft pick) but are now knocking on the playoff's door. They're in charge of their own destiny as well.
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Keep going to games… I think the Blues attendance has been pretty resilient for how bad they’ve been up until very recently. Not only were they bad, they played a really boring brand of hockey.
3rd worst attendance change this season is not what I'd describe as resilient. And really it's more like 2nd because the Kings dealt with wildfires.Debaliviere91 wrote: ↑Mar 31, 2025Keep going to games… I think the Blues attendance has been pretty resilient for how bad they’ve been up until very recently. Not only were they bad, they played a really boring brand of hockey.
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I mean their attendance has dropped by like ~400 people a game. For the most part, no one’s attendance has changed that much. That makes our ranking in terms of attendance drop look worse than it really is. Plus, we were on the higher end of attendance in the league, so it makes a drop more likely when the team plays poorly.Auggie wrote:3rd worst attendance change this season is not what I'd describe as resilient. And really it's more like 2nd because the Kings dealt with wildfires.Debaliviere91 wrote: ↑Mar 31, 2025Keep going to games… I think the Blues attendance has been pretty resilient for how bad they’ve been up until very recently. Not only were they bad, they played a really boring brand of hockey.Auggie wrote: 14, they're 9-3-3 when I'm there.
That and they raised season ticket prices across the board; some dramatically. I USED to have season tickets and when they raised my section's prices nearly 70% I decided it's time to pull the plug. Sold so many games for losses over the years (see weekday game prices) that I decided it just didn't make sense anymore.Debaliviere91 wrote: ↑Mar 31, 2025I mean their attendance has dropped by like ~400 people a game. For the most part, no one’s attendance has changed that much. That makes our ranking in terms of attendance drop look worse than it really is. Plus, we were on the higher end of attendance in the league, so it makes a drop more likely when the team plays poorly.Auggie wrote:3rd worst attendance change this season is not what I'd describe as resilient. And really it's more like 2nd because the Kings dealt with wildfires.Debaliviere91 wrote: ↑Mar 31, 2025Keep going to games… I think the Blues attendance has been pretty resilient for how bad they’ve been up until very recently. Not only were they bad, they played a really boring brand of hockey.
I used to get to 20-25 home games a year, usually had a trip or two travelling as well, and I've not travelled at all this year, and only been to 2 games.
I think the Blues got too aggressive with the price increases after the Cup win and that's part of the reason the building isn't at 100%.
Plus it's tougher to buy season tickets and resell some so take the edge off. I still remember the early 10's when the Chicago Blackhawks were on their 3 Cup win tear. I know one guy that claimed he parlayed reselling Blues/Blackhawks tickets and paid for most of the rest of the season just with those games. Then the Predators had a few good years.
Right now there's no truly hot team in the Central to sell tickets at a profit for.
Plus it's tougher to buy season tickets and resell some so take the edge off. I still remember the early 10's when the Chicago Blackhawks were on their 3 Cup win tear. I know one guy that claimed he parlayed reselling Blues/Blackhawks tickets and paid for most of the rest of the season just with those games. Then the Predators had a few good years.
Right now there's no truly hot team in the Central to sell tickets at a profit for.
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Quaint slow Victorian era game
What are the kids today playing?
What are the kids today playing?
Depends on what country. USA participation has obviously slid. Any roster will show this.
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Participation in youth and high school has been declining across sports amongst boys for several years now. Not unique to baseball
Pregame attendance number is 21,122. Based on the difference between the pre game number I get and the official number announced later for the first 3 games, I would put a large bet on attendance being under 21k tonight.
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The prices are true, particularly for the concessions.bwcrow1s wrote: ↑Mar 31, 2025IMO, baseball is mostly boring (similar to football), and shrinking (or totally undiscussed) amongst my circle.Auggie wrote: ↑Mar 30, 2025Cardinals opening weekend attendance is getting extremely low:
2023: 137,635
2024: 124,120
2025: 105,030
It's down 18% from last year, down 31% from 2023.
It's nice as a novelty at this point, a place to slug a pint or two and a dog and leave in the 7th inning and go to a pub, but the idea of spending $100-$200 to roast in the sun with sparse action is.. eh. And money is tighter. Even if you make the tickets next to free it's still an endeavor for a family just to get down there. And an unsure team result?
I might be biased too coming from a hockey upbringing.
But people have complained of rising costs at sports games though since they have risen from being nickel tickets in the 40s at Sportsman Park. People complain as they get older about prices when it comes to anything. The last few years have seen significant price increases inside the stadium (like many other things in the economy) that are too noticeable beyond normal inflation
“Boring” to you might be the case as everyone has their taste, but the games move now. Got the average game time down to 2.5 hours. Lots of stolen bases and power. There are still lots of strikeouts which are exciting in moments but in the aggregate produce less action. The game has individual stars on the highest level since the early 2000s despite being a game not made for them. Ratings and attendance are back up. How MLB handles tv going forward will be a big deal - they have a chance to be innovative, let’s hope they are
Unfortunately and wrongfully, the downtown location right now does at least serve as an excuse for why people don’t come - while it may be ridiculous, we are one of the metro regions struggling from the “downtown is too dangerous, car will get broken into” discourse and the tale as old as time of parking is too hard and expensive (despite metrolink making that much easier and there still being plenty of parking within a half mile). Plus office workers are so down that the after work weekday crowds I think continue to dwindle. Downtown can and should be an asset to Cardinals attendance but right now it probably is a detriment.
Being a contender usually overcomes everything, but a mediocre outlook and no bona fide star right now won’t be enough.
The Cardinals still will have pretty good attendance but just fell a bit last year and look set to probably have a similar down attendance year.
Other than downtown improving, better play, a new star, and discretionary spending catching up to prices, the Cardinals may just need to think more creatively. We aren’t talking about a massive attendance surge needed. Bring in more schools and organizations as part of Cardinals Care, partner with the City Museum/Arch/Union Station/Blues etc for package deals, send your ticket reps to places with lots of foot traffic like TG farmers market, arch, FP and offer special deals, give vouchers to local businesses for prize drawings, and I could list many more.
It’s also 81 games at home. It’s an everyday affair. So it’s just one of those things that will be volatile sometimes
Maybe it's just me, but the Cardinals fanbase seems older.
In the last three years I've gone to ballgames in the following places:
In the last three years I've gone to ballgames in the following places:
- Chicago White Sox
- Chicago Cubs
- Washington Nationals
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Minnesota Twins
- Atlanta Braves
- 1,607
Potentially unpopular opinion:
We are not the best fans in baseball if we stop showing up after two down years.
We are not the best fans in baseball if we stop showing up after two down years.
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St. Louis is a bit older population at a base level so that wouldn’t surprise medweebe wrote: ↑Apr 01, 2025Maybe it's just me, but the Cardinals fanbase seems older.
In the last three years I've gone to ballgames in the following places:and at all of them it just feels like a bit younger crowd. I know baseball is the oldest fanbase of the big 4, but it really feels different and more pronounced here.
- Chicago White Sox
- Chicago Cubs
- Washington Nationals
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Minnesota Twins
- Atlanta Braves
No we aren't: we're just spoiled. It's been far too easy to be a Cardinals fan for a long time.TheWayoftheArch_V2.0 wrote: ↑Apr 01, 2025Potentially unpopular opinion:
We are not the best fans in baseball if we stop showing up after two down years.
Auggie and Way of the Arch agreeing is like crazy.TheWayoftheArch_V2.0 wrote: ↑Apr 01, 2025Potentially unpopular opinion:
We are not the best fans in baseball if we stop showing up after two down years.
I 100% agree. This season is looking like it's gonna be sub 30k average, which is on par with Milwaukee and Baltimore. You cannot say you're the best fans in baseball when you jump ship after an 83-79 season. It's just embarrassing.
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Yea, I’ve been a little disappointed in the “show dissatisfaction with your wallet” thing after a couple mediocre seasons. I get putting some pressure on the front office but don’t take fandom away from your kids, grandkids by not taking them to the ballpark. Plus we need some civic pride in this city to say we are going to go and make downtown a great center for our region by spending our time and money there. I know people aren’t that selfless but we need some of that community pride right now, and the Cardinals are one of the cornerstones of that.
As a former outsider, the Cardinals have a great and large fan base, definitely one of the best. Yea, the great runs have helped build that fan base
I would probably rank the best fan bases:
1. Red Sox
2. Cardinals
3. Yankees
4. Cubs
5. Braves
Phillies, Dodgers, Giants, Mets also have great fanbases
Padres, Astros, Brewers, Rangers are hot fan bases right now
The rest have had their ups and downs with Reds, Tigers, Blue Jays being at the top end of that group and FL teams at the bottom
So Cardinals fans are great. Proving it is the best fanbases will be how they react during the rebuild
As a former outsider, the Cardinals have a great and large fan base, definitely one of the best. Yea, the great runs have helped build that fan base
I would probably rank the best fan bases:
1. Red Sox
2. Cardinals
3. Yankees
4. Cubs
5. Braves
Phillies, Dodgers, Giants, Mets also have great fanbases
Padres, Astros, Brewers, Rangers are hot fan bases right now
The rest have had their ups and downs with Reds, Tigers, Blue Jays being at the top end of that group and FL teams at the bottom
So Cardinals fans are great. Proving it is the best fanbases will be how they react during the rebuild
It's also not like the Cardinals don't try and make it as cheap/easy to attend. They let you bring whatever you want in and with demand so low, there's tickets as cheap as $15. If I didn't work there, I'd probably be going simply because I like baseball and I think $15 to support the city and team is a good investmentdelmar2debaliviere2downtown wrote: ↑Apr 01, 2025Yea, I’ve been a little disappointed in the “show dissatisfaction with your wallet” thing after a couple mediocre seasons. I get putting some pressure on the front office but don’t take fandom away from your kids, grandkids by not taking them to the ballpark. Plus we need some civic pride in this city to say we are going to go and make downtown a great center for our region by spending our time and money there. I know people aren’t that selfless but we need some of that community pride right now, and the Cardinals are one of the cornerstones of that.
As a former outsider, the Cardinals have a great and large fan base, definitely one of the best. Yea, the great runs have helped build that fan base
I would probably rank the best fan bases:
1. Red Sox
2. Cardinals
3. Yankees
4. Cubs
5. Braves
Phillies, Dodgers, Giants, Mets also have great fanbases
Padres, Astros, Brewers, Rangers are hot fan bases right now
The rest have had their ups and downs with Reds, Tigers, Blue Jays being at the top end of that group and FL teams at the bottom
So Cardinals fans are great. Proving it is the best fanbases will be how they react during the rebuild
My anecdotal experience with my kids is they don't want to go because "it's boring." One of my kids just really isn't into sports much, and the other says she's been spoiled by hockey and virtually all other sports are boring in comparison.
Regarding Cards tickets last year, I recall seeing FREE tickets on Stubhub if you just paid the fees. Those were bleacher seats (which I happen to love.)
Regarding Cards tickets last year, I recall seeing FREE tickets on Stubhub if you just paid the fees. Those were bleacher seats (which I happen to love.)
Stubhub is resold tickets, so they can be whatever price the seller wants to make them, including free.Otthouse wrote: ↑Apr 01, 2025My anecdotal experience with my kids is they don't want to go because "it's boring." One of my kids just really isn't into sports much, and the other says she's been spoiled by hockey and virtually all other sports are boring in comparison.
Regarding Cards tickets last year, I recall seeing FREE tickets on Stubhub if you just paid the fees. Those were bleacher seats (which I happen to love.)
I know the other parents in the room already know what they're doing...but we like to show up near the 3rd inning.
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I feel a lot of younger people see baseball as boring (boomer sport). Also a lot of the fan base is older and is from more conservative parts of the region. So I would not doubt that fear of 'crime' is also a factor with the local fanbase and hurting attendance.