Minor League Attendance Report and Data

[NorthSideSox72]

There is a very in-depth 2014 MiLB attendance report available out there now, which is like 150 pages long. But some highlights for Sox clubs...

 

--Charlotte Knights led all of minor league baseball in attendance, both total and per game

--Birmingham Barons led the Southern League in attendance. Even more amazing, their attendance actually went up in the 2nd year of their new stadium, and they had the 6th largest per-game jump in baseball

--Winston-Salem Dash continue to draw well, they were 2nd in the Carolina League

--Kannapolis Intimidators continue to be middle-ground in the SAL attendance-wise, which is actually pretty good considering their stadium is not very new and they compete with nearby Charlotte

--Great Falls is on the lower end of the Pioneer League, in fact they had their lowest attendace since the 60's. Another older stadium.

--AZL Sox are non-rev and do not track attendance

 

Here is the full report. Some cool historical info too.

 

Overall, that's a pretty darn good performance, with the three highest level teams all drawing quite well, and another managing to be average-ish in an older stadium and a tough market. New stadiums help.

[GGajewski18]

Very cool. If anyone on the board goes to these games down south, I applaud you for being part of this. Wish I could.

 

I think Charlotte, Birmingham, and Winston Salem will all have very interesting teams this year. I would expect to see those numbers climb even though the results are already great

[BigEdWalsh]

Really interesting stuff. I didn't know that the AZL was a non-revenue league and attendance isn't even kept.

 

[Heads22]

Charlotte gained nearly 6,000 additional fans per game? Holy f***.

[witesoxfan]

Charlotte gained nearly 6,000 additional fans per game? Holy f***.

 

Brand new stadium, and if you squint, you can see how they could add seats to make it an MLB park some day.

[Heads22]

Brand new stadium, and if you squint, you can see how they could add seats to make it an MLB park some day.

 

Either way that's a rather remarkable jump.

[witesoxfan]

Charlotte gained nearly 6,000 additional fans per game? Holy f***.

 

 

Brand new stadium, and if you squint, you can see how they could add seats to make it an MLB park some day.

 

Visual evidence:

 

 

More at the link: http://liveuptownnow.com/charlotte-life/ev...ew-bbt-ballpark

[GGajewski18]

That is beautiful.

[credezcrew24]

Visual evidence:

 

 

More at the link: http://liveuptownnow.com/charlotte-life/ev...ew-bbt-ballpark

 

That looks a lot nicer than Camelback Ranch.

[caulfield12]

There is a very in-depth 2014 MiLB attendance report available out there now, which is like 150 pages long. But some highlights for Sox clubs...

 

--Charlotte Knights led all of minor league baseball in attendance, both total and per game

--Birmingham Barons led the Southern League in attendance. Even more amazing, their attendance actually went up in the 2nd year of their new stadium, and they had the 6th largest per-game jump in baseball

--Winston-Salem Dash continue to draw well, they were 2nd in the Carolina League

--Kannapolis Intimidators continue to be middle-ground in the SAL attendance-wise, which is actually pretty good considering their stadium is not very new and they compete with nearby Charlotte

--Great Falls is on the lower end of the Pioneer League, in fact they had their lowest attendace since the 60's. Another older stadium.

--AZL Sox are non-rev and do not track attendance

 

Here is the full report. Some cool historical info too.

 

Overall, that's a pretty darn good performance, with the three highest level teams all drawing quite well, and another managing to be average-ish in an older stadium and a tough market. New stadiums help.

 

Kanny is just kind of a "blah" mid 90's cookie-cutter minor league stadium. I was there once and have not one single memory sticking out in my mind about the facility.

 

Hickory was THE team in the SAL that did really well in attendance (and they with the Sox then) in that era...along with Charleston (SC) after they built a new park.

 

Most would argue 65-75% of minor league attendance is related to promotions and the niceties of the stadium/s (especially in the lower minors). Obviously the horrendous records of the Charlotte team recently didn't have much of an impact...3-5 years down the line, of course, the presence of top prospects and competitiveness of the team will return to being more of a factor.

[NorthSideSox72]

Kanny is just kind of a "blah" mid 90's cookie-cutter minor league stadium. I was there once and have not one single memory sticking out in my mind about the facility.

 

Hickory was THE team in the SAL that did really well in attendance (and they with the Sox then) in that era...along with Charleston (SC) after they built a new park.

 

Most would argue 65-75% of minor league attendance is related to promotions and the niceties of the stadium/s (especially in the lower minors). Obviously the horrendous records of the Charlotte team recently didn't have much of an impact...3-5 years down the line, of course, the presence of top prospects and competitiveness of the team will return to being more of a factor.

There has been movement with local government to have a new stadium for Kanny in their downtown area. Just preliminary stuff, no money for it yet. The player facilities in that stadium are pretty bad. The clubhouse, locker room and coach/mgr office space are all in what is basically a morton shed behind the left field fence, not connected to anything else. The bullpens are in pretty bad shape too. The concourse and buildings for the fans are OK, nothing special but just fine. Seating same.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Visual evidence:

 

 

More at the link: http://liveuptownnow.com/charlotte-life/ev...ew-bbt-ballpark

I cannot wait to see a game there, the stadium is by all accounts just beautiful with that skyline.

 

White Sox have been putting on a new stadium in their org once a year the last three years - Winston-Salem (which is now partially owned by the White Sox, by the way) got one in 2012 that is really quite nice for an A ball team, Birmingham in 2013 (supposed to be fantastic), and now Charlotte in 2014.

 

[witesoxfan]

Birmingham and the White Sox have the longest marriage of any MLB team and an affiliate IIRC.

 

Charlotte is a remarkable minor league team and stadium. Beautiful park, great hitters environment and a great city. I am not going to jump on the "MLB team to Charlotte bandwagon" but the city is flourishing. Charlotte is a serious stronghold for the healthcare industry and as you can see by the pictures above, their skyline is surprisingly impressive. Both Charlotte and Raleigh have some of the fastest population growths in the country. Really great to have an affiliate there even if the Sox don't have any tangible stake in the business. I know I have heard both Jordan Danks and Axelrod refer to it as "the best place in the minors to play."

 

For the record, I don't think MLB will look to move/expand a team to Charlotte in the short to intermediate future either, and the park is not able to handle an MLB crowd at this moment anyways, but if they ever view expansion as viable - and they've gone 16 years without expansion, which has to be the longest stretch in quite a while - Charlotte should be one of the areas that is considered.

[Balta1701]

Most definitely, but I am not sure expansion is the way we get a new home for a MLB team, at least in the immediate future. I think it's more likely we see the A's or the Rays move out of their current location unless there was some deal struck with either team that I am not aware of. I do think Charlotte has to be at the top of the list. I know Montreal wants a team, Vegas is always brought up but I doubt that and other cities could be San Antonio, Indianapolis, Memphis and I really wouldn't know past that. Charlotte should be considered heavily with favorable weather, growing population, a thriving economy and perhaps the Knights serving as an example that baseball interest is there.

I always hear that Portland is a great baseball town and could probably support a team.

[caulfield12]

Birmingham and the White Sox have the longest marriage of any MLB team and an affiliate IIRC.

 

Charlotte is a remarkable minor league team and stadium. Beautiful park, great hitters environment and a great city. I am not going to jump on the "MLB team to Charlotte bandwagon" but the city is flourishing. Charlotte is a serious stronghold for the healthcare industry and as you can see by the pictures above, their skyline is surprisingly impressive. Both Charlotte and Raleigh have some of the fastest population growths in the country. Really great to have an affiliate there even if the Sox don't have any tangible stake in the business. I know I have heard both Jordan Danks and Axelrod refer to it as "the best place in the minors to play."

 

Don't forget the banking/financial services sector, Bank of America, etc.

 

I always felt like Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville were the best, most progressive and cosmopolitan cities for a transplanted Yankee, not counting FL and TX as the South.