The Atlanta Braves players are rather dismayed that, despite an incredible 12-season division penant streak and setting all manner of club records this season, attendance at home games continues its decline.
Fewer people watched this team in 2003 than in any other season in the past dozen years. This was the sixth year in a row that attendance fell. The team sold about three of every five seats, but not all of them were filled.The players notice, and many of them care. They see what they're missing when they go to other ballparks with great turnouts. But attendance is a delicate subject, because no Brave wants to anger the regular customers. They'd just like more to show up.
So it's with carefully chosen words that players weigh in on this season's emptier stands -- and that home-field disadvantage going into the divisional playoffs beginning here Tuesday.
Catcher Javy Lopez, one of four starters who batted over .300 this season, realizes that many people may not be able to afford tickets (priced from $1 to $45 this past season.) But in general, he said, "The whole Braves organization is doing a tremendous job, a magnificent job, and there is no reason we don't have better attendance. If you ask anyone on the team, our fans are not the best in the world. I'll put it this way: The way we've been playing, we should be having more attendance without a doubt. San Francisco, every day they get a crowd. Seattle, every day they get a crowd. A lot of teams that are playoff contenders got a lot better chance [of drawing fans] than we do."
Indeed, Atlanta's three most likely first-round opponents all fill a greater percentage of their home seats. And when looking at that percentage of capacity, Chicago ranks third in the majors, Houston seventh, Los Angeles 10th. Atlanta, with roughly 30,500 fans per game, ranks 14th.
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