Today we will look at the trends of each Tampa Bay Minor League team over the last 10 years.
Since 2005, attendance for Minor League Baseball in the Tampa Bay area has increased 89%. Total attendance in 2014 was 222,087 fans higher than 2005's total attendance.
After a slight drop in 2008 and 2009, Minor League Baseball in Tampa Bay has soared in popularity. Although a considerable part of the 2010 gain is the addition of the Bradenton Marauders, the rest of the teams in the area have also seen steady increases over the last 10 years. As we will see in later charts, Bradenton attendance not only bumped attendance in 2010, but also in 2011. Since the creation of the Marauders, total area Minor League attendance has increased every year.
Let's look at each team in alphabetical order by city.
Bradenton Marauders 2010-2014
After their incredible increase from 2010 to 2011, Marauders' attendance has been relatively stable from 2011 to 2014. The following graph depicts the Marauders' attendance trend since 2010.
Clearwater Threshers 2005-2014
In 2014, the Threshers had the second highest total attendance in Florida State League history. Their 13% increase from 2013 could be greatly attributed to their increased promotional schedule, with post-game concerts, firework nights, and other promotions. Before 2014, Threshers attendance had seen small gains most years since 2007.
The following graph depicts the Threshers steady attendance gain.
Dunedin Blue Jays 2005-2014
Although the Blue Jays are the lowest attended team in the Tampa Bay area as well as the Florida State League, they have seen a 33% increase in total attendance since 2005. The Blue Jays did very well in 2014 with their 3rd year of double-digit attendance increases in the last 4 years.
The following graph depicts the Dunedin Blue Jays attendance trends from 2005 to 2014.
Tampa Yankees 2005-2014
The Tampa Yankees have also seen incredible attendance growth since 2005. After a drastic drop in attendance in 2008, the team has had attendance gains in 4 of the last 6 years. Since 2011, they have maintained attendance between 110,000 and 120,000.
The following graph depicts the Tampa Yankees attendance trends since 2005.
Minor League Baseball in the Tampa Bay area continues to be well-supported and a steady entertainment option for Tampa Bay residents. In later posts, we will examine the relationships between Tampa Bay area Minor League Baseball attendance and Major League attendance. We will also include Spring Training attendance to see how many people (tourists and all) watch live baseball in the Tampa Bay area in a given year.