- Total July 2015 Tampa Bay Rays home attendance: 198,322
- July 2015 Home Games: 11
- Average attendance per game: 18,029
- Highest attendance: 28,057 on July 29th
- Lowest attendance: 11,394 on July 1st
- Average July game time (9 inning games only): 2 hours, 45 minutes
- Highest attended series: 20,259 per game vs Orioles, July 24-26
- Lowest attended series: 13,874 per game vs Indians, July 1-2
- Competing events:
- Tampa Bay Storm home game: July 11
- Tampa Bay Rowdies home game: July 4, 18, 25
- Total Tampa Bay Minor League Baseball July attendance: 94,659
- Tampa Bay Minor League attendance per game: 1,786 (53 games)
From 2007 to 2014, average July attendance has been nearly 12% above the annual average (22,494 vs 20,145). By average, July is the Rays best drawing month.
Comparing July 2015 with previous years
The following chart compares July 2015 average attendance to average July attendance in recent years.
July 2015 per game average attendance was 3.7% worse (681 fans per game) than the July 2014 per game average. July 2015 was the second worst July per game average since 2007, topping only 2013 by 284 fans per game.
The following chart depicts games played in July, wins and losses, and the average July attendance.
Weekdays vs Weekends
Let's now look at the Rays July attendance on weekdays (Mon-Thurs) and weekends (Fri-Sun). As I have pointed out before, the Rays usually have one of the biggest differences in Major League Baseball in regards to weekday versus weekend attendance.
This chart shows the Rays average weekday attendance in July since 2007.
The following graph depicts the above chart.
This chart nearly mirrors the Rays overall attendance trend, with a steady decrease from 2011 to the present. It is interesting that 2012 and 2011 both topped 2010, however. We can also see that July weekdays in 2015 drew over 1,700 more fans per game than 2014 July weekdays. This could be promotion-driven, as there were two Park and Recreation days in July 2015 and only one in July 2014. Former Rays pitcher David Price also pitched at Tropicana Field on a July weekday in 2015, so perhaps his start drew some fans to the park.
Perhaps because of the promotions, opposing pitchers, or other reasons, the Rays had an increase in average weekday attendance between June and July 2015 of 5,426 fans per game, or 46%.
- June 2015 weekday average attendance: 11,670
- July 2015 weekday average attendance: 17,096
The following chart shows Rays average weekend attendance in July since 2007.
The following graph depicts the chart:
This chart above is definitely interesting as it shows that often there is little difference in attendance between July weekdays and July weekends. In five of the nine years surveyed, the difference is less than 10% and in 2015 the difference was exactly 10%. Only in 2007, 2010, and 2014 was there a considerable difference
Conclusion:
As I predicted, July attendance was better than June attendance. That happens every year.
Looking ahead, in 2013 and 2014, August outdrew July and was the Rays most highly attended month of the year. With the hot New York Mets, regional favorite Atlanta Braves, and the former AL Champion Kansas City Royals coming to town, August may again be a well-attended month.
Another factor worth watching is the steady impact of free military tickets. After initiating the Honor Pass program, Rays average attendance was 19,752, far above the 15,962 during July before the Honor Pass was started. While there were other promotions in play, there is no doubt there were some military members taking advantage of the new program.
August will also bring the end of the Florida State League. In our previous analysis of area Minor League teams attendance, we saw that August is the Tampa Yankees worst drawing month and the second worst for the Clearwater Threshers. This could be because of the near-daily thundershowers in the Tampa area in August, which plays to the Rays advantage in the domed wonder of Tropicana Field.
We will of course keep tracking attendance throughout August and the rest of the season and keep aware of any interesting trends, patterns, and anomalies.