Welcome to our fifth monthly review of the Tampa Rays 2015 attendance. This post will look at attendance in games played from August 7, 2015 to August 30, 2015.
- Total August 2015 Tampa Bay Rays home attendance: 197,551
- August 2015 Home Games: 11
- Average attendance per game: 17,959
- Highest attendance: 31,042 on August 8th
- Lowest attendance: 9,205 on August 26th
- Average August game time (9 inning games only): 2 hours, 58 minutes
- Highest attended series: 26,956 per game vs Mets, August 7-9
- Lowest attended series: 9,404 per game vs Twins, August 25-27
- Competing events:
- Tampa Bay Bucs preseason game – Raymond James Stadium, August 29, August 24
- Total Tampa Bay Minor League Baseball August attendance: 65,310
- Tampa Bay Minor League attendance per game: 1,256 (52 games)
From 2007 to 2014, average August attendance has been almost exactly annual average (20,550 vs 20,145). In 2011 and 2012, August was the worst attended month but in 2012 and 2013, it was the best attended month.
Comparing August 2015 with previous years
The following chart compares August 2015 average attendance to average August attendance in recent years.
August 2015 per game average attendance was
15% worse (3,239 fans per game) than the August 2014 per game average. August 2015 was the fourth worst August per game average since 2007, topping 2007, 2011, and 2012.
The following chart depicts games played in August, wins and losses, and the average August attendance.
Weekdays vs Weekends
Let's now look at the Rays August 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 August since 2007.
The following graph depicts the above chart.
It is interesting that August's weekday attendance is very similar to April's. Both had a large peak in 2009 and then leveled off. April however, had a bump in 2013 and we see August had a bump in 2014. August also has a unfortunate similarity with June in that both months had their lowest weekday attendance during the Sternberg ownership era.
Looking at weekday attendance month-to-month, the Rays saw average weekday attendance drop drastically between July and August 2015. 5,085 less fans per game saw the Rays during week in August.
- July 2015 weekday average attendance: 17,096
- August 2015 weekday average attendance: 12,011
However, August 2015 exceeded June 2015 by 341 fans per game (11,670 to 12,011).
The following chart shows Rays average weekend attendance in August since 2007.
The following graph depicts the chart:
In 2013 and 2015, average August weekend attendance was 90% great than August weekday attendance. There is seemingly no pattern however to the weekend/weekday split.
On a positive note, Rays average weekend only decreased 115 fans per game from 2014. And August 2015 weekend attendance was greater than August weekend attendance in 2007, 2011, and 2012.
Conclusion:
Although August attendance was 15% lower in 2015 than 2014, Rays 2015 average attendance did increase in August. We can definitely credit that increase in part to the series against the Mets, which drew very well and included the Rays first non-Opening Day sell-out.
Despite the increase, August did not outdraw July for the third year in a row. This was probably due to August's low weekday numbers, which were 5,000 fans per game lower than July. Keep in mind, however, weekday attendance in July was aided by Camp Day promotions throughout the month.
On the subject of weekdays, the more worrisome August trend is the decrease in weekday attendance in 2015 - nearly 1,500 less fans per weekday than 2011 to 2013. Considering the Rays continued the Honor Pass ticket program from military veterans and still saw attendance drop to record lows in troubling.
As we go into September, the contention factor comes into play. If the Rays are in contention for the wildcard spot, we could see interest and attendance increase. If they are not, attendance will probably be somewhere worse than July and August, but better than May or June.
The Rays also have a few regular season games in October in 2015. Those games will deny September attendance a final home series and the associated promotions that usually draw a respectable crowd. This year, for example, the Rays final post-game concert, featuring world-famous DJ Steve Aoki, will be on Saturday, October 3rd.