- Total May 2016 Tampa Bay Rays home attendance: 196,452
- Average attendance per game: 17,859
- Highest attendance: 28,158 on Saturday, May 14th
- Lowest attendance: 11,399 on Thursday, May 26th
- Average May game time: 2 hours, 58 minutes
- Highest attended series: 62,307 vs Athletics, May 13-15
- Lowest attended series: 12,476 vs Marlins, May 25-26
- Competing events:
- Tampa Bay Storm home games on May 1 and May 29 (Attendance 8,438 / 8,298).
- Tampa Bay Rowdies @ Al Lang Stadium, May 14th (Attendance: 6,702)
- Margarita Fest @ Curtis Hixon Park
- Sunset Music Fest @ Raymond James Stadium
- 97X Backyard BBQ
- R. Kelly concert @ Amalie Arena
- Total Tampa Bay Minor League May attendance: 78,127
- Tampa Bay Minor League attendance per game: 1,474 (53 games)
Comparing May 2016 with previous years
The following chart compares May 2016 average attendance to other recent years.
The average May 2016 attendance was 44.78% better (5,523 fans per game) than the May 2015 per game average. May 2016 was the highest average May attendance since 2011.
Weekdays vs Weekends
Let’s now look at the Rays May attendance on weekdays (Mon-Thurs) and weekends (Fri-Sun). As I have pointed out many times, 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 May since 2007.
In 2016, the Rays stopped a 6-year slide in May average weekday attendance. Average weekday attendance was its highest in four years.
The following chart shows Rays average weekend attendance in May since 2007.
May 2016 weekend average attendance also saw a large increase in attendance over May 2015 average attendance. May 2016 weekend average attendance was similar to 2013, 2011, and 2008 May weekend average.
While there was an attendance increase in both average weekend and average weekday, the biggest driver of the overall May average increase was the fact that the Rays only played 4 weekday games in May, as compared to 7 weekend games.
Not only was there only 11 total games - possibly increasing demand - but there was also a lopsided amount of games in which the Rays traditionally draw well.
- 2016 May weekend games (average attendance): 7 games (20,594)
- 2016 May weekday games (average attendance): 4 games (13,074)
- Percentage increase on weekends: 57.5%
Conclusion
An increase in average attendance in May 2016 is a good sign. Since 2007, May has been the Rays worst month for average attendance. It was the worst month in 2007, 2008, 2013, and 2015. It has never been their best month for average attendance. So an increase in May might indicate increased interest in buying Rays tickets.
However, we can't look too much into the 2016 May average increase due to the steep disparity in weekend to weekday games. By the end of the season, weekend and weekday games are usually close to even (appx 40 weekday/40 weekend). So the Rays have to make those weekday games up eventually. Hopefully for the Rays, those games will be made up in months with higher average attendance such as July or August.
Also surprising in May 2016 was that there was no Rays game played on the same day as a Tampa Bay Lightning playoff game. In 2015, there were four dates in which both the Rays and Lightning played on the same day. Average attendance for those games was 10,268, far below the Rays average attendance. So the lack of competition might have helped in 2016.
May is also traditionally the best month for Minor League baseball in the Tampa Bay area. Since 2007, May has either been the best or the second-best month for MiLB average attendance. Regional Florida State League attendance drops considerably in June, which may be to the Rays advantage. Possible reasons for the MiLB decrease are kids are out of school so parents can make the longer drive to Tropicana Field as compared to the shorter drive to their neighborhood minor league stadium and the change in weather from mild to hot and humid.
There are some very good promotional dates in June, to include Top Off The Trop/FSU Day (June 18) and Star Wars Day (June 11). We will see if the Rays can keep their attendance increase going.