As I have said before, April and May are among the best attended months for Tampa Bay minor league teams. The weather in Tampa Bay is optimal for outside baseball - it is not yet too hot and humid.
Here are the average April attendance for each of the four area Minor League teams from 2007 to 2017. Also listed is the Rays April average and the total amount of Minor League games played in the area that year.
The bottom rows of this chart depict the difference between April 2016 and April 2017. While the Rays and Clearwater Threshers increased, the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Marauders saw significant decreases April over April.
The following graph shows the April average attendance for the four Minor League teams since 2007.
Here we see the Threshers above and beyond the other three teams. The Yankees and Marauders are too far distance-wise from the Threshers for us to estimate any correlation. Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin however is only 10 minutes from Clearwater, so it is possible an increase in Threshers attendance could cause a decrease in Blue Jays attendance.
We will now look at each individual team and their April averages since 2007.
Clearwater Threshers
The following graph shows Threshers April attendance since 2007:
Since 2013, Threshers April attendance has increased by over 1,000 fans per game.
Here are the Threshers attendance numbers and percentage increase or decrease since 2007.
Tampa Yankees
The following graph shows the Yankees April average attendance since 2007:
Since 2012, Tampa Yankees April average attendance has declined 810 fans per game. The following are the Yankees attendance numbers and percentage increase or decrease since 2007.
Bradenton Marauders
The following graph shows the Marauders April average attendance since 2010:
Since 2015, Bradenton Marauders April average attendance has declined 540 fans per game, to a similar level they saw in 2012-2014. The following are the Marauders attendance numbers and percentage increase or decrease since 2010.
Dunedin Blue Jays
The following graph shows the Dunedin Blue Jays April average attendance since 2007:
In 2017, the Dunedin Blue Jays had their worst April average attendance since 2007. The following are the Dunedin Blue Jays attendance numbers and percentage increase or decrease since 2007.
Conclusion
Before we judge each team's attendance in 2017 based on April, we have figure where April usually stands in regards to each team's monthly ranking.
- For the Threshers, April is usually their third busiest month.
- For the Yankees, April has been their third busiest month.
- For the Marauders, April is their fourth busiest month.
- For the Blue Jays, April is typically their 2nd best month for attendance.
We will continue to post Tampa Bay area Minor League attendance trends as the season continues.