Worcester Ballpark & Redev

New England Born & Raised said:
Attendance at Polar Park is trending downward this season. The average through 41 game gates is 6,462 (total 264,942) which equates to 68% capacity of Polar Park (cap 9,508). Four admission gates were lost due to rain and snow cancellations with three of them becoming part of Polar Park one admission doubleheaders and the other game being played at the opponent. Less than 30 home games left. While attendance will pick up some in July and August, it will be extremely difficult (in excess of 92% cap required for every remaining game) to surpass the total attendance high of 532,152 set in 2022 or the average high of 7,424 recorded in 2023. It would seem the novelty of a new sports team and park may be wearing off a bit as has been the typical norm elsewhere with similar circumstances.

As a point of reference comparison, while in Pawtucket, the franchise recorded its high attendance marks in 2005 when it drew a total of 688,421 for an average of 9,561. The 2005 season was one of six years from 2001-08 at McCoy Stadium where the team averaged in excess of 9k per game.
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Speaking as a season ticket holder, the weather in the first half has been absolute shit compared to last season, even games that didn't rain out I skipped because it was cold, or just miserable out. Games I have attended when weather was nice have been packed, like the Saturday game I just went too. It's been an unfortunate weather season
 
ctsketch said:
Speaking as a season ticket holder, the weather in the first half has been absolute shit compared to last season, even games that didn't rain out I skipped because it was cold, or just miserable out. Games I have attended when weather was nice have been packed, like the Saturday game I just went too. It's been an unfortunate weather season
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The attendance for this past Saturday was only 7,135. That is almost 2,400 short of a sellout. Weekend games in July and August should be experiencing near sellouts to offset expected lower numbers on weekdays.
 
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New England Born & Raised said:
The attendance for this past Saturday was only 7,135. That is almost 2,400 short of a sellout. Weekend games in July and August should be experiencing near sellouts to offset expected lower numbers on weekdays.
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I just bought seats for Saturday's game (7/13) and it did not appear that there were that many left, at least in the infield sections. The importance of the stadium to Worcester isn't just raw numbers, but what percentage are people like me, coming from elsewhere to enjoy not just a game, but a significant part of a day in Worcester. It would be interesting to see a detailed economic impact analysis, now that we have a few years of data.
 
HenryAlan said:
I just bought seats for Saturday's game (7/13) and it did not appear that there were that many left, at least in the infield sections. The importance of the stadium to Worcester isn't just raw numbers, but what percentage are people like me, coming from elsewhere to enjoy not just a game, but a significant part of a day in Worcester. It would be interesting to see a detailed economic impact analysis, now that we have a few years of data.
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yeah I even met some out of towers in Mets gear at BTB before the game Saturday
 
Out of curiosity, just a quick question. Is attendance a turnstile count, ie actual people in seats, or is it ticket sales? Given the relative affordablility of season tickets, I can see them having sold seats that end up empty on any given game day.
 
Stlin said:
Out of curiosity, just a quick question. Is attendance a turnstile count, ie actual people in seats, or is it ticket sales? Given the relative affordablility of season tickets, I can see them having sold seats that end up empty on any given game day.
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The Telegram asked the Worcester Red Sox this question last season and the team refused comment. The paper was questioning the official announced attendance for early season games as it did not seem to reflect the actual number of people in the park. The general assumption was the number was paid attendance and not the actual turnstile count. The WooSox had been very actively touting their attendance numbers in their first three seasons up until then with references to how it ranked for the minors. Interestingly, the team seemed to stop doing this after its numbers were being questioned.

 
This source from a few weeks ago lists Worcester as having the tenth highest minor league baseball average attendance (6,405 thru the 06/09/24 home game) thus far for the 2024 season. While attendance is down overall in the minors to date, the WooSox finished sixth the previous two seasons.

www.baseballamerica.com

Minor League Baseball Attendance Down So Far In 2024

So far this season, affiliated minor league baseball average attendance is down slightly compared to 2023.
www.baseballamerica.com www.baseballamerica.com
 
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I hate what MLB did to MiLB, with the consolidation of franchises.

Personally, the Lowell Spinners were more convenient than the WooSox and I enjoy the lower minors product better than the high minors. I was looking forward to seeing more games, but the closest single A team is now the Delmarva Shorebirds.
 
RandomWalk said:
I was looking forward to seeing more games, but the closest single A team is now the Delmarva Shorebirds.
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The New England Knockouts in Brockton (Frontier League) should be roughly equivalent to class A. It's definitely not as interesting as affiliated baseball, but it's something, and certainly a lot closer than Maryland.
 
Yesterday's (Tuesday 07-09-2024) announced crowd of 4,370 certainly did not help this year's attendance. It was the 12th game of the season that had numbers in the 3-4k range in the 9,508 capacity Polar Park. That is over a 1/4 of the 42 gate events thus far.
 
I've been to a few games this year and last year. I don't think it's been sold out for any of those games but the park is always lively. It's a really nice venue and atmosphere for watching a game.

As a fan, I don't think I actually want it sold out too often either. Being able to just decide to go on a whim and grab whatever ticket is cheapest to enter is the good stuff when it comes to minor league ball. There's a comfortable middle zone of not depressingly empty and not packed every night that's the sweet spot.
 
New England Born & Raised said:
Yesterday's (Tuesday 07-09-2024) announced crowd of 4,370 certainly did not help this year's attendance. It was the 12th game of the season that had numbers in the 3-4k range in the 9,508 capacity Polar Park. That is over a 1/4 of the 42 gate events thus far.
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the severe thunderstorms in central MA may have been a factor.
 
Stlin said:
Out of curiosity, just a quick question. Is attendance a turnstile count, ie actual people in seats, or is it ticket sales? Given the relative affordablility of season tickets, I can see them having sold seats that end up empty on any given game day.
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It's def made me skip a few games
 
I'll be visiting the area in a few weeks and my friend from Milton and his family will be joining me for a game out in Worcester. Still cheaper and less of a schlep than going to Fenway...plus I really want to to see the new stadium.
 
ctsketch said:
They are waiting for an anchor tenant. They don't want to build an office building without one since Covid. Same for the office/lab across the street.

And the park is far from a disappointment! Love it! Got half season tix
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Went to the park for the first time yesterday.

I liked the inside of the park, but the exterior is awful. I get that Worcester is Massachusetts' "filing cabinet", but couldn't they at least give the exterior a bit of character?
 
MrDee12345 said:
Went to the park for the first time yesterday.

I liked the inside of the park, but the exterior is awful. I get that Worcester is Massachusetts' "filing cabinet", but couldn't they at least give the exterior a bit of character?
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They went for shipping container, being next to the railroad and all. Even the ticket booths and amenities on summit Street are shipping Contianers. They wa Ted to mix the Armory with the Port. I like it
 
ctsketch said:
They went for shipping container, being next to the railroad and all. Even the ticket booths and amenities on summit Street are shipping Contianers. They wa Ted to mix the Armory with the Port. I like it
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Yea I think it's contextually great.
 
ctsketch said:
Dang paywalls
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It’s $1 for six months. You probably just spent more than a dollar’s worth of your time clicking that link to find you couldn’t read it and then typing that complaint.
 
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