The talk of the early baseball season in St. Louis hasn’t necessarily been the team’s promising start, but rather the record-low attendance at Busch Stadium. After selling out on Opening Day against the Twins, attendance dwindled over the weekend and into Monday’s record-low attendance of 21,206 fans at Busch Stadium III. Despite the team’s early lead in the NL Central at 3-2, and with those two losses needing extra innings to add to the Cardinals loss column, fans have stayed home in record numbers. But why?
To any one specific individual, the answer to that question may be easy, but go to any social media site’s comment section regarding the matter and you will see that there are a variety of reasons that fans are upset and staying home, or to many, the combination of multiple factors. The most palpable reason rests in the team’s performance as a result of the management coming from the front office. After a two-year playoff drought and the team’s last place finish in the NL Central in 2023, fans began to notice the lack of aggression in the free agent market, as well as the underdevelopment of key young players at the lower levels. Pointing the finger at Cardinals President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak, and at team ownership from the DeWitt family, Cardinals fans were keen to the fact that “The Cardinal Way” wasn’t necessarily still in place with the current group in control. The Cardinals have had a top-notch farm system in recent years and have typically been aggressive in adding key pieces through free agency to the homegrown talent in order to compete for titles, but along the way, the size of the coaching staff at the lower levels had been reduced, the turnover of scouting staff became a revolving door, and free agent acquisitions had become second-tier when compared to prior years. Payroll, although still rising through increasing individual contracts, also wasn’t pacing the trend of the rest of the MLB in most cases. Fans took notice of what they saw as “mismanagement” as the team’s production began to diminish.
You could also add Cardinals Manager Oliver Marmol into the same conversation. Marmol was handed the keys to the Manager’s office in 2022 after the controversial dismissal of former Manager Mike Schildt for “philosophical differences”. This started the narrative that the front office wanted more control of on-field decisions and was essentially overmanaging the team. The fans saw Marmol as a “yes-man”, and deserving or not, became an additional target of the team’s underperformance. Marmol is the youngest Manager in the MLB and holds a mediocre record of 250-241 in his time at the helm with the Cardinals, compared to Schildt’s 252-199 record with the team.
According to the masses, another major contributor to attendance decline to begin the season has been the almighty dollar. Like most teams, ticket prices received another hike this season, with a rise of 5-9% for single-game tickets and for season ticket holders on average. The Cardinals still offer a wealth of affordable ticket promotions both for single games and for multi-game packages, but fans have been on notice of higher prices for a lesser-grade product on the field. It’s hard not to feel a bit slighted in this circumstance, but these numbers are indeed on average with the rest of Major League Baseball. That inflation also appears in the form of concession prices, parking prices, and merchandise prices in the team store, some of which are outside of the team’s control.
You can also factor in many of the early-season reasons for low attendance that we’re used to seeing. School is still in session. Historically, MLB games have lower attendance during the school months, especially for night games. The other is the weather. Some folks just won’t come out when the season is new and the weather is cold and wet, both of which have happened here early on.
The final reason that I’ve seen is disengagement from the team through the new television provider of the Cardinals, FanDuel Sports. If you still have cable, this isn’t an issue. Bally Sports Midwest Simply changed over to FanDuel Sports, and in most cases, still has the same channel number. Cardinals fans that are of the streaming type are required to pay a monthly subscription fee or an annual plan in order to watch the games. The disengagement for fans who choose not to pay for the service obviously won’t follow the team as closely, and therefore will be less likely to attend games, according to many. And speaking of the televised games, it’s noticeable that the broadcast cameras are purposely not shooting the crowd, showing off empty seats.
Whether it be the on-field product, management, or money, Cardinals fans are speaking loudly to the organization by not showing up to games, despite the announcement of the exit of John Mozeliak after the season, staff changes at the MLB level, and the hiring of additional staff at the lower levels. Changes were made in the offseason that appear to address the concerns of most fans, even to the point of the team announcing that they weren’t investing the money at the Major League level this season and that the Cardinals are “resetting” the organization. It’s not a process that Cardinals fans are used to, but it is a circumstance that the organization itself created, and the frustration is warranted in most cases. Cardinals fans will have to be patient as the reset unfolds, and if that patience continues in the form of low attendance, the Cardinals could see their lowest season in attendance since 1984. Just….don’t blame it on the players.
The Barn 