The Texas Rangers were nice to the Toronto Blue Jays today:
Fans were dots in a sea of empty green seats. Whole sections went unused.
The Ranges saw the problems of a a day game in 96-degree weather during the school year coming. They offered discounted tickets that amounted to $7 a seat. It didn’t help much.
There is no rule in the MLB’s collective bargaining agreement forcing this game to be a day game. According to Rangers spokesman John Blake, the Blue Jays requested the game be held during the day because they have to travel to Toronto and open a three-game series with the Tigers in Toronto on Friday.
The Rangers accommodated them, like they do with other teams, in hopes that favor will be returned in the future.
Road teams that want a getaway day when the home team doesn’t need it should really pay. The Rangers gave up a whole lot of attendance for a favor.
Remember, many years ago the Athletics gave up their rights to San Jose as a favor to the Giants to help keep that team in San Francisco. Today’s Giants won’t return the favor to keep Oakland in the Bay area.
At least the Rangers won 4-1.
Actually actions by ownership have driven down attendance for three years. If the game had been tonight the paid would have increased by about 2500 and the turnstile by about 3-3500. With the seats going for $7 each not much lost revenue there; most of those fans park in private lots, so not much lost there, and food purchases of $100000 (around $30-35 per person), would result in maybe another $18,000 for the team. so the loss would be maybe $40,000 or so. Texas owners are clueless regarding fan relations, especially relations with season ticket holders. “It’s the principle of the thing,” so says Ray Davis, owner. Cheapskate.
I think attendance revenues are not as important as they once were. Much smaller piece of the overall revenue pie now, which is probably why MLB is considering fewer games in the regular season.
Tuesday: 22,227
Wednesday: 20,572
Thursday: 17,884
Seems like losing, then getting their asses kicked had something to do with the declining attendence. Not them doing the Jays a “favour”.
No one in their right mind wants to sit outside in the Texas summer heat and roast. It used to be the Rangers never played day games after May. Even Sundays were night games. I’m not sure why that changed, but it was a bad move, almost as bad as not making the Ballpark in Arlington a retractable roof stadium.