Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Phillies have nine games left to play at Citizens Bank Park this season. They have let their fans down as they have had their second struggling season in a row. Now with the season coming to an end they are trying to fill the seats.
The Phillies used to be top in attendance. Games were always sold out, Citizens Bank was the place to be during the summer. Now everyone is focused on the Philadelphia Eagles season or counting down until hockey begins, forgetting the Phillies are still playing. Having a partial season ticket plan, I’ve experienced this first hand. Giving away tickets was more difficult than it has ever been.
The Phillies are seventh in attendance for all of Major League Baseball. The average attendance per game is 37,772. That may seem like a number not to be concerned about, but the number used to be much higher. The season after winning the World Series the Phillies were third in attendance. They had an average of 44,453 fans per game. Just last season they were the top team in attendance. It sure is a drastic drop and seems that every game the crowd continues to get smaller.
These next nine games the Phillies are trying different promotions to get fans to the game. Tomorrow night they will host their first ever “Bark in the Park.” Dogs are invited to come and enjoy the game. This is a good promotion, although only 50 tickets are to be sold and it costs more than a regular ticket. I believe it would work better if all fans were included because who wants to spend $20 more on a ticket? It should also include tickets already purchased.
The Phillies are also celebrating their German Heritage Night. If you buy tickets through the Phillies website you could get a free beer stein. It makes sense as they are trying to get people to come out and have a good night.
The Phillies will hopefully improve their attendance next season, and that will happen if the team gets better and is consistently winning. The Phillies have a lot of work to do, but they can certainly do it.
Rebekah is a Philadelphia Phillies writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow her on Twitter and Google+
