Baseball Pilgrimages
Top Draws in 2015
By averaging 9,428 fans per home date, the Charlotte Knights at BB&T Ballpark were the top drawing team in all of minor league baseball. The Knights were also #1 in Triple-A, while the Frisco RoughRiders at Dr Pepper Ballpark averaged 6,918 to be the top drawing Double-A team. At the Single-A level, the Dayton Dragons' average of 8,212 at Fifth Third Field was easily the best for the classification. For short-season teams, the 6,234 average drawn by the Brooklyn Cyclones at MCU Park lead the way.
The Box Office Busts of 2015
The smallest typical crowd at a minor league ballpark was 637, which is what the short-season Bristol Pirates averaged at DeVault Memorial Stadium. For teams that play a full season of games, the Class A Bakersfield Blaze claimed the bottom spot by averaging 740 at Sam Lynn Ballpark. At the Double-A classification, the Mobile BayBears, with 1,553 at Hank Aaron Stadium, had the worst average. The smallest average crowd at the Triple-A level was the 3,803 of the Syracuse Chiefs at NBT Bank Stadium.
Being Average
The average number of tickets sold per minor league game in 2015 was 4,063. The closest a team came to that number was the New Britain Rock Cats, who averaged 4,051 in their final season at New Britain Stadium.
22 Got 'Em All In
Depending on league and level, teams have between 34 and 72 home games scheduled per season. Here's the games-by-league breakdown, with the teams listed in brackets having made it through their 2015 season with no home postponements, and thus no lost gates:
72 games
International, Pacific Coast
[Sacramento]
71 games
Eastern
[Bowie]
70 games
California, Carolina, Florida State, Midwest, South Atlantic, Southern, Texas
[Bakersfield, Birmingham, Dayton, Inland Empire, Midland, Modesto, San Jose, Stockton, Visalia]
38 games
New York-Penn, Northwest, Pioneer
[Boise, Eugene, Everett, Hillsboro, Ogden, Orem, Salem-Keizer, State College, Tri-City (WA)]
34 games
Appalachian
[Burlington, Pulaski]
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Regular season attendance for the 160 teams playing in the 14 minor leagues affiliated with major league baseball and based in the USA was 38,690,622 in 2015, when there were 9,523 game dates.
Listed on this page by league are the home attendance figures for all teams, which are sorted by highest to lowest average attendance within their respective leagues. As has long been custom, the numbers are based on tickets sold, so no-shows (unused tickets) are included in a team's attendance total and average.
Note that due to weather, not all teams have the same amount of home "dates," a category that is used instead of "games" since most teams are forced to play a varying number of single-admission doubleheaders to make up for games postponed by rain, etc. Doubleheaders count as one date because one ticket is sold for both games. Hence the number of dates, which is what average attendance is based on, is usually less than the number of home games played. In 2015 just 13.75% of teams had no postponements at home, and for only those 22 teams did dates equal games played.
All attendance totals and dates are from league websites. Ballpark information is from the Baseball Pilgrimages-compiled 2015 Ballpark Directory.
Triple-A
International League
6,961,610 tickets sold by 14 teams for 976 games (7,133 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Charlotte Knights | 669,398 | 71 | 9,428 | BB&T Ballpark (10,200) |
Indianapolis Indians | 662,536 | 71 | 9,331 | Victory Field (14,230) |
Columbus Clippers | 622,096 | 69 | 9,016 | Huntington Park (10,100) |
Lehigh Valley IronPigs | 613,815 | 70 | 8,769 | Coca-Cola Park (10,100) |
Buffalo Bisons | 551,303 | 67 | 8,228 | Coca-Cola Field (17,600) |
Durham Bulls | 554,788 | 71 | 7,814 | Durham Bulls Athletic Park (10,000) |
Toledo Mud Hens | 531,249 | 69 | 7,699 | Fifth Third Field (8,943) |
Louisville Bats | 527,588 | 70 | 7,537 | Louisville Slugger Field (13,131) |
Pawtucket Red Sox | 466,600 | 71 | 6,572 | McCoy Stadium (10,031) |
Rochester Red Wings | 440,360 | 70 | 6,291 | Frontier Field (10,840) |
Norfolk Tides | 386,402 | 67 | 5,767 | Harbor Park (11,856) |
Scranton/WB RailRiders | 402,731 | 70 | 5,753 | PNC Field (10,000) |
Gwinnett Braves | 270,336 | 71 | 3,808 | Coolray Field (10,427) |
Syracuse Chiefs | 262,408 | 69 | 3,803 | NBT Bank Stadium (11,117) |
Pacific Coast League
7,230,514 tickets sold by 16 teams for 1,111 games (6,508 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Sacramento River Cats | 672,354 | 72 | 9,338 | Raley Field (14,680) |
Round Rock Express | 595,012 | 69 | 8,623 | Dell Diamond (10,000) |
El Paso Chihuahuas | 578,952 | 71 | 8,154 | Southwest University Park (9,500) |
Albuquerque Isotopes | 560,519 | 70 | 8,007 | Isotopes Park (13,279) |
Nashville Sounds | 565,548 | 71 | 7,965 | First Tennessee Park (10,000) |
Iowa Cubs | 504,577 | 67 | 7,531 | Principal Park (11,500) |
Oklahoma City Dodgers | 471,996 | 68 | 6,941 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (9,000) |
Salt Lake Bees | 470,760 | 69 | 6,823 | Smith's Ballpark (15,334) |
Fresno Grizzlies | 458,431 | 71 | 6,457 | Chukchansi Park (12,500) |
Omaha Storm Chasers | 386,141 | 70 | 5,516 | Werner Park (9,023) |
Reno Aces | 376,422 | 70 | 5,377 | Aces Ballpark (9,013) |
Tacoma Rainiers | 352,521 | 71 | 4,965 | Cheney Stadium (9,600) |
Las Vegas 51s | 333,520 | 69 | 4,834 | Cashman Field (9,334) |
New Orleans Zephyrs | 324,973 | 69 | 4,710 | Zephyr Field (10,000) |
Colorado Springs Sky Sox | 300,209 | 65 | 4,619 | Security Service Field (8,400) |
Memphis Redbirds | 278,579 | 69 | 4,037 | AutoZone Park (10,000) |
Double-A
Eastern League
3,760,165 tickets sold by 12 teams for 821 games (4,580 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Richmond Flying Squirrels | 417,828 | 69 | 6,055 | The Diamond (9,560) |
Reading Fightin Phils | 417,010 | 69 | 6,044 | FirstEnergy Stadium (9,000) |
Portland Sea Dogs | 368,291 | 67 | 5,497 | Hadlock Field (7,368) |
New Hampshire Fisher Cats | 348,539 | 69 | 5,051 | Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (7,000) |
Akron RubberDucks | 340,916 | 68 | 5,013 | Canal Park (9,447) |
Trenton Thunder | 347,231 | 70 | 4,960 | Arm & Hammer Park (6,341) |
Harrisburg Senators | 301,588 | 69 | 4,371 | Metro Bank Park (6,300) |
Altoona Curve | 302,761 | 70 | 4,325 | Peoples Natural Gas Field (7,210) |
New Britain Rock Cats | 267,377 | 66 | 4,051 | New Britain Stadium (6,146) |
Bowie Baysox | 256,865 | 71 | 3,618 | Prince George's Stadium (10,000) |
Erie SeaWolves | 203,655 | 65 | 3,133 | Jerry Uht Park (6,000) |
Binghamton Mets | 188,104 | 68 | 2,766 | NYSEG Stadium (6,012) |
Southern League
2,364,879 tickets sold by 10 teams for 656 games (3,605 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Birmingham Barons | 444,639 | 70 | 6,352 | Regions Field (8,500) |
Pensacola Blue Wahoos | 305,063 | 69 | 4,421 | Pensacola Bayfront Stadium (5,038) |
Tennessee Smokies | 277,606 | 63 | 4,406 | Smokies Park (6,000) |
Jacksonville Suns | 272,422 | 66 | 4,128 | Baseball Grounds
of Jacksonville (11,000) |
Montgomery Biscuits | 232,466 | 68 | 3,419 | Riverwalk Stadium (7,000) |
Chattanooga Lookouts | 218,512 | 64 | 3,414 | AT&T Field (6,362) |
Mississippi Braves | 216,917 | 68 | 3,190 | Trustmark Park (8,480) |
Biloxi Shuckers | 164,076 | 63 | 2,604 | MGM Park (6,076) |
Jackson Generals | 136,918 | 63 | 2,173 | The Ballpark at Jackson (6,000) |
Mobile BayBears | 96,260 | 62 | 1,553 | Hank Aaron Stadium (6,000) |
Texas League
2,792,526 tickets sold by 8 teams for 539 games (5,181 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Frisco RoughRiders | 477,354 | 69 | 6,918 | Dr Pepper Ballpark (10,000) |
Tulsa Drillers | 380,759 | 65 | 5,858 | ONEOK Field (7,833) |
Corpus Christi Hooks | 362,968 | 68 | 5,338 | Whataburger Field (7,500) |
Arkansas Travelers | 337,566 | 67 | 5,038 | Dickey-Stephens Park (7,000) |
Springfield Cardinals | 337,519 | 68 | 4,964 | Hammons Field (6,750) |
San Antonio Missions | 308,564 | 67 | 4,605 | Wolff Stadium (6,200) |
Northwest Arkansas Naturals | 290,471 | 65 | 4,469 | Arvest Ballpark (6,500) |
Midland RockHounds | 297,325 | 70 | 4,248 | Security Bank Ballpark (6,669) |
Class A
California League
1,551,040 tickets sold by 10 teams for 692 games (2,241 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Lake Elsinore Storm | 213,932 | 68 | 3,146 | Lake Elsinore Diamond (7,866) |
Inland Empire 66ers | 196,962 | 70 | 2,814 | San Manuel Stadium (5,000) |
Stockton Ports | 191,611 | 70 | 2,737 | Banner Island Ballpark (5,200) |
San Jose Giants | 189,205 | 70 | 2,703 | Municipal Stadium (5,208) |
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes | 167,318 | 69 | 2,425 | LoanMart Field (6,615) |
Modesto Nuts | 166,719 | 70 | 2,382 | John Thurman Field (4,000) |
Lancaster JetHawks | 158,435 | 69 | 2,296 | The Hangar (4,500) |
Visalia Rawhide | 121,004 | 70 | 1,729 | Rawhide Ballpark (2,468) |
High Desert Mavericks | 94,065 | 66 | 1,425 | Heritage Field (3,808) |
Bakersfield Blaze | 51,789 | 70 | 740 | Sam Lynn Ballpark (2,700) |
Carolina League
1,946,768 tickets sold by 8 teams for 526 games (3,701 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Frederick Keys | 328,789 | 67 | 4,907 | Harry Grove Stadium (5,400) |
Winston-Salem Dash | 289,637 | 65 | 4,456 | BB&T Ballpark (5,500) |
Wilmington Blue Rocks | 282,437 | 68 | 4,153 | Frawley Stadium (6,532) |
Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 240,357 | 62 | 3,877 | TicketReturn.com Field (5,200) |
Potomac Nationals | 217,892 | 63 | 3,459 | Pfitzner Stadium (6,000) |
Salem Red Sox | 228,120 | 68 | 3,355 | LewisGale Field (6,300) |
Carolina Mudcats | 202,072 | 67 | 3,016 | Five County Stadium (6,500) |
Lynchburg Hillcats | 157,464 | 66 | 2,386 | City Stadium (4,281) |
Florida State League
1,172,695 tickets sold by 12 teams for 776 games (1,511 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Clearwater Threshers | 174,283 | 64 | 2,723 | Bright House Field (8,500) |
Daytona Tortugas | 137,224 | 61 | 2,250 | Jackie Robinson Ballpark (4,000) |
Fort Myers Miracle | 133,817 | 66 | 2,028 | Hammond Stadium (9,300) |
Charlotte Stone Crabs | 105,965 | 65 | 1,630 | Charlotte Sports Park (6,823) |
St. Lucie Mets | 99,044 | 66 | 1,501 | Tradition Field (7,160) |
Tampa Yankees | 92,786 | 62 | 1,497 | Steinbrenner Field (11,076) |
Bradenton Marauders | 102,914 | 69 | 1,492 | McKechnie Field (8,500) |
Brevard County Manatees | 78,373 | 63 | 1,244 | Space Coast Stadium (7,200) |
Jupiter Hammerheads | 67,194 | 65 | 1,034 | Roger Dean Stadium (7,000) |
Palm Beach Cardinals | 67,108 | 66 | 1,017 | Roger Dean Stadium (7,000) |
Lakeland Flying Tigers | 61,328 | 63 | 973 | Joker Marchant Stadium (9,000) |
Dunedin Blue Jays | 52,659 | 66 | 798 | Florida Auto Exchange
Stadium (5,509) |
Midwest League
4,233,904 tickets sold by 16 teams for 1,079 games (3,924 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Dayton Dragons | 574,830 | 70 | 8,212 | Fifth Third Field (7,230) |
Fort Wayne TinCaps | 400,036 | 67 | 5,971 | Parkview Field (8,100) |
Kane County Cougars | 408,449 | 69 | 5,920 | Fifth Third Bank Ballpark (7,400) |
West Michigan Whitecaps | 391,055 | 69 | 5,667 | Fifth Third Ballpark (9,684) |
South Bend Cubs | 347,678 | 69 | 5,039 | Four Winds Field (5,000) |
Lansing Lugnuts | 336,752 | 67 | 5,026 | Cooley Law School Stadium (11,000) |
Quad Cities River Bandits | 250,004 | 64 | 3,906 | Modern Woodmen Park (4,024) |
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers | 247,577 | 68 | 3,641 | Fox Cities Stadium (5,900) |
Great Lakes Loons | 221,749 | 66 | 3,360 | Dow Diamond (5,200) |
Peoria Chiefs | 225,089 | 67 | 3,360 | Dozer Park (7,500) |
Lake County Captains | 221,652 | 66 | 3,358 | Classic Park (7,273) |
Bowling Green Hot Rods | 200,777 | 68 | 2,953 | Bowling Green Ballpark (4,559) |
Cedar Rapids Kernels | 170,832 | 67 | 2,550 | Veterans Memorial Stadium (5,300) |
Clinton LumberKings | 105,405 | 67 | 1,573 | Ashford University Field (4,000) |
Burlington Bees | 66,867 | 67 | 998 | Community Field (3,200) |
Beloit Snappers | 65,152 | 68 | 958 | Pohlman Field (3,500) |
South Atlantic League
3,053,433 tickets sold by 14 teams for 926 games (3,297 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Lakewood BlueClaws | 388,718 | 69 | 5,634 | FirstEnergy Park (6,588) |
Greensboro Grasshoppers | 361,288 | 68 | 5,313 | NewBridge Bank Park (7,499) |
Greenville Drive | 346,828 | 68 | 5,100 | Fluor Field (5,700) |
Charleston RiverDogs | 292,661 | 67 | 4,368 | Riley Park (5,800) |
Lexington Legends | 283,873 | 65 | 4,367 | Whitaker Bank Ballpark (6,994) |
Delmarva Shorebirds | 203,520 | 63 | 3,230 | Perdue Stadium (5,200) |
Augusta GreenJackets | 174,382 | 64 | 2,725 | Lake Olmstead Stadium (4,322) |
Rome Braves | 180,191 | 67 | 2,689 | State Mutual Stadium (5,100) |
Asheville Tourists | 181,578 | 68 | 2,670 | McCormick Field (4,000) |
West Virginia Power | 160,429 | 65 | 2,468 | Appalachian Power Park (4,500) |
Hickory Crawdads | 149,963 | 68 | 2,205 | L.P. Frans Stadium (5,062) |
Kannapolis Intimidators | 135,727 | 66 | 2,056 | CMC-NorthEast Stadium (4,700) |
Savannah Sand Gnats | 125,587 | 64 | 1,962 | Grayson Stadium (4,000) |
Hagerstown Suns | 68,688 | 64 | 1,073 | Municipal Stadium (4,600) |
Short Season/Rookie
Appalachian League
347,451 tickets sold by 10 teams for 319 games (1,089 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Pulaski Yankees | 57,023 | 34 | 1,677 | Calfee Park (2,500) |
Greeneville Astros | 54,252 | 33 | 1,644 | Pioneer Park (3,572) |
Burlington Royals | 46,063 | 34 | 1,355 | Burlington Athletic Stadium (3,500) |
Johnson City Cardinals | 39,118 | 30 | 1,304 | Howard Johnson Field (2,500) |
Kingsport Mets | 31,086 | 33 | 942 | Hunter Wright Stadium (2,500) |
Danville Braves | 28,841 | 33 | 874 | Legion Field (2,588) |
Princeton Rays | 27,051 | 33 | 820 | Hunnicutt Field (1,950) |
Bluefield Blue Jays | 24,099 | 30 | 803 | Bowen Field (2,250) |
Elizabethton Twins | 22,069 | 31 | 712 | Joe O'Brien Field (1,500) |
Bristol Pirates | 17,849 | 28 | 637 | DeVault Memorial Stadium (2,000) |
New York-Penn League
1,590,750 tickets sold by 14 teams for 510 games (3,119 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Brooklyn Cyclones | 230,658 | 37 | 6,234 | MCU Park (7,500) |
Hudson Valley Renegades | 163,767 | 37 | 4,426 | Dutchess Stadium (4,494) |
Tri-City ValleyCats | 153,692 | 36 | 4,269 | Bruno Stadium (5,000) |
Aberdeen IronBirds | 151,758 | 36 | 4,216 | Ripken Stadium (6,300) |
Lowell Spinners | 140,468 | 37 | 3,796 | LeLacheur Park (5,000) |
State College Spikes | 127,775 | 38 | 3,363 | Medlar Field at Lubrano Park (5,570) |
Staten Island Yankees | 119,195 | 37 | 3,221 | Richmond County Bank Ballpark (7,171) |
Mahoning Valley Scrappers | 111,079 | 37 | 3,002 | Eastwood Field (6,000) |
Connecticut Tigers | 78,588 | 34 | 2,311 | Dodd Stadium (6,270) |
West Virginia Black Bears | 83,796 | 37 | 2,265 | Monongalia County Ballpark (2,500) |
Vermont Lake Monsters | 83,002 | 37 | 2,243 | Centennial Field (4,415) |
Williamsport Crosscutters | 64,081 | 36 | 1,780 | Bowman Field (4,200) |
Auburn Doubledays | 50,670 | 36 | 1,408 | Falcon Park (2,800) |
Batavia Muckdogs | 32,221 | 35 | 921 | Dwyer Stadium (2,600) |
Northwest League
1,051,265 tickets sold by 8 teams for 302 games (3,481 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Vancouver Canadians | 215,535 | 37 | 5,825 | Nat Bailey Stadium (6,500) |
Spokane Indians | 188,956 | 37 | 5,107 | Avista Stadium (7,162) |
Hillsboro Hops | 143,412 | 38 | 3,774 | Ron Tonkin Field (4,500) |
Eugene Emeralds | 120,931 | 38 | 3,182 | PK Park (4,000) |
Boise Hawks | 109,945 | 38 | 2,893 | Memorial Stadium (3,426) |
Everett AquaSox | 100,613 | 38 | 2,648 | Everett Memorial Stadium (3,682) |
Tri-City Dust Devils | 86,022 | 38 | 2,264 | Gesa Stadium (3,700) |
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes | 85,851 | 38 | 2,259 | Volcanoes Stadium (4,252) |
Pioneer League
633,622 tickets sold by 8 teams for 290 games (2,185 average)
Team | Total | Dates | Average | Ballpark (Capacity) |
Ogden Raptors | 125,398 | 38 | 3,300 | Lindquist Field (6,700) |
Billings Mustangs | 100,120 | 34 | 2,945 | Dehler Park (3,071) |
Idaho Falls Chukars | 90,884 | 37 | 2,456 | Melaleuca Field (3,400) |
Orem Owlz | 85,733 | 38 | 2,256 | Home of the Owlz (4,500) |
Missoula Osprey | 77,438 | 36 | 2,151 | Ogren Park Allegiance Field (3,500) |
Grand Junction Rockies | 74,794 | 35 | 2,137 | Suplizio Field (7,014) |
Great Falls Voyagers | 45,414 | 36 | 1,262 | Centene Stadium (3,200) |
Helena Brewers | 33,841 | 36 | 940 | Kindrick Legion Field (2,100) |
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Most teams play all of their home games in one ballpark, but there are annual and yearly exceptions. In 2015, the Biloxi Shuckers were forced to play their first 25 home games away from Biloxi due to construction delays at their new ballpark, and Huntsville's Joe Davis Stadium hosted 15 of them. The games in Huntsville, which included two doubleheaders, drew a total of a mere 4,192 paying customers to watch the Shuckers, who relocated to Biloxi from Huntsville after playing at Joe Davis Stadium from 1985-2014. Additional home games for Biloxi were played in Jacksonville (13,055 fans in 4 dates) and Pearl, MS (10,567 for 5 dates). As for their true home dates, the Shuckers had 41 of them at MGM Park, drawing 136,262 and averaging 3,323. Meanwhile, as has been the case since 1996, the Birmingham Barons played one game at Rickwood Field, their home ballpark from 1910-1987, while the Brevard County Manatees played one home game at Holman Stadium in Vero Beach (the Jackie Robinson Celebration Game) for the second straight season. Tickets sold for those games contributed to each team's overall home attendance figures. |
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