Is Kansas City no longer a baseball town? (Cleveland: home, layoffs)

[kcmo]

I have always been a huge KC Royals fan, but one thing that has always bothered me is attendance at Kauffman stadium. I have always made excuses and defended KC's low attendance, but I'm running out of excuses.

KC is a smaller market.

So is Milwaukee, Cincy etc.

KC has had a terrible team. Actually, the last few years, KC has been right about the middle of the pack.

But even so just about every team is outdrawing KC.

There are only three teams with worse attendance than KC. Cleveland, Tampa and Chicago Sox.

The main reason I ask is because Baltimore had similar attendance problems a few years ago. They started to compete a little, basically hovering around 500, just like the Royals, and now average 30k a game.

KC's team performance and the size of the KC market is very similar to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, yet,
KC averages barely 20k a game.

Pittsburgh 26k, Cincy 29k, Milwaukee 32k. KC is almost 50% less than these cities which I would consider very similar to KC with generations of fans, around 2.5 - 3 million people (regional market) and an average team.

Is it not possible for KC to average 26-32k a game? 30k would be right about the middle of the pack for attendance. It would be nice if the fans started showing up again.

[CrownVic95]

KC truly is a smaller market, though. Because it doesn't have near the population to draw from that Cincy and Milwaukee have within a hundred mile radius. And in a smaller market, you have to win to draw big.

Secondly, IMHO, the Royals have a long tradition of playing boring baseball. Even when they were competing at or near the top from the mid-70s to mid 80s, they played boring baseball....i.e. lots of focus on sacrifice bunts and very little on the long ball. I said it at the time and it's still true - that '85 team was the weakest series winner in the history of MLB.

Granted, I haven't watched the Royals play very often in recent years. But if they weren't still playing boring baseball, that record wouldn't be as dismal.

It was a huge mistake to build Royals Stadium with outfield dimensions geared for small ball. I know they moved the fences in a little for a few years, but apparently now they're back longer than ever in the power alleys.

[jonsereed]

Baseball is one slow and boring sport to begin with, it goes to show how KC's residents are more discriminate than those other towns about where they spend their free time and money.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by jonsereed

Baseball is one slow and boring sport to begin with, it goes to show how KC's residents are more discriminate than those other towns about where they spend their free time and money.

There is certainly some food for thought there as well.

[xenokc]

Royals attendance has increased each year for last 4 years, which is not bad for a sub-par team.

2010-Present Ballpark Attendance Figures, Ballparks of Baseball

While obviously much larger markets and higher avgs, Yankees, Mets, Cubs, White Sox and several others have shrunk last few years. Many (most?) teams have generally lower attendance this decade than last or flat, except those that have new stadium or consistently best teams. It's attributed to large screen TVs and cheaper beer at home.

Not sure why Royals are being singled out. Yeah, it's one of smallest market teams. It will of course have among lowest avg attendance.

KC has always been more of a football town and is now probably top 3 soccer town. KC is very fortunate to have MLB for its size.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by CrownVic95

KC truly is a smaller market, though. Because it doesn't have near the population to draw from that Cincy and Milwaukee have within a hundred mile radius. And in a smaller market, you have to win to draw big.

Actually, Kansas City probably has more potential population-wise than Milwaukee. It's a tad bigger and has more in the way of large cities near it that aren't tied to anything like Omaha, Wichita, Topeka, etc. Even Tulsa and Des Moines might contribute more fans if the Royals were good. Fast-growing Northwest Arkansas is home to the Royal's AA team, so there's that. Milwaukee has the state of Wisconsin behind it, but even then, those in southeast Wisconsin are the most likely to attend games.
If the Royals were consistently good, they could draw from a handful of surrounding states. Kansas City also has a bit more to offer in the way of touristy stuff for those travelling from out of town for a game.

As for KC being a baseball town, I really want it to be, but I'm not so sure it is anymore. It's just one of those towns that requires winning big to get support. Notice the Chiefs in the 90's. There's not much "I love the Royals because they're Kansas City's team" sentiment. Civic pride is a huge problem there. Not only do people complain about KC too much (guilty here), but they actually mean it. In the minds of many (but not all) who were born and raised there, just about everywhere else is better. That might explain the relatively large number of Raiders and Broncos "fans" (or at least paraphernalia) in KC. They can be downright anti- where they're from.

I also lived in Milwaukee for a while where the difference is night and day. Expecting to see similar apathy towards the Brewers, it was refreshing and a little shocking to see the support they have. People there had general complaints about Wisconsin, but it was their home and they were proud of everything local.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by jonsereed

Baseball is one slow and boring sport to begin with,

That's been an argument for as long as I can remember, and yet the popularity of baseball has gone up-and down-and up in my lifetime.
Baseball is at once relaxing, laid back, and terribly exciting. It's certainly a sport that requires the spectator to pay attention and think.
Baseball is like a dialogue-heavy indie movie with suspenseful and engaging plot, whereas football, NASCAR, UFC, ect. are like an action movie in which explosions and crashes are the main draw. Sure they sell lot's of tickets, but there will always be an audience for something that requires a bit more involvement from the spectator.

[The Grim Reaper]

I think a lot has to do with the Glass family. They are hated in Kansas City and intentionally torpedoed the franchise before they bought it. Almost 20 years of losing baseball (which for the most part has been intentional) will do that. That being said I am a huge Royals fan and won't ever turn on them. But, I don't blame younger people if they aren't Royals fans.

[xenokc]

Again, Royals attendance has increased over the last few years. Overall, MLB is drawing less this decade than last. Not sure what 'kcmo's intent is as he's being misleading, granted, probably not intentional. But there's nothing new about Royals having one of smallest markets so don't understand purpose of thread.

2010-Present Ballpark Attendance Figures, Ballparks of Baseball

[northbound74]

There are markets that are a bit smaller who give much more support to their teams. Milwaukee does it without a downtown stadium and without stuff nearby to walk to other than a few suburban style shopping centers. To be fair, MKE is probably an extreme example of homerism.
People in KC as a whole generally aren't always the best to get out and support local things to do. Especially if there's a stigma attached to it like losing, bad ownership, or choking in the playoffs like the Chiefs.
I don't know if it's changed or not, but a few years ago the National WW1 museum had very little local traffic coming through. I've actually heard people tell out of town visitors to skip the local zoo and drive all the way to Omaha even when they were being asked specifically about KC's zoo. Stuff like that.
KC needs to accept that it's cool and not be ashamed of itself. The amenities it has are just as good as anywhere else, overall.
A ballgame is a ballgame regardless of where you are. For most fans, the atmosphere of a ballpark is often enough to draw them there whether the team is in the hunt for the playoffs or not.