Region Field (Birmingham, Jacksonville, Jackson: 2014, stats, office)

[MinivanDriver]

It really does beg the question. Given that our average attendance puts us into the middle rank of AAA teams, why wouldn't we try to make that move? I remember that Birmingham was in the hunt in the late 80s when there was going to be expansion, but the nod went to Ottawa and some other city.

[bfmx1]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

Don't get me wrong. Birmingham's numbers utterly outstrip the rest of the Southern League. Thus far, the closest competitor we have in attendance is in Jacksonville, with 60,000 fewer butts in seats, averaging 800+ fewer fans per game. The first column, in case you're wondering, is attendance last night. The second column is season attendance, the third column is the number of games, and the last column is average per game.


Biloxi Shuckers 0 120,322 47 2,560
Birmingham Barons 0 314,318 53 5,931
Chattanooga Lookouts 0 172,902 52 3,325
Jackson Generals 0 83,891 52 1,613
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 0 254,445 50 5,089
Mississippi Braves 0 128,630 56 2,297
Mobile BayBears 511 58,281 50 1,166
Montgomery Biscuits 2,177 189,894 54 3,517
Pensacola Blue Wahoos 0 226,187 52 4,350
Tennessee Smokies 0 242,168 51 4,748

Mobile's dropoff is understandable given how they're moving to Huntsville next year. People in Mobile are pretty ticked about the move.

That's very encouraging. I would like to know how these numbers compare to when it was in Hoover.
Glad to see it's doing so well and it's a testament to the city doing a good job keeping people interested in something going on downtown. Hence the changes being made.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by bfmx1

That's very encouraging. I would like to know how these numbers compare to when it was in Hoover.
Glad to see it's doing so well and it's a testament to the city doing a good job keeping people interested in something going on downtown. Hence the changes being made.

They fell within a range that is considerably lower than Regions Field, even though these were still good numbers for the Southern League.

2012 -- 204,269 / 3,004
2011 -- 261,623 / 3,847
2010 -- 275,887 / 4,180
2009 -- 287,185 / 4,418
2008 -- 308,979 / 4,496
2007 -- 280,171 / 4,002

In 2012, I think attendance fell off the map because the Barons were moving. In truth, the Hoover Met sucked monkey balls as a location. It wasn't easy to reach, there was one way in and one way out, and the ticket buyers were almost exclusively suburban families. Plus it was a major pain to leave after a game because of the inevitable traffic jam.

Regions Field was pretty much destined to be a stone-cold cinch to be a success, except to the doubting nitwits who always seem to thrive in our city. It is centrally located to everyone, not just people in Hoover. It was easy to reach with fewer traffic issues. It is a nicer stadium. And there are other amenities in the area such as Railroad Park and Good People Brewing.

[RocketDawg]

6000 is really good for minor leagues, but the Barons have been around a long time and as far as I know, have always had good attendance, even before Hoover. There's no reason it won't keep up.

Minor league teams have to continually have promotion nights to get people, and especially kids, to come. But I think the best one was by the Biscuits a couple of weeks ago when they had Millenial Night. That was solid gold.

Do they count tickets sold or actual butts in the seat? I know football will report tickets sold, and not real attendance. I've been to several games that were sellouts, but there were plenty of vacant seats around.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

6000 is really good for minor leagues, but the Barons have been around a long time and as far as I know, have always had good attendance, even before Hoover. There's no reason it won't keep up.

Minor league teams have to continually have promotion nights to get people, and especially kids, to come. But I think the best one was by the Biscuits a couple of weeks ago when they had Millenial Night. That was solid gold.

Do they count tickets sold or actual butts in the seat? I know football will report tickets sold, and not real attendance. I've been to several games that were sellouts, but there were plenty of vacant seats around.

The only thing that really matters is revenue.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

The only thing that really matters is revenue.

Quite true.

I remember in the '80s, when the Stars were a fairly new team, they'd sometimes outdraw the Braves in Atlanta. Then the Braves started winning.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

Quite true.

I remember in the '80s, when the Stars were a fairly new team, they'd sometimes outdraw the Braves in Atlanta. Then the Braves started winning.

Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire tend to help attendance.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire tend to help attendance.

Yes, they did. Especially Canseco. He soon became well-known for home runs over the center field fence. He was known locally as Parkway Jose. McGuire, not so much while he was here, but her certainly because well-known, thanks in part to chemical help. Jose probably did too. His brother, Ozzie, was also here but never really reached expectations, which of course were stellar because of his name.

I think there were several reasons for the demise of the Stars. They let the stadium get run down (was billed as the best in the Southern League when it was opened), people got bored, and fans never really latched onto the Brewers. For some reason, Oakland seemed to be the team the fans wanted. Possibly one reason was that they let the better players stay here longer than the Brewers did.

It'll be interesting to see how the new team pans out. I'm not necessarily optimistic, but then I think of the fact that the population is about twice the it was back then, and the local fans are "new". Most weren't really around when the Stars were in their heyday. The new stadium will be fairly accessible to everybody in the area too.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

I think there were several reasons for the demise of the Stars.

It's because they did away with Thirsty Thursday. Mainly because a friend of mine (I don't like claiming him) heckled the players so badly he had to be escorted out. Surely it had nothing to do with the cheap beer.

[steveklein]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

It's because they did away with Thirsty Thursday. Mainly because a friend of mine (I don't like claiming him) heckled the players so badly he had to be escorted out. Surely it had nothing to do with the cheap beer.

Wait, really? I have been to Thirsty Thursdays this season and was contemplating going tonight, weather permitting.