Baseball Pilgrimages
Baseball Pilgrimages

2017 Attendance
2017 Attendance Recap
Major League Baseball
Spring Training
Minor Leagues
Independent Leagues


Attendance by League
Appalachian League
California League
Carolina League
Eastern League
Florida State League
International League
Midwest League
New York-Penn League
Northwest League
Pacific Coast League
Pioneer League
South Atlantic League
Southern League
Texas League


Top Draws in 2017
Victory Field
By averaging 9,159 fans per home date, the Indianapolis Indians at Victory Field were the top drawing team in all of minor league baseball. Indianapolis was also #1 in Triple-A, while the Frisco RoughRiders at Dr Pepper Ballpark averaged 6,812 to be the top drawing Double-A team. At the Single-A level, the Dayton Dragons' average of 8,038 at Fifth Third Field was easily the best for the classification. For short-season teams, the 6,303 average drawn by the Vancouver Canadians, the only minor league team located outside of the US, at Nat Bailey Stadium lead the way.


The Box Office Busts of 2017
Hank Aaron Stadium
The smallest typical crowd at a minor league ballpark was 517, which is what the Class A Buies Creek Astros averaged at Jim Perry Stadium, a collegiate venue that served its first of two seasons as the team's temporary home in 2017. For teams that play a short season of games, the Princeton Rays claimed the bottom spot by averaging 536 at Hunnicutt Field. At the Double-A classification, the Mobile BayBears, with 1,498 at Hank Aaron Stadium, had the worst average. The smallest average crowd at the Triple-A level was the 3,135 of the Gwinnett Braves at Coolray Field.


Being Average
FNB Field
The average number of tickets sold per minor league game in 2017 was 4,024. The closest a team came to that number was the Hudson Valley Renegades, who averaged 3,998 at Dutchess Stadium.


24 Got 'Em All In
Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Depending on league and level, teams have between 34 and 71 home games scheduled per season. Here's the games-by-league breakdown, with the teams listed in brackets having made it through their 2017 season with no home postponements, and thus no lost gates:

71 games
International, Pacific Coast
[Durham, Las Vegas, Reno]

70 games
California, Carolina, Eastern, Florida State, Midwest, South Atlantic, Southern, Texas
[Cedar Rapids, Inland Empire, Lancaster, Modesto, Quad Cities, Rancho Cucamonga, Visalia]

38 games
New York-Penn, Northwest, Pioneer
[Billings, Boise, Eugene, Everett, Great Falls, Helena, Hillsboro, Idaho Falls, Missoula, Ogden, Salem-Keizer, State College, Tri-City (WA), Vancouver]

34 games
Appalachian
[none]


Games/Gates Lost
Isotopes Park in Albuquerque during a rain delay
There were 40 teams that lost at least 5 dates due to weather, most often rain, or other circumstances. In that regard, the most unfortunate team in 2017 was the Florida Fire Frogs, who lost 17 dates at Osceola County Stadium. Overall, 136 teams suffered at least one cancellation at their home ballpark.

When added up, there were 518 cancelled dates by minor league baseball's 160 teams, which had a collective 9,910 regular season games scheduled in 2017. So that means attendance was counted for 9,392 dates at ballparks used by minor league teams.

Regular season attendance for the 160 teams playing in the 14 minor leagues affiliated with major league baseball and based in the USA was 37,789,759 in 2017, when there were 9,392 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 2017 just 15% of teams had no postponements at home, and for only those 24 teams did dates equal games played.

All attendance totals and dates are from league websites. Ballpark information is from the Baseball Pilgrimages-compiled Ballpark Directory.




Triple-A
International League
6,671,670 tickets sold by 14 teams for 942 games (7,082 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Indianapolis Indians 641,141 70 9,159 Victory Field (14,230)
Charlotte Knights 628,526 69 9,109 BB&T Ballpark (10,200)
Columbus Clippers 616,059 68 9,060 Huntington Park (10,100)
Lehigh Valley IronPigs 555,146 65 8,541 Coca-Cola Park (10,100)
Buffalo Bisons 526,574 65 8,101 Coca-Cola Field (17,600)
Durham Bulls 547,841 71 7,716 Durham Bulls Athletic Park (10,000)
Toledo Mud Hens 533,014 70 7,614 Fifth Third Field (8,943)
Louisville Bats 467,024 68 6,868 Louisville Slugger Field (13,131)
Rochester Red Wings 445,581 68 6,553 Frontier Field (10,840)
Scranton/WB RailRiders 439,412 68 6,462 PNC Field (10,000)
Pawtucket Red Sox 409,960 64 6,406 McCoy Stadium (10,031)
Norfolk Tides 359,263 66 5,443 Harbor Park (11,856)
Syracuse Chiefs 292,054 63 4,636 NBT Bank Stadium (11,117)
Gwinnett Braves 210,075 67 3,135 Coolray Field (10,427)


Pacific Coast League
7,150,468 tickets sold by 16 teams for 1,093 games (6,542 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Nashville Sounds 593,679 67 8,861 First Tennessee Park (10,000)
Round Rock Express 610,681 70 8,724 Dell Diamond (10,000)
Sacramento River Cats 562,237 70 8,032 Raley Field (14,680)
Albuquerque Isotopes 542,502 68 7,978 Isotopes Park (13,279)
El Paso Chihuahuas 544,668 69 7,894 Southwest University Park (9,500)
Iowa Cubs 535,660 69 7,763 Principal Park (11,500)
Salt Lake Bees 483,202 70 6,903 Smith's Ballpark (15,334)
Oklahoma City Dodgers 444,224 68 6,533 Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (9,000)
Fresno Grizzlies 428,341 69 6,208 Chukchansi Park (12,500)
New Orleans Baby Cakes 349,883 63 5,554 Shrine on Airline (10,000)
Tacoma Rainiers 374,951 69 5,434 Cheney Stadium (9,600)
Omaha Storm Chasers 358,777 67 5,355 Werner Park (9,023)
Memphis Redbirds 350,007 69 5,073 AutoZone Park (10,000)
Las Vegas 51s 359,059 71 5,057 Cashman Field (9,334)
Reno Aces 347,502 71 4,894 Greater Nevada Field (9,013)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox 265,095 63 4,208 Security Service Field (8,400)


Double-A
Eastern League
3,723,010 tickets sold by 12 teams for 780 games (4,773 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Reading Fightin Phils 411,698 68 6,054 FirstEnergy Stadium (9,000)
Richmond Flying Squirrels 386,185 64 6,034 The Diamond (9,560)
Hartford Yard Goats 395,196 68 5,812 Dunkin' Donuts Park (8,000)
Portland Sea Dogs 356,153 63 5,653 Hadlock Field (7,368)
Akron RubberDucks 343,351 66 5,202 Canal Park (9,447)
Trenton Thunder 349,013 68 5,133 Arm & Hammer Park (6,341)
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 284,108 60 4,735 Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (7,000)
Altoona Curve 294,486 67 4,395 Peoples Natural Gas Field (7,210)
Harrisburg Senators 262,872 66 3,983 FNB Field (6,300)
Bowie Baysox 234,789 68 3,453 Prince George's Stadium (10,000)
Erie SeaWolves 214,394 64 3,350 UPMC Park (6,000)
Binghamton Rumble Ponies 190,765 58 3,289 NYSEG Stadium (6,012)


Southern League
2,339,085 tickets sold by 10 teams for 655 games (3,571 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Birmingham Barons 391,725 66 5,935 Regions Field (8,500)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 325,743 63 5,171 Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (11,000)
Tennessee Smokies 313,796 63 4,981 Smokies Stadium (6,000)
Pensacola Blue Wahoos 298,108 69 4,320 Blue Wahoos Stadium (5,038)
Montgomery Biscuits 228,376 67 3,409 Riverwalk Stadium (7,000)
Chattanooga Lookouts 209,948 66 3,181 AT&T Field (6,362)
Mississippi Braves 190,645 66 2,889 Trustmark Park (8,480)
Biloxi Shuckers 167,151 65 2,572 MGM Park (6,076)
Jackson Generals 120,695 68 1,775 The Ballpark at Jackson (6,000)
Mobile BayBears 92,898 62 1,498 Hank Aaron Stadium (6,000)


Texas League
2,727,350 tickets sold by 8 teams for 540 games (5,051 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Frisco RoughRiders 470,003 69 6,812 Dr Pepper Ballpark (10,000)
Tulsa Drillers 374,976 67 5,597 ONEOK Field (7,833)
Arkansas Travelers 328,347 66 4,975 Dickey-Stephens Park (7,000)
Corpus Christi Hooks 331,242 67 4,944 Whataburger Field (7,500)
Springfield Cardinals 331,259 69 4,801 Hammons Field (6,750)
San Antonio Missions 305,351 67 4,557 Wolff Stadium (6,200)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals 304,026 68 4,471 Arvest Ballpark (6,500)
Midland RockHounds 282,146 67 4,211 Security Bank Ballpark (6,669)


Class A
California League
1,364,374 tickets sold by 8 teams for 557 games (2,450 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Lake Elsinore Storm 199,661 69 2,894 Lake Elsinore Diamond (7,866)
Inland Empire 66ers 202,336 70 2,891 San Manuel Stadium (5,000)
Stockton Ports 184,164 69 2,669 Banner Island Ballpark (5,200)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 171,622 70 2,452 LoanMart Field (6,615)
Lancaster JetHawks 169,237 70 2,418 The Hangar (4,500)
San Jose Giants 163,373 69 2,368 Municipal Stadium (5,208)
Modesto Nuts 147,562 70 2,108 John Thurman Field (4,000)
Visalia Rawhide 126,419 70 1,806 Recreation Park (2,468)


Carolina League
2,027,878 tickets sold by 10 teams for 648 games (3,129 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Frederick Keys 303,930 63 4,824 Harry Grove Stadium (5,400)
Winston-Salem Dash 304,607 69 4,415 BB&T Ballpark (5,500)
Potomac Nationals 236,010 61 3,869 Pfitzner Stadium (6,000)
Wilmington Blue Rocks 230,677 60 3,845 Frawley Stadium (6,532)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans 233,126 65 3,587 TicketReturn.com Field (5,200)
Salem Red Sox 215,244 65 3,311 Haley Toyota Field (6,300)
Carolina Mudcats 190,420 68 2,800 Five County Stadium (6,500)
Lynchburg Hillcats 137,566 66 2,084 City Stadium (4,281)
Down East Wood Ducks 145,780 72 2,025 Grainger Stadium (4,100)
Buies Creek Astros 30,518 59   517 Jim Perry Stadium (2,000)


Florida State League
1,160,428 tickets sold by 12 teams for 763 games (1,521 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Clearwater Threshers 200,201 67 2,988 Spectrum Field (8,500)
Daytona Tortugas 136,224 66 2,064 Jackie Robinson Ballpark (4,000)
Fort Myers Miracle 121,438 60 2,024 Hammond Stadium (8,730)
St. Lucie Mets 132,359 66 2,005 First Data Field (7,160)
Charlotte Stone Crabs 120,685 63 1,916 Charlotte Sports Park (6,823)
Tampa Yankees 93,823 66 1,422 Steinbrenner Field (11,076)
Bradenton Marauders 79,331 61 1,301 LECOM Park (8,500)
Florida Fire Frogs 57,324 53 1,082 Osceola County Stadium (5,300)
Jupiter Hammerheads 69,064 66 1,046 Roger Dean Stadium (7,000)
Palm Beach Cardinals 58,832 63   934 Roger Dean Stadium (7,000)
Lakeland Flying Tigers 52,191 64   815 Joker Marchant Stadium (9,000)
Dunedin Blue Jays 38,956 68   573 Florida Auto Exchange Stadium (5,509)


Midwest League
4,087,373 tickets sold by 16 teams for 1,076 games (3,799 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Dayton Dragons 554,638 69 8,038 Fifth Third Field (7,230)
Fort Wayne TinCaps 409,253 69 5,931 Parkview Field (8,100)
Kane County Cougars 394,567 67 5,889 Northwestern Medicine Field (7,400)
West Michigan Whitecaps 383,983 69 5,565 Fifth Third Ballpark (9,684)
South Bend Cubs 354,070 67 5,285 Four Winds Field (5,000)
Lansing Lugnuts 303,843 68 4,468 Cooley Law School Stadium (11,000)
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 230,326 67 3,438 Fox Cities Stadium (5,900)
Quad Cities River Bandits 230,006 70 3,286 Modern Woodmen Park (4,024)
Lake County Captains 212,747 66 3,223 Classic Park (7,273)
Peoria Chiefs 212,659 67 3,174 Dozer Park (7,500)
Great Lakes Loons 202,433 67 3,021 Dow Diamond (5,200)
Bowling Green Hot Rods 179,839 63 2,855 Bowling Green Ballpark (4,559)
Cedar Rapids Kernels 166,427 70 2,378 Veterans Memorial Stadium (5,300)
Clinton LumberKings 121,302 66 1,838 Ashford University Field (4,000)
Burlington Bees 67,044 64 1,048 Community Field (3,200)
Beloit Snappers 64,236 67   959 Pohlman Field (3,500)


South Atlantic League
3,073,435 tickets sold by 14 teams for 917 games (3,352 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Greensboro Grasshoppers 350,743 67 5,235 First National Bank Field (7,499)
Lakewood BlueClaws 338,544 65 5,208 FirstEnergy Park (6,588)
Greenville Drive 328,222 67 4,899 Fluor Field (5,700)
Columbia Fireflies 315,034 66 4,773 Spirit Communications Park (8,000)
Charleston RiverDogs 305,622 68 4,494 Riley Park (5,800)
Lexington Legends 281,210 65 4,326 Whitaker Bank Ballpark (6,994)
Delmarva Shorebirds 207,131 64 3,236 Perdue Stadium (5,200)
Augusta GreenJackets 178,269 65 2,743 Lake Olmstead Stadium (4,322)
Asheville Tourists 184,019 68 2,706 McCormick Field (4,000)
Rome Braves 161,444 68 2,374 State Mutual Stadium (5,100)
Hickory Crawdads 136,225 64 2,129 L.P. Frans Stadium (5,062)
West Virginia Power 133,679 65 2,057 Appalachian Power Park (4,500)
Hagerstown Suns 84,181 61 1,380 Municipal Stadium (4,600)
Kannapolis Intimidators 69,112 64 1,080 Intimidators Stadium (4,700)


Short Season/Rookie
Appalachian League
354,090 tickets sold by 10 teams for 321 games (1,103 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Pulaski Yankees 77,880 33 2,360 Calfee Park (2,500)
Johnson City Cardinals 65,202 33 1,976 TVA Credit Union Ballpark (2,500)
Greeneville Astros 35,305 31 1,139 Pioneer Park (3,572)
Danville Braves 32,634 31 1,053 Legion Field (2,588)
Burlington Royals 34,483 33 1,045 Burlington Athletic Stadium (3,500)
Kingsport Mets 29,742 33   901 Hunter Wright Stadium (2,500)
Bluefield Blue Jays 21,595 31   697 Bowen Field (2,250)
Bristol Pirates 20,813 31   671 DeVault Memorial Stadium (2,000)
Elizabethton Twins 18,746 32   586 Joe O'Brien Field (1,500)
Princeton Rays 17,690 33   536 Hunnicutt Field (1,950)


New York-Penn League
1,403,575 tickets sold by 14 teams for 495 games (2,836 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Brooklyn Cyclones 186,853 36 5,190 MCU Park (7,500)
Tri-City ValleyCats 142,922 35 4,083 Bruno Stadium (5,000)
Hudson Valley Renegades 147,936 37 3,998 Dutchess Stadium (4,494)
Aberdeen IronBirds 130,823 33 3,964 Ripken Stadium (6,300)
Lowell Spinners 126,565 36 3,516 LeLacheur Park (5,000)
State College Spikes 123,401 38 3,247 Medlar Field at Lubrano Park (5,570)
Mahoning Valley Scrappers 107,894 36 2,997 Eastwood Field (6,000)
Vermont Lake Monsters 82,674 35 2,362 Centennial Field (4,415)
Connecticut Tigers 73,439 33 2,225 Dodd Stadium (6,270)
Staten Island Yankees 71,401 35 2,040 Richmond County Bank Ballpark (7,171)
West Virginia Black Bears 75,064 37 2,029 Monongalia County Ballpark (2,500)
Williamsport Crosscutters 61,082 34 1,797 Bowman Field (2,474)
Auburn Doubledays 46,132 36 1,281 Falcon Park (2,800)
Batavia Muckdogs 27,389 34   806 Dwyer Stadium (2,600)


Northwest League
1,088,981 tickets sold by 8 teams for 303 games (3,594 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Vancouver Canadians 239,527 38 6,303 Nat Bailey Stadium (6,500)
Spokane Indians 196,653 37 5,315 Avista Stadium (7,162)
Hillsboro Hops 128,416 38 3,379 Ron Tonkin Field (4,500)
Eugene Emeralds 125,297 38 3,297 PK Park (4,000)
Boise Hawks 121,455 38 3,196 Memorial Stadium (3,426)
Everett AquaSox 110,161 38 2,899 Everett Memorial Stadium (3,682)
Tri-City Dust Devils 86,461 38 2,275 Gesa Stadium (3,700)
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 81,011 38 2,132 Volcanoes Stadium (4,252)


Pioneer League
618,042 tickets sold by 8 teams for 302 games (2,046 average)
Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity)
Ogden Raptors 128,348 38 3,378 Lindquist Field (6,700)
Billings Mustangs 110,311 38 2,903 Dehler Park (3,071)
Idaho Falls Chukars 90,816 38 2,390 Melaleuca Field (3,400)
Grand Junction Rockies 79,547 37 2,150 Suplizio Field (7,014)
Missoula Osprey 71,936 38 1,893 Ogren Park Allegiance Field (3,500)
Orem Owlz 55,981 37 1,513 Home of the Owlz (4,500)
Great Falls Voyagers 47,260 38 1,244 Centene Stadium (3,200)
Helena Brewers 33,843 38   891 Kindrick Legion Field (2,100)



Home Away From Home
Holman Stadium in Vero Beach
Holman Stadium at "Historic Dodgertown" in Vero Beach has been home to an annual minor league game since 2014

Most teams play all of their home games in one ballpark, but there are annual and yearly exceptions.

For example, in 2017 the 4th annual "Jackie Robinson Celebration Game" was played at Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, FL, with the St. Lucie Mets getting to be the home team against the also visiting Florida Fire Frogs at the Dodgers' former longtime spring training site. The game had an attendance of 6,849.

Tickets sold for such "special occasion" games contribute to a team's overall home attendance figures, so St. Lucie's season totals at their normal home park, First Data Field, included the one game they hosted at Historic Dodgertown.



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