Minor League Baseball attendance on the rise

In a press release issued to the media this morning, Minor League Baseball (headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida), announced that attendance in April, 2017 was 5.3 percent higher than it was in April, 2016. Attendance across all leagues was 6,090,368.

"Minor League Baseball clubs have put a great deal of effort into creating some great promotions to draw fans to the ballpark early in the season, and the six million fans who visited our ballparks last month are a testament to that," said Minor League Baseball President & CEO Pat O'Conner. "Again, this year, our clubs have done a nice job of keeping their prices at a point where Minor League Baseball games are one of the more affordable family entertainment options around."

Notable success stories include the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Miami Marlins affiliate) of the Double-A Southern League, who experienced a 73 percent increase in average April attendance over 2016, and the Columbia Fireflies (New York Mets affiliate) of the Low-A South Atlantic League, who posted a 36 percent increase in average April attendance.