MLB shatters attendance record total surpasses 79.5 million

Major
League Baseball announced that the 2007 regular season has closed with a
record attendance total of 79,502,524, breaking the overall single-season
record for the fourth consecutive year. This season’s average attendance of
32,785 is the highest in baseball history. Last year’s overall record of
76,042,787 (averaging 31,423) had been surpassed during games played on Sunday,
Sept. 23. Overall, attendance increased 4.5 percent over the 2006 season.

“The
immensity of this record is staggering, and it serves as a perfect illustration
of the passion and excitement for the game that exists across the entire Major
League Baseball landscape,” Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig
said. “Our sport has reached heights that were unimaginable only a few
years ago. By any measure, this is truly a golden age for Major League
Baseball. I thank baseball fans everywhere, and I share their enthusiasm for
another memorable October.”

The large
increase in attendance can be attributed to increased competitive balance
throughout Major League Baseball brought on by the economic reforms of the last
decade. For only the second time in history, all teams’ winning percentages are
within the .600 to .400 range. The 2007 season marks the first year since 1988
in which no division winner has repeated. Only one of the eight postseason
teams will be making a second straight postseason appearance.

Year

# of Repeat Postseason / Teams

2007

1 – (NYY)

2006

3 – (

STL,

SD, NYY)

2005

6 – (ATL, STL, HOU, NYY, LAA, BOS)

2004

4 – (ATL, NYY, MIN, BOS)

2003

5 – (ATL, SF, NYY, MIN, OAK)

2002

5 – (ATL, STL, ARI, NYY, OAK)

2001

5 – (ATL, STL, NYY, SEA, OAK)

2000

3 – (ATL, NYM, NYY)

1999

6 – (ATL, HOU, NYY,

CLE,

TEX,
BOS)

1998

4 – (ATL, HOU, NYY, CLE)

1997

4 – (ATL, BAL, CLE, NYY)

1996

4 – (

ATL,

LA, NYY, CLE)

Five of
the 15 highest single-day attendances in history occurred in 2007, including
the most prolific day ever – July 28th, when 717,478 fans attended the 17 games
throughout MLB, averaging 42,205 per game.

LARGEST
ATTENDANCE DAYS IN HISTORY

Date

Attendance

Games

Average

1. July
28, 2007

717,478

17

42,205

2. July 3,
1999

640,412

17

37,671

3. July
21, 2007

639,628

16

39,977

4. Aug.
19, 2000

634,220

15

42,281

5. Aug.
14, 1999

632,652

15

42,177

6. July
28, 2001

617,518

17

36,325

7. June
10, 2000

612,500

16

38,281

8. July 8,
2000

612,177

16

38,261

9.

Aug. 4, 2001

611,880

16

38,243

10. Aug.
11, 2007

611,296

15

40,753

11. Sept.
15, 2007

607,083

16

37,943

12. June
27, 2004

607,007

16

37,938

13. Oct.
2, 2004

604,406

16

37,775

14. July
17, 1993

603,167

14

43,083

15. Aug.
18, 2007

602,039

15

40,136

Highlights among the 30 Clubs
included the following:

Twenty-three
of the thirty Major League Clubs showed an increase over a year ago.

Eight
Clubs – the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers,
Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals –
set overall single-season franchise records.

Ten Clubs drew more than three million fans, 16 Clubs drew more than 2.5
million and 24 eclipsed two million.

Six clubs averaged more than 40,000 per game, while 12 averaged more than
35,000 per game.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, who led the National League in attendance for the
fourth consecutive season, set a franchise record for single-season attendance,
topping 3.8 million for the first time with 3,857,036. Their total was the
fifth-highest in National League history and the highest in the league since
1997. It marked the eighth straight season in which the club’s attendance
surpassed the previous season’s total.

The Detroit Tigers drew a franchise-record 3,047,133, passing the three million
mark for the first time ever. In addition, the Tigers have now exceeded two
million fans in each of the last three seasons for the first time in club
history.

The New York Yankees again established a new American League and franchise
record by attracting 4,271,083 fans, averaging 52,729 per game at Yankee
Stadium.

The St. Louis Cardinals established a franchise record for single-season
attendance with 3,552,180, surpassing their previous high (set in 2005). The
Cardinals sold out all 81 home games. The 2007 season was the 11th in which the
Cardinals have surpassed three million. They have now drawn more than three
million in four consecutive seasons and in nine of their past 10 seasons.

The Chicago Cubs set a single-season attendance record with 3,252,462 fans,
soaring past the previous mark (set in 2004). It is the largest single-season
attendance mark for any franchise or venue in the history of the city of

Chicago. The Cubs have
now surpassed three million fans in home attendance in each of the last four
seasons, beginning in 2004, when the club reached the milestone for the first
time.

The Boston Red Sox set a club record for an eighth straight season with
2,970,755 fans, selling out each of their 81 home games. The Red Sox have now
hosted 388 consecutive sellouts at

Fenway

Park.

The New
York Mets set a franchise record with 3,853,937 fans. The Mets drew 38 crowds
of more than 50,000.

The Milwaukee Brewers set a club record with 2,869,144 fans, surpassing the
previous record set in 2001 (the inaugural season of

Miller

Park)
and averaging 35,422 per game.

Milwaukee
also set a record with 31 sellouts.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim finished with a home attendance of 3,365,632,
marking the fifth straight season that the club has eclipsed the three million
mark. The Angels averaged 41,551 fans per game.

The San Francisco Giants reached the three million mark (3,223,215) for the
eighth straight season since opening

AT&T

Park in 2000. The Giants
are just the fourth team in Major League history to accomplish that feat,
joining

Colorado
(1993-2001), the Dodgers (1996-present) and the Yankees (2000-present).

With 3,020,405 fans, the Houston Astros have now drawn more than three million
in three of the last four years. The club has now reached the three million
mark in four of its eight seasons at

Minute

Maid

Park
and at least 2.8 million fans in six of the eight seasons at

Minute

Maid

Park. Since the opening
of the ballpark in 2000, the Astros have averaged over 35,000 fans per game for
the history of the facility.

The total of 2,296,383 is the third highest single-season total in Minnesota
Twins’ history. This marks the ninth time in the Twins’ 47 years that the team
has drawn more than two million fans in a season. This is also the first time
since 1991-1993 that the team has drawn two million-plus fans in three
consecutive seasons.

The San Diego Padres drew 2,790,074 fans this season, the third highest
single-season mark in franchise history.

San
Diego sold out 15 games in 2007, compared to six
sellouts in 2006. This season marks the sixth time in franchise history the
team has sold more than 2.5 million tickets.

The Atlanta Braves saw an attendance increase for the third straight season
and, with 2,745,207 fans, topped the 2.7 million mark for the first time since
2001.

The Yankees and Mets combined to draw 8,125,038, the Dodgers and Angels
combined to draw 7,222,668 and the Cubs and White Sox combined to draw
5,936,857.

In
addition, MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, established a
new online ticketing record for the seventh consecutive year as it has sold
nearly 27 million tickets – through Sept. 30 – on behalf of the 30 Major League
Clubs at MLB.com and the individual club sites.

Like Major
League Baseball, Minor League Baseball also set an attendance record for a
fourth straight year, closing the 2007 season with 42,812,812. Between the two
organizations, more than 122 million fans attended baseball games in 2007.

Password must contain the following:

A lowercase letter

A capital (uppercase) letter

A number

Minimum 8 characters

;
SVGLogoHR_NOTAG-200

The Latest in Sports Video Production & Technology
in Your Inbox for FREE

Daily Email Newsletters Monday - Friday