Before Spring Training officially begins on Feb. 22 for the Chicago Cubs, as they go up against the Oakland Athletics, it isn’t too late to examine the recent decline in total tickets sold at Wrigley Field.
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According to Baseball Reference, attendance at Wrigley Field was at it’s peak back in 2008, when a total of 3,300,200 tickets were sold.
In 2008, most baseball fans believed that was the year the Billy Goat Curse would be broken. So it only makes sense that the attendance at Wrigley Field was at its highest in team history.
Being optimistic that the team would have learned and gained experience through a Division Series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks the year prior, the Cubs finished the season with a 97-64 record–which gave the team home field advantage in the playoffs.
Team confidence was also at an all-time high due to their loaded pitching staff with players like Carlos Zambrano and Kerry Wood.
The Cubs went on to get swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers and their success only declined from there–along with their ticket sales.
On July 6, 2009, the Ricketts family officially reached an agreement to purchase the Cubs. This was a huge turning point for the franchise but things would get worse before they got better.
In 2013, attendance was at its lowest. With 2,642,682 tickets being sold across 81 home games.
Eventually the investment would pay off for the Ricketts family. Tickets would only increase from there on out.
With the momentous signing of Theo Epstein in 2016. He led the charge in key decisions that would transform the team to a perennial powerhouse.
With the key additions of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Jon Lester to name a few, team success would follow and so too the fans.
In 2016, fans returned to Wrigley in full force, with a total of 3,232,420 tickets sold–falling sightly short to the amount of tickets sold back in 2008. However, fans were rewarded that year when the Chicago Cubs officially broke the curse. Winning three straight games to beat the Cleveland Indians in a best of 7 series.
Since then, tickets are back on the decline. In 2019, 3,094,865 tickets were sold.
Early round exits along with not making the playoffs in 2019 can contribute to this decline.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Wrigley Field has also gone through a renumbering process towards every seat in the ballpark as well as added clubs.
Although the total number of seats are lower now, the new renovations have certainly brought in more revenue.
Only time will tell if this recent decline is significant. But are there any more underlying reasons for why this is the case? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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