After One Start in 2010, Cliff Lee is Already Talking Free Agency
May 3, 2010The LeBron James vs. Paul Pierce Rivalry
May 3, 2010A month into the season, the Cleveland Indians are ranked dead last in average attendance – 30th out of a possible 30 teams with an average attendance of 15,197. It is startling to see them listed behind clubs such as Oakland, Florida, Pittsburgh, and Washington. Only Toronto has a lower average percentage of capacity at 30%, with the Tribe averaging 35% capacity. The Indians have only played 9 home games so far, tied for the fewest in MLB, and had a fairly decent April, weather-wise, when they were in town. It is unlikely they will hold in 30th position throughout the season with current figures based on such a small sample size. In the second game of the season against Texas, however, the Tribe set a single-game attendance record low in the 16 year history of Jacobs/Progressive field with an announced figure of 10,071. In addition to Cleveland, Toronto, Washington, and Baltimore have also set single-game ballpark record lows.
With the Cavs success, weak economy, and the fire sale of recognizable names leading to low expectations, the Indians have been unable to get any traction with the NE Ohio fanbase. It’s fairly obvious that the reason for these low numbers have little to do with the functionality and ambiance of the ballpark. Yet an article in the New York Times cited the Indians as one of several MLB clubs looking to update and renovate their park, in addition to the sparsely attended aforementioned Camden yards:
Ever-escalating payrolls have also forced teams to squeeze as many dollars as they can out of their suites, club seats, signage, concession stands, parking lots and even bathrooms. It can be tough to maintain the old-time feel that parks like Camden Yards evoke while generating enough money to pay players their multimillion-dollar salaries…
The Orioles are not the only team thinking about makeovers. The Cleveland Indians, who opened Progressive Field in 1994 (it was Jacobs Field then), are among the 10 teams looking at ways to revive their parks, said Earl Santee, a senior principal at Populous, the architectural firm that designed Camden Yards, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Coors Field and other retro stadiums.
Seats, scoreboards and suites have a natural life, he said. The most recent ballparks are putting an emphasis on premium seats with access to exclusive restaurants, as well as food courts for fans sitting elsewhere. Camden Yards may need to reflect that.
Vince, over at Scene/‘64 and Counting, wrote about the recent minor updates and the need for further refinements on Friday:
All those suites, once filled with economically well-off Clevelanders (yes, they once existed), are empty now, and there’s little to no chance the Tribe will be selling any more during the season than they have already.
Other differences are minor and have been unfolding over time: new sponsors in new locations (the Walgreen’s sign on the left-field foul pole), the all-you-can-eat seats, the new Social Media deck, etc.
Jacobs Field is now 16-years-old, which isn’t ancient by any means, but an age when some updating needs to be done, especially in an economic climate when no one’s got money for the $7000 suites, when your team sucks and isn’t drawing like it used to, and the team is trying to milk every penny it can from those that do want to come to ballgames still.
The Times article emphasizes the careful tact required to update ballparks, such as Camden and Jacobs, which set the standard for the new wave of MLB stadiums over the past 20 years. Attendance figures aside, these fans tend to have a strong sense of nostalgia and loyalty to the parks as they were originally constructed so any updates will be done with subtlety. Camden Yards is looking to update its concession stands/menus and re-thinking the space currently used for club levels and suites. The tinkering with Progressive Field will most likely be along these lines.
In recent years, we have seen Jacobs/Progressive field constantly evolve as the club tries to market the park itself in the absence of talent. A most notable addition includes the new and impressive scoreboards displayed around the park. One major area of emphasis has been the various social spots throughout the stadium – the Party Deck, the Social Media Deck, and the Batter’s Eye bar where those more interested in their alcohol than the pitch count tend to migrate. As Vince noted in his piece, and I recognized myself for the first time this weekend, they have converted a suite down the right field line into the “Fan Cave.”
The economics of baseball have changed drastically since the park opened in 1994 and attendance figures have plummeted with the team’s success. After setting a then record of 455 consecutive sellouts in the 90’s, the Indians have ranked in the bottom third of the league in average attendance every year since 2003. Barring unexpected on-field success, this season’s figures look to be particularly bleak. While improving the team is the priority, the organization continues to look at ways to update and improve the ballpark.
29 Comments
It’s a shame to see what has happened with attendance, but it is simply the Dolans reaping what they sow at this point. I have long thought the Jake to be one of the best parks in baseball (having visited about half of the current ones in MLB), and have found that sentiment echoed by friends who count themselves fans of teams like the Yanks, Cubs, Cards, etc.–fans who hold their home parks in high esteem. Living in Tampa now and having to endure the majority of games I see each year in the Trop (absoultely awful, for those who don’t know), I have come to appreciate the Jake even more. It is just unfortunate that ownership cannot and will not (and it’s a combination–the MLB salary system is a travesty, but the Dolans are also tightwads)put together a team on a consistent basis that is worthy of such a park.
renovations wont get me to the jake
new owners and spending reasonable cash to acquire players will get me to about 20-30 games a year.
If you win they will come, just ask Dan Gilbert.
Small changes and updates are fine. As you correctly pointed out though, Progressive/Jacobs Field is not the problem. It is a great stadium.
The two main problems are on field product and economic conditions.
The Cavs success and the fact that Cleveland really is a football town are the secondary problems made bigger by the economic conditions. If you have a set amount of money and have to choose between Cleveland’s three teams – the Indians are the thrid choice right now.
Honestly, I understand the Dolans obviously cannot afford to spend like the Yankees or Red Sox, I really do. But if they and the other small market owners refuse to speak up and work to try and reform this sport, then I have absolutely no sympathy at all for them.
The poor really outnumber the rich few teams that prey off of the Indians and their ilk, but until the mid and small market owners are prepared to feud with the goliaths, I’ll continue to ignore baseball.
Sometimes I think Cleveland sports fans are a little slow to arrive at the party. Wasn’t this year the first time the Cavs sold out an entire season? And they’ve been a playoff team for 5 years. The Indians will have to put together a string of winning seasons to bring fans back. One successful season (2007) surrounded by 4 or 5 awful ones won’t do the trick.
“In recent years, we have seen Jacobs/Progressive field constantly evolve as the club tries to market the park itself in the absence of talent.”
And that right there sounds like enough to bring in a couple thousand fans…over the course of the entire season.
If I want to experience a fun day at a ballpark without truly caring about the team, which is what this is, I’ll pay a couple bucks to catch a Durham Bulls game (here) or a Clippers game (when I’m visiting family). Going to see baseball, any baseball, is why most people go to minor league games. If I’m going to spend more than that, and the team is one I care about, I want to see some semblance of quality in the organization, and that’s it – no part of this organization is above average. Update the ownership, then update the ballpark.
Renovation #1 should be renaming Jacobs Field, Jacobs Field. Then the on the field product needs improvement more than anything, i dont understand why that concept is so hard to understand for the cheap dolans
We have a baseball team?
Yeah, they have uniforms and everything. It’s great.
Really, in the absence of a winning team and to a lesser extent, a brand name player or three, all the renovations in the world won’t help them get attendance just on its own.
Now, a brand new stadium (which we don’t need) might get some initial big attendance spikes for curiosity’s sake. But renovations? No one cares about those if the team won’t win!
@ Chris above makes some good points. Too many people stretch it too far one way and act like the Dolans WANT to lose or don’t want to spend money because of inherent cheapness. It’s not quite that simple. Chris is right, until the mid-level small market team ownership makes a push to change the ludicrous financial structure of the MLB, things will never change for the better for any extended period of time absent luck/great farm development.
Every dollar considered for stadium renovation should be put into the payroll to inch the team ever so slightly closer to the AL-average.
@7 Alex… I am the exact same way. I live close to Toledo and use to drive to catch a handful of Tribe games a year. But in the last couple years I have switched and am just catching some MudHens games instead. If I can watch the same quality of baseball close to home as the Indians, I will save some time and money and go to Toledo. Get some talent back in Cleveland and I will be happy to start making the drive again.
People on here still railing against Dolan, huh? I think you all need to read Posnanski’s article on economic disparities in baseball.
Stop throwing the Dolans under the bus. The sport is broken, not our owners. I don’t blame them one iota for not wanting to frivilously burn their money just to lose to one of two teams every year. Baseball sucks.
Remember in the 90s when the Indians were good enough to have bandwagon fans? That was awesome. I caught a guy wearing a Tribe cap in southwest Virginia who had zero ties to the city and no reason to root for them other than their winning record. Those were the days.
Everybody here is dead on… you have to spend money to make money in this game. Put together a team that can win 85-90 games, and the fans will come back. Nobody is coming out to the game because they might add a new food court.
I’LL RAIL WHERE I WANT TO!!!
But seriously, winning cures a lot of these issues. I used to hit multiple games a year, then it went to one or two, last season it was one, and I probably won’t go at all this year.
Regardless of where you want to point the finger, no one cares to see a terrible and terribly unexciting baseball team play.
MAKE MONEY MONEY MAKE MONEY MONEY MONAAAYYYY
Didn’t Dibiasi go on Rizzo’s show and complain to the fans about the poor Dolans losing $10 million last year?
How then can they afford to update one of the newest parks in the majors, yet can’t keep one of two Cy Youngs?
This makes me want to go to a game even less.
more like “no progress(ive) field” am i right, guys?
I don’t get why people think that the owners are not trying to reform the game. Wasn’t it just a few weeks back that they were discussing getting into the Yankees’ and Red Sox’s division and guaranteeing no more playoffs ever, to at least get those teams’ road crowds?
If the team apologized for the Victor Martinez trade, I would have bought my season ticket package again this year. The exact moment when they lost my money was when I saw Victor crying on TV after he got traded.
I don’t care about resigning the CY Young winners (as bad as that was). It really bothered my that they traded V-mart.
@14 & 15, agree that the financial structure sucks. However, if the Dolan’s and the other small market owners don’t band together and stand up to the large market ones, then revenue sharing like the other pro leagues will never occur. The Yanks and Sox can’t play each other 162 times, the big guys need the little guys. The real fight should be between these 2 groups and not the players and onwers.
Having said al that, if our front office knew what it was doing they could have signed CC for the money they paid Hafner & Wood, and with him as our ace, we would still be repsectable.
@23 – and whose money would they have used for Lee and Martinez?
There was an interesting chart in the latest ESPN magazine with the average highest and lowest salaries in the four major sports. Baseball (no salary cap) and basketball (pretty strong cap) were similar.
Big market owners and the MLBPA fail to realize that parity is ultimately good for the sport. Like Posnanski pointed out in his article, revenue drives salaries. I would add that parity drives revenue. Instead of having 20 million fans in NY, Chicago, and LA who are always interested, and the rest of the country apathetic, they could have 200 million fans whose team has a chance, or a prayer, or something to look forward to each year.
Remember how much fun it was when the Indians slowly got the core of Lofton, Belle, Nagy and Baerga together? Remember when we heard about Manny, the big prospect, and he hit two homers and a double in his debut? Now, I don’t even care anymore. We lost Colon, Sabathia, Lee and Martinez when they still could have put us over the top, because we can’t even afford the old John Hart lock-them-up-early-for-less contracts.
Stadium Renovations…wow…talk about missing the point. There’s nothing more to say here that hasn’t already been said, except that I really feel that baseball could be in BIG trouble over the next decade.
It’s simple economics. Why own a baseball team if you can’t make money?
I would rather watch Grady Sizemore strike out on my 57”hdtv. Oh wait I don’t even do that.
The economy is such an easy excuse. The Indians have lost Sabathia, Lee, and Martinez in the last few years, and I haven’t seen one player they got that has done anything.
And even if these players amount to anything, who cares – they will just be traded for three more players who might be good…
MLB is broke. When they fix it – I will come back. Right now if the Indians are good in August, I will go to the games and that is it. I don’t feel bad for it.
@7: Bulls games are great. And, they are letting active duty military in for free ALL SEASON!!! Needless to say, I’ll be over there quite a bit this May and June…only a 15 minute drive from Chapel Hill. Too bad I won’t see the Clips come to town…
Sure the Dolans are cheap, but the bigger issue is that mid to small market ownership hasn’t spoken up regarding these issues. I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but until actions are taken I could care less about the MLB. I used to attend 10-20 games a year, but now most of my money goes towards the Lake Erie Crushers. The worst part is that I’m struggling to get excited about young prospects ie. Carlos Santana cause in a couple years he’ll be in a Yankees/Red Sox uniform.
I know I’m a little late to the party on this post… but thought I’d mention something. Just got back last night from a baseball trip. I took my family to Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh to see games… 3 cities in 3 days.
So we were at Wednesday’s Mets vs. Indians game. Couple of things to compare our experience to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh:
Price. The Cleveland tickets were the most expensive. We spent $40 per ticket in Cleveland. That was for a Lower Box (past first base towards right field). So we spent $120 for our family of 3 for seats that were so-so. Contrast that with Cincinnati where we were closer to the field (but still past the base) on a 2 for Tuesday and got 4 tickets for $44 total… $11 each (and that guaranteed us an empty seat next to us). Or contrast with Pittsburgh where we were in the equivalent of the $60 section at Progressive and we paid only $22 per seat.
Cleveland is the only 1 of the 3 parks that won’t let a bottle of water into the park. Very cheap.
Cleveland is the last to open their gates (obviously saving money on hours the help has to be there. Cincinnati was much earlier).
Fans. To have nearly 1/3 of the fans at the game as Mets fans… pretty sad. Understandable, I guess (even my son was wearing his Mets gear since he’s a Francoeur fan), but still, pretty telling. Compare that to Pittsburgh where they were playing the White Sox and had less than 10% of the fans be Sox fans. Pittsburgh seems to have a healthier home fan base (if that’s any indication).
Suite levels… so Progressive has 3 suite level looking things… and just the over-priced lower levels and then the upper level for the “common” folk. Doesn’t seem very “progressive”.
2 things that Cleveland seemed better than the others… parking… that was easy… and we could walk from the garage straight into the stadium and it was easy to find. And souvenirs… got a good deal on some nice looking hats (not just the ugly ones were on sale). But again, if nobody is coming… then duh! I guess you need a sale.
It’s sad to me, though. My family (for 6+ past generations) is from the Cleveland area. My dad’s first game as a kid was at the old ball park. Seems like the team and the fans and park are reflective of the city’s woes right now. A real identity crisis.
As for the baseball play… I agree, you have to have a plan other than to try to squeeze money out of the deal. You can’t be cheap about building a team and also expect big buck tickets to be sold. Pittsburgh seems to be trying a lot harder to build a good atmosphere at the park despite having a low budget team.