Busch Stadium attendance remains low despite Cardinals' strong start to season

Opening Day in St. Louis is a holiday for the city. Hall of Famers are in attendance along with the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. Busch Stadium is in tip-top shape, and current players are often treated to ovations from tens of thousands of fans.

For years now, the St. Louis Cardinals have boasted a full stadium on Opening Day. That tradition rang true once again on Opening Day 2025. 47,395 fans came out to Busch Stadium for Opening Day on Thursday, March 27th. This comes on the heels of back-to-back absences in the postseason in 2023 and 2024 and an underwhelming offseason, to say the least.

However, these downfalls didn't dissuade fans from attending Opening Day at Busch Stadium.

That total falls just shy of the 2023 home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays which had 47,649 fans in attendance, the highest figure since 2015. The Cardinals' 47,395 fans in 2025 is the fifth-highest total attendance figure in the last decade on Opening Day.

Despite high attendance on Opening Day, St. Louis Cardinals fans still showed frustration with their attendance throughout first weekend of the series.

The attendance at the next two games on Saturday and Sunday afternoon had attendance figures of just 30,712 and 26,923, respectively. This is a significant drop from the nearly 47,500 fans who showed up on Opening Day. The home opener series total of 105,030 fans is the lowest total since 2004 when Busch Stadium II hosted just 96,603 in the first home series of the year against the Milwaukee Brewers.

It was expected throughout the offseason that fans would avoid going to games this year to send a message of frustration to the front office and ownership group of the DeWitt family. After years of limited postseason success paired with consecutive seasons that ended without a postseason appearance, fan frustration and apathy reached new levels in 2024.

It's also important to note that there was a chance for rain both Saturday and Sunday, and that could have driven away fans to a certain extent, albeit not by the thousands. Secondary market ticket prices are also soaring across all entertainment markets, and that could dissuade some fans from going. No longer can a family of four attend a game at Busch for less than $40 on tickets alone. As of first pitch for Sunday's game, tickets on SeatGeek, a third-party vendor, started at $18 including fees. Let's not even mention the exorbitant prices of parking, food, and drinks at the ballpark.

For the first time in 18 years, fewer than three million fans showed up to Busch Stadium last year. It's looking like the Cardinals will once again fall below the illustrious three million fan mark in 2025 barring drastic improvements on the team.

There are a few ways ownership and the Cardinals as a whole can rejuvenate the fan base. The front office took the first step when they promoted Victor Scott II after a torrid spring and fielded one of the youngest starting lineups in four decades. This youth movement has been a long time coming, and it seems to be here already.

The best medicine for an apathetic fan base would be winning. If the Cardinals can prove that what they're doing this year — a youth movement paired with being competitive — can work, then fans will return to Busch Stadium once again. Racking up wins will go a long way toward rejuvenating fans.

Lower attendance rates affect the bottom line for not only the DeWitt family but also local businesses.

Local businesses, including Paddy O's, Ballpark Village, and The Midwestern, have been affected negatively by lower fan attendance at Busch Stadium. Opening Day meant hundreds of local fans attended their restaurants, but this hasn't been the case for these businesses of late.

Karen Boschert, a vendor outside of Busch Stadium for over 26 years, sees this effect of low attendance firsthand. "All of us businesses down here are feeling the effect of what's happening with the team. We're losing money. We're continuing to do it because we have faith that the Cardinals will come back. I love being the hot dog lady. It’s getting harder and harder to set up. I’ve cut my staff down. My prices are reasonable. You can take my food into the stadium.”

The Cardinals and Ballpark Village are working earnestly to bring fans back. Boosting fan engagement through theme nights including Star Wars night and Barbie Night and post-game concerts featuring Cole Swindell and Flo Rida. The Savannah Bananas will also play on April 4th and April 5th at Busch Stadium.

It seems as though St. Louis Cardinals fans are putting their money where their mouths are this year when it comes to attendance at Busch Stadium. It's only been three games, but attendance is already down from the last few years at Busch.