Advertisement

Cardinals' lack of attendance leaves Bill DeWitt III with nothing to chuckle about

Recent attendance records give Cardinals' President nothing to chuckle about.
Mack Baltes
Mack Baltes

Redbird Rants

Aug 24, 2019; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals chairman Bill Dewitt III. looks on during a ceremony prior to the start of a game against the Colorado Rockies during an MLB Players' Weekend game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are struggling this season, and fans are fed up. Another mediocre season in 2025 is giving the front office something new to worry about. What was once known as one of the strongest fan bases in all of baseball, Cardinals fans have made it a point to boycott Cardinals games until the team undergoes needed changes. St. Louis, on pace for their lowest attendance in the last 30 seasons, currently sits 19th in attendance records.

This comes after team president Bill DeWitt III’s distasteful comments in the offseason. DeWitt III said, “The thing I chuckle about is when I see sometimes comments, We got to not show up to send a message that (the performance this season) isn’t acceptable to the owners.” Although the Cardinals did finish above .500 last year, DeWitt III’s comments came off a bit too smug, seemingly reveling in the fact that Cardinals fans wouldn’t go on an attendance strike. This self-satisfied comment may have been made, seeing that the team placed fourth in attendance in 2023, despite finishing last in their division. After dropping from seventh in attendance in 2024 to 19th thus far in 2025, DeWitt III has no reason to chuckle.

Cardinals' president Bill DeWitt III should have nothing to chuckle about after fans boycott Busch Stadium in 2025

Therefore, the Cardinals' front office should feel pressured headed into 2026. It is apparent that fans are unable to accept the team’s trajectory at the moment, and Cardinals’ owners should prepare for another season of poor attendance if the right moves aren’t made in order to compete. The appointment of Chaim Bloom should help this fact; however, if he is not given spending power, the Redbirds' rebuild could take a lot longer. And who knows what fans will do then.

When the team is in contention, fans have been known to show up in full force at Busch Stadium. In their last playoff season in 2022, St. Louis finished second in attendance, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hopefully for both sides, the Cardinals organization will turn things around sooner rather than later.

Mack Baltes

Mack Baltes

Mack Baltes is a contributor to Redbirds Rants, writing on all things St. Louis Cardinals. Mack specializes in written MLB and NBA content, but also has experience in covering the NFL, PGA Tour, English Premier League, and NASCAR Cup Series. With a Communications degree from UNC Charlotte, Baltes began pursuing a career as a sports writer in 2024, also having written for Enforce The Sport. He has been a dedicated sports aficionado since 2014 and in his free time enjoys being around family and friends.