Cardinals fail to reach 3 million fans for the first time in 18 years

The St. Louis Cardinals drew a total of 2,869,783 fans this year to Busch Stadium in 80 games. That's the first time in 18 years that the organization failed to sell more than three million tickets in a season excluding 2020 and 2021, two years in which COVID restrictions were still in place.

The DeWitt family and John Mozeliak used that three million mark as a barometer for organizational strength for nearly two decades now, but it has come tumbling down in 2024.

Following the worst season in organizational history in 30 years, it was expected that attendance would drop in 2024. However, there was hope that free agent signings of Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson would placate the fanbase enough to surge up in attendance. Instead of seeing a boost this year, attendance dropped off by nearly 400,000 fans from 2023.

There are many reasons why fans didn't buy more tickets or show up to games this year. The front office has lacked transparency in recent years with the direction of the franchise, there has been a heavy reliance on legacy players these past few seasons to draw fans, back-to-back years of missing the playoffs have drained fan excitement, and young players haven't been given a fair shot at the majors very often recently.

Brooke Grimsley and Derrick Goold discussed fan apathy on Goold's podcast, Best Podcast in Baseball, recently. The two posited that apathy, not frustration or anger, is what has caused fan interest and attendance to plummet this year. Anger draws attention; apathy takes that focus away.

While the tickets sold total still places St. Louis in the top seven in all of baseball, it was obvious that in-game attendance was down this year, especially after the trade deadline Fans grew weary of supporting an ownership group that has been stingy at times and frustrating at others. Additionally, many fans became bothered by various decisions of the front office, including extending manager Oli Marmol and giving consistent playing time to lesser players.

I'm not sure what management and ownership can do to bring fans back to Busch Stadium in 2025. Perhaps leaning into the youth movement will help, but in the end, winning is the best medicine for a listless fanbase.