The DeWitt's won't see 3 million Cardinals fans at Busch Stadium this year

The St. Louis Cardinals and Busch Stadium have always drawn fans both near and far. For the last two decades, the organization has fielded a competitive team more often than not, and the stadium that was completed in 2006 has remained timeless in its aesthetic and design. The combination of a strong organization and a beautiful stadium has drawn in millions of fans each year.

However, for the first time since 2003, there will be fewer than three million fans at Busch Stadium. Through 64 home games this year, Busch Stadium has seen 2,337,301 fans. That ranks sixth in all of baseball with just 17 games to go. On the surface, finishing sixth in total attendance in baseball isn't something to scoff at, especially for a city that's near the bottom of the league in population.

The issue is that the Cardinals organization and the DeWitt family have become quite accustomed to hitting the illustrious three-million fan mark. The last time Busch Stadium didn't see that many fans -- excluding 2020 and 2021 which featured COVID restrictions -- was in 2003 when 2,910,386 fans attended games. Prior to 2003, the last time the organization didn't see three million fans was 1997.

Martin Kilcoyne of KSDK sat down with Bill DeWitt III and asked the team's president about the low attendance rates. Kilcoyne asked DeWitt if low attendance rates "scared" him.

I wouldn't say it scares me. We know that the best marketing is a winning team. If you are struggling on the field, you're going to struggle at the gate...We still figure to be a team that probably in the top-10 of attendance this year which is great. (It's) a tribute to our great fans after a soft year last year. We've got to do a better job of marketing and maybe making some improvements to the gameday experience.

The past week of home games has featured fewer than 30,000 purchased tickets each game, though in-game attendance pales in comparison to that figure. There are quite a few reasons as to why fan attendance is so low this year, but foremost of those reasons would be team performance. Fans don't want to see a lackluster product on the field, and the malaise of fans is evident in the lack of attendance at the games.

While the DeWitt family has been clear that the drop in attendance rates won't impact offseason spending, fans and pundits remain skeptical. If ownership wants to see fans return to the stadium, plenty of changes will have to be made this offseason.