The Cardinals are bleeding red from self-inflicted wounds

The St. Louis Cardinals, long considered to have one of the most robust and loyal fan bases in MLB, have lost any claim they may have had to that reputation in just a few short years. 

From 1998 until last year, the home attendance was over three million each year, except for three years: 2020 and 2021, the COVID years, and 2003, which missed by mere 89.6 thousand. 

This year, the Cardinals rank 13th in attendance per game. As recently as 2023, they ranked 4th. What should be more troubling to the Cardinals is the year-to-year shift in attendance. This year, after 42 home games, they are down 6,393 fans per game, which is a 21 percent decrease. This is on top of last year's 15% decline. Only the Tampa Bay Rays, who lost their home field to a hurricane, have a larger drop in attendance. 

The attendance in 2023 was 40,013 per game. This year is 29,997 per game. I will save you the trouble of reaching for a calculator. That is 10,016 per game. This is not real attendance, but tickets sold. The pictures of empty seats show a lot more fans not bothering to go to the games. To give this a bit of historical perspective, this equals a season total of 2.4 million for the year. That would be the lowest total since 1995, 30 years ago. 

Attendance continues to be a major issue for the Cardinals in 2025.

What has caused this? In 2022, the Cardinals had five players go to the All-Star Game. In 2023 and 2024, they had one, and that was only because MLB rules demand one player from each team. Star players might help. 

The cost to go to a game now makes it almost impossible to take a family of four to a game for less than $250.  

The Cardinals' goal of just making the playoffs has worn thin. It’s not enough anymore. After all those years of making the playoffs, the fans have realized they haven’t won a playoff series since 2019. 

It’s not just the home attendance that is suffering. In 2022, the Cardinal TV ratings came in at 7.3. Last year was 5.2, and this year barely a blip at 3.9. 

Fans are telling the Cardinals that they are not happy. 

Katie Woo had this statement in an article. “It’s a revenue game,” DeWitt Jr. said, “If you have more revenue, you have an opportunity to spend more money.” Is it possible that the fans are letting him know he got this backward?

Yahoo calculated the median price of a Cardinals ticket at $83. The 430,000 fewer tickets sold from last year would be approximately $37 million. The Cardinals are not just losing on ticket sales; that amount doesn’t include merchandise, concessions, etc., which probably doubles the price of the ticket. 

If the Cardinals had spent $30 million more, is it possible they wouldn’t be losing all this revenue?

Maybe next year, DeWitt should say, “If we spend more money, we might see more revenue.” Something to think about.