Padres attendance is down

Some 41,414 fans flocked to the ballpark yesterday to celebrate Memorial Day and cheer on their Cubbies. Only the first two games of the season against the Giants outdrew the Cubs on a holiday.

Overall though attendance is down compared to the first 24 home games of last year’s All-Star year. A decline of 10% attendance doesn’t seem so bad considering the team outwardly tanking the season in hopes of picking up a high draft pick. While that number is based on tickets sold and maybe some fudging by the team, the park has appeared far emptier than it has in the past.

For my part, I haven’t helped. I’ve only attended three games this season and they were all in early April. I need to get back out to the park at some point, but I have followed the games on radio and TV much closer than in the past several years. There might be something to watching young developing players lose over what we’ve seen in the past.

The Padres 5 Win Pass won’t be the decider for me. While it might lure some fans out to the park, it feels too much like an all-you-can-eat buffet, where you are trying to get the best value by stuffing your face with vast amounts of low quality food so you don’t feel ripped off. Frankly I don’t want to attend so many back-to-back games hoping I get to see at least 5 wins. I’d burn out on the Petco Park experience real fast by doing that.