With the temperature balmy but bearable and a pleasant breeze wafting in from center field, Saturday Aug. 13 was a great night for baseball at Coolray Field.
The Gwinnett Braves, taking on the Pawtucket Red Sox, were two games out of first place. Playoff tickets would go on sale the following Monday. If fans needed an extra incentive, rehabbing Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann was behind the plate.
Still, nearly one out of every four seats was empty.
On average, less than half of Coolray’s 10,427 seats are filled when the Gwinnett Braves play at home in Lawrenceville.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. A consultant’s study used by county officials to justify spending $64 million on the stadium said Gwinnett’s demographics and economy made it “one of the strongest markets in the country to support a minor league baseball team.” Conventions, Sports & Leisure International estimated the team would average 6,000 to 6,500 fans a game after an initial “honeymoon” period in which attendance might be higher.
In 2009 the team drew an average of 5,858 fans a game – up from 4,455 the previous year when the team played in Richmond, Va.
But the average fell to 4,818 last year and has rebounded slightly to 5,084 this year, with just two home games left.
The Gwinnett Braves rank 24th out of 30 AAA teams in average attendance this year.
The team’s poor showing has implications for Gwinnett taxpayers. The county gets $1 for every ticket sold and half the net parking proceeds – money it uses to help repay $33 million borrowed to build the stadium.
Parking revenue last year was half of the $200,000 the county originally projected in 2008, while ticket revenue was near the $400,000 annual minimum guaranteed in Gwinnett’s contract with the Braves.
Gwinnett plans to use hotel-motel tax revenue to make debt payments on the stadium, the AJC has learned. (For an in-depth look at the financing of the stadium, pick up a copy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution or log on to the paper's iPad app. Subscribe today.)
Gwinnett Braves General Manager North Johnson blames the poor economy. He said many season ticket holders didn’t renew after 2009.
“We thought (the poor economy) was at its height then,” Johnson said. “It seems we’re still waiting for that final straw to drop.”
Johnson cited other factors as well.
While some AAA teams play in the downtowns of large cities, Gwinnett’s population of 805,321 is dispersed. Gwinnett residents have more entertainment options than some teams in smaller markets -- one of them being the big league Atlanta Braves just 38 miles from Coolray Field, Johnson said.
The Atlanta Braves own the Gwinnett club, and Johnson said the organization benefits no matter which team fans pay to see. But in April, he told the trade publication Baseball America the Gwinnett Braves needed to see a 15 to 20 percent increase in attendance this year or “we have to go back to the drawing board.”
Johnson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the team is not meeting its budget but is making money. He declined to provide additional details.
To boost attendance, Johnson said the team is seeking non-baseball events to draw people to the stadium. It has offered more substantial incentive packages for season ticket holders. It also might offer discounted tickets earlier in the season or on weekdays.
Single-game tickets cost $6 to $35. Season tickets for 2012 range from $432 to $2,500. In 2009 the team charged $500 for the cheapest season ticket.
“We may have to look at what we’re doing from top to bottom,” Johnson said.
The Braves need more fans like Jimmy Fincher of Jefferson, who watched the home team beat Pawtucket 4-2 on the recent Saturday evening.
Fincher catches about eight Gwinnett Braves games a year. He likes Coolray Field, and it’s closer to his Jackson County home than Turner Field.
“Any time we come here we have a good time,” Fincher said. “I’m not sure why more people don’t come.”
About the Author
