The Braves will reach the 1 million mark in home attendance this weekend, the earliest in a season they have done so in more than two decades, as last year’s World Series championship continues to drive ticket sales.
Advance sales show the milestone will be achieved at Saturday’s 4:10 p.m. game against the Miami Marlins, according to the Braves.
A ceremonial millionth fan will be selected and honored with prizes as he or she enters Truist Park, the team said.
The Braves said they’ll reach the mark at their 27th home game of the season – the fewest home games required for the Braves to reach 1 million in home attendance since they did so in 26 games in 1999 and 27 in 2000. The Braves reached 1 million the fastest in the 1993 and 1994 seasons, doing so in their 22nd home game both years.
If measured by the calendar instead of the schedule, this weekend will be the earliest by date the Braves reach 1 million since they did so on May 23, 1998.
The Braves entered a three-game series against the Marlins on Friday with home attendance this season of 926,409. They’ll need to average at least 36,796 fans Friday and Saturday, slightly below their season average, to become the first MLB team this year to hit 1 million.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the majors in average attendance per game, have played only 20 home games, have drawn 955,324 and are on the road this weekend.
The Braves rank third among the 30 MLB teams in average attendance per home game (37,056 through Thursday), behind the Dodgers (47,766) and St. Louis Cardinals (38,086).
The Braves are on pace to top 3 million in attendance for the season for the first time since 2000. They did so in 1992 and 1993 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 at Turner Field.
MLB defines attendance as tickets sold.
World Series replica ring giveaways have provided the Braves an attendance boost this season, drawing sellout crowds of more than 41,500 for two Monday night games. That’s not typically a night of the week that draws such crowds.
The Braves have scheduled two more replica ring giveaway promotions: June 8 (a Wednesday night) against the Oakland Athletics and July 11 (a Monday night) against the New York Mets.
