Can SunTrust Park keep up Braves’ attendance surge?
The Braves' attendance increased last year, as usually happens for an MLB team in its first season in a new stadium. But this year the Braves will try to avoid another trend: a falloff in attendance in a stadium's second season.
Before the Braves, 14 MLB teams had opened new stadiums since 2000. Eleven of the 14 teams enjoyed attendance increases in the first year. But 12 of the 14 posted attendance declines in the second year.
An analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows attendance increased by an average of 28 percent for teams in their first year in new stadiums since 2000, then dropped an average of 12.5 percent from those elevated levels one year later. | Read more on Braves attendance in myAJC
About the Author
Tim Tucker, a long-time AJC sports reporter, often writes about the business side of the games. He also had stints as the AJC's Braves beat writer, UGA beat writer, sports notes columnist and executive sports editor. He was deputy managing editor of America's first all-sports newspaper, The National Sports Daily.
