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Cardinals attendance slips as MLB numbers rise for 4th straight season

Major League Baseball attendance rose for the fourth straight year to 71.75 million, reaching its highest total since 2017, with a boost from the Tampa Bay Rays’ return to Tropicana Field.

Teams averaged 29,589 for 2,425 dates, a 0.4% increase from 29,471 last year. MLB attendance has risen in four straight seasons for the first time since 2004-07.

Thirteen teams had increases and 17 dropped. The two-time World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers led the sport with a team-record 4,034,219, an average of 49,805.

Tampa Bay had the biggest increase, up 628,255 to 1,414,975 as the Rays won the AL East for the first time since 2021. The Rays spent 2025 at Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees’ spring training ballpark, while damage to their stadium from Hurricane Milton was repaired. Steinbrenner Field’s capacity for the Rays was 10,046, and they drew up to 28,055 this year at the Trop.

Five clubs topped 3 million, down from six last year and matching 2024. There were eight in 2023, including the St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals notched a slight decline in attendance this year, their 4th straight reduction. After drawing 3.2 million in 2023, St. Louis slipped to 2.8 million in 2024, 2.25 million in 2025, and 2.23 million this season.

The Chicago Cubs pulled in 3.02 million fans last season, and 2.97 million in 2026.

The Chicago White Sox, who earned an AL wild card this year by finishing with an 84-78 record following three straight 100-loss seasons, rose 540,687 to 1,986,425.

Toronto, coming off an AL pennant in 2025, increased 488,943 to 3,338,878, and Seattle, which came within one win of reaching its first World Series in 2025, rose 345,745 to 2,883,798.

The New York Mets, who entered the season with the sport’s highest payroll, had the biggest decline, a 472,450 drop to 2,712,120. The Mets had a 12-game losing streak in April and finished last in the NL East for the first time since 2003.

Houston fell 255,759 to 2,472,118 despite winning the AL West title — with an 81-81 record that was the poorest for a first-place team. Kansas City dropped 221,703 to 1,527,098 and Arizona, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Colorado and Philadelphia all experienced decreases of 100,000 to 200,000.

The Athletics, based for a second season at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, before a planned move to a new Las Vegas ballpark in 2028, drew a major league-low attendance of 799,240 and average of 9,867. They played six games at Las Vegas Ballpark, another minor league stadium, and averaged 9,983 in West Sacramento and 8,451 in Las Vegas.

(AP Photo Chris O'Meara)
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