Arizona State baseball attendance trending upward in 2022 season
Arizona State baseball has been in the middle of the pack in the Pac-12 this season, but attendance at Phoenix Municipal Stadium isn’t reflecting that.
For the first time since before the pandemic shut down the 2020 season, ASU is back to having full capacity crowds at games. During the 2019 season, ASU drew an average of 3,008 fans through 33 games and totaled 99,267 people.
The allowance of fans this season added in with the postponement of spring training due to the MLB lockout causing baseball fans to look for other options.
Aside from perennial top-five Oklahoma State coming in for a two-game weekday slate, the strength of schedule wasn’t evident in the first month of the season during the MLB lockout.
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However, attendance jumped up to 6,207 people on a Friday night vs. University of San Francisco on March 11. Through the 25 games recorded through April 20, Phoenix Municipal Stadium on average is filled to 64.11 percent capacity.
The Pac-12 schedule hasn’t been chocked with the top four programs either with ASU going on the road to face Arizona, Stanford, UCLA and Oregon State this season. But ASU still manages to outdraw larger crowds than the rest of the Pac-12 with an accumulated attendance of 84,945, good for 14th in the country. Oregon State just edges ASU in average attendance with 3,429 compared with ASU’s 3,398.
In comparison to another team at ASU, men’s basketball drew an average of 7,973 people through 15 games and was at 56.16 percent capacity. The Sun Devils were ranked 51st in the country with an accumulated number of 119,596 tickets.
Another addition to this season was the promotions offered from a Dustin Pedroia bobblehead to trading cards, along with theme days ranging from honoring youth baseball teams to celebrating past decades.
ASU has been up and down this season with a 20-22 record, but has maintained a winning record at home at 15-11 on the season.
The Sun Devils are close to reaching and surpassing a 12-year-old school record of an average of 3,506 set during the 2010 season at Packard Stadium. The feat would be remarkable for ASU this season as Packard Stadium hosted five postseason games in 2010 before heading to Omaha for a College World Series appearance.
ASU will have six games left at Phoenix Municipal Stadium with a weekend series against Utah on May 6-8 and a series against Oregon on May 13-15. The Pac-12 Baseball Tournament on May 25-29 will be held at Scottsdale Stadium.
Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com or 602-647-4122. Follow her on Twitter @jennarortiz.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State baseball attendance trending upward in 2022 season
