SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Mets minor-league baseball club attracted over 50,000 more fans during its inaugural season as the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets than the prior season.
The team drew 327,478 fans to NBT Bank Stadium in 2019, up 18 percent from attendance of 277,332 in 2018, the club’s last year as the Syracuse Chiefs and an affiliate of the Washington Nationals, according to attendance data from Minor League Baseball (MiLB).
Excluding teams that built a new stadium or moved, Syracuse posted the “greatest jump” in home attendance among all MiLB teams this season, the Syracuse Mets said in a Tuesday news release.
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Over the last five seasons, the average attendance for Syracuse baseball games is up 21 percent, the team said, citing a statistic from the Sports Business Journal.
“This is amazing news,” Jason Smorol, general manager of the Syracuse Mets, said in the news release. “The Met-effect is real and in conjunction with fun promotions, great customer service, the widest food selections and a great social atmosphere, we are looking to increase those numbers next year.”
Attendance for the 176 MiLB teams across the nation was up 2 percent, or 984,000 fans, compared to 2018, per the release.
Pat O’Conner, president and CEO of MiLB, believes facility improvements “played a big role” in attracting more fans across the country. Syracuse is due to undergo stadium renovations over the next two years as well. Details have not yet been released, but fans “can expect the renovations to create a better fan experience with more areas for socializing,” the Syracuse Mets contend.
The Syracuse Mets 2020 home opener will be on April 17, nearly two weeks later than the team’s first home game in 2019. So, the team and its fans might just get a helping hand from Mother Nature with better weather conditions for the beginning of the home slate.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
