2017 Cubs attendance watch: July 21-25 and August 1-6 homestands

With the Cardinals and White Sox being part of the schedule in late July, Wrigley Field attendance numbers reached their highest point in nearly four years. That’s how long it had been since any announced attendance figure had topped 42,000.

Here are the announced attendance numbers for the two most recent homestands:

7/21: 42,186
7/22: 41,969
7/23: 41,582
7/24: 40,849
7/25: 40,717
8/1: 40,709
8/2: 41,321
8/3: 39,525
8/4: 41,396
8/5: 41,857
8/6: 41,047

You’ll notice a couple of anomalies there. The two games vs. the White Sox didn’t break the 41,000 mark, despite nice weather both days. Those games were on Monday and Tuesday afternoon, and prices were high.

The August 3 game vs. the Diamondbacks likely didn’t break 40,000 because of the threat of severe weather that day (which, in fact, did happen and caused more than two and a half hours worth of delays).

Through 55 dates the Cubs have announced 2,181,442 tickets sold, an average of 39,663 per date. The total ranks fourth behind the Dodgers, Cardinals and Giants; the average ranks fifth (the Blue Jays’ average ranks fourth). At the current average per date figure, the Cubs would wind up with 3,212,703 tickets sold, about 20,000 fewer than last year. Weekend series vs. the Cardinals and Brewers in September should draw well. Three weeknights vs. the Mets in September probably won’t.

As is my custom for these updates, I turn the rest of this post over to BCB reader Lifetime Cubs Fan for some analysis of pricing trends.

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What a difference a month makes!

With the Cubs just finishing up their 16-game “homestand” (more on that in a moment), I think we are all glad to see them atop of the N.L. Central, even after Sunday’s implosion.

For those who purchased tickets from the cubs.com website for the July games, you may still be in shock (similar to what we experienced as fans during the eighth inning on Sunday), as the month of July was expensive — very expensive. How expensive, you ask? Check out the chart below for the average last posted cubs.com price for each section (includes taxes and fees).

However, you could have entered Wrigley for much less than those prices buying tickets from Stubhub within 24 hours of the game, as the theme of cheaper seats on secondary market vs. cubs.com continued. I’m sure some of you reading this post found some good deals.

One might surmise, with the Cubs battling for first in the N.L. Central, ticket prices for the remainder of August are likely to be just as expensive. Well, if you thought that, I’m glad to tell you that you’re wrong. Excluding the Blue Jays series, check out the chart below for the average price per ticket on cubs.com for each section (taxes and fees included) for the other eight home games in August. (Psst! As these games get closer, Cubs.com prices only increase, so if you want to go to one of these games — act fast!) My favorite observation is that the average cost per bleacher ticket for those eight games is $100 cheaper per ticket than the last Cubs.com price posted for the July games.

I made a statement above about the Cubs just getting done with a 16-game “homestand” (including two games on the South Side and three games in Milwaukee). How much are the Cubs a draw for the White Sox and the Brewers? I’ll let the picture below speak for itself.

True or False? The average 2017 attendance for the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field (I still want to type Comiskey) when they do not play the Cubs (21,764) is lower than the highest Triple-A team’s average attendance thus far in 2017

Answer: False (though I am sure there are some of us that wanted it to be true). The highest Triple-A 2017 average is 9,104, by the Charlotte Knights — who are the White Sox affiliate.

My next update will be after the Cubs conclude their series against the Braves in early September. Until then, Go Cubs!