Arizona Diamondbacks Seeing Dramatic Increase in Fan Attendance

As the D-backs predicted, they have seen a massive increase in fan attendance through 23 games and are leading MLB.

May 15, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks mascot D. Baxter waves a giant flag / Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Prior to the season, Arizona Diamondbacks' owner Ken Kendrick authorized GM Mike Hazen to set franchise records for payroll for the 2024 season. Kendrick spoke about how the team saw a cash windfall from their World Series run and that they were expecting a dramatic increase in fan attendance in 2024.

They said that they had sold far more season ticket packages than had been sold in a decade-plus. They were expecting plenty of big crowds to cheer on the D-backs to a hopeful playoff berth with heavy expectations of good games every night.

Then, the D-backs planned out more D-backs promotions and giveaways than they had done in years. This included giveaways the first three nights of the season, not to mention over 10+ just 23 games into their home schedule. They have yet another giveaway tonight with Mexican Heritage Night in which the team expects a near sell-out.

How Much Has Attendance Raised in 2024 Compared to 2023 for D-backs?

Through 23 games last year, the Diamondbacks saw just 448,761 fans go through their gates, an average of just 19,511. That was good for 21st in MLB.

Through 2024's first 23 games, they have recorded 695,143 fans walking through their doors. That equates to an average of 30,224 per game, which ranks 13th in baseball. That's extremely encouraging for a team that has struggled to draw fans consistently to the park.

Perhaps what is most encouraging is the fact that the D-backs are number one across all of MLB for the year-over-year difference. They have seen an increase of 246,382 fans show up, almost double that of the 2nd place team, the Orioles, who have seen 125,851 fans show up compared to 2023.

The D-backs per game increase average is a whopping 10,712, once again almost double that of the Nationals who are seeing an increase of 5,615 tickets being sold per game.

This is exactly what the D-backs were expecting to happen and needed to happen to increase their payroll and give Hazen even more room at the trade deadline to acquire players with higher salaries. Should this continue all season, expect Hazen to have even more wiggle room with the payroll come next offseason.

For a whole list of how MLB teams are doing in attendance compared to last year, check out below, and note that the Dodgers are surprisingly averaging fewer fans than last year, despite shelling out a billion-plus dollars in the offseason.

Difference in 2024 attendance vs. the same point last year (per game, rounded):

+11K ARI
+10K
+9K
+8K
+7K
+6K WSH
+5K SF BAL
+4K CIN CLE
+3K TEX CHC
+2K
+1K SEA KC SD
0 PIT ATL DET MIA BOS MIN
-1K NYY PHI LAD MIL
-2K TB COL
-3K CWS STL OAK TOR
-4K HOU LAA
-5K
-6K
-7K NYM

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 17, 2024