There’s a stat that is tweeted almost daily from Citizen Bank Park… so many consecutive sell outs. It’s up to like 70 something now.
But yesterday it was the Lehigh Valley that was shining! The Pig fans crossed the 500,000 mark for attendance with a large crowd of 9,590!
No other team in AAA baseball has reached this mark yet this year. (Most likely a minor league high also, just didn’t have the time to research)
Season per game average is riding high at 9,192 fans per game. Also first in minor league baseball!
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Today a few of the Noise Nation will be volunteering with the Miracle League game. It starts at 2:00pm in Schnecksville. Really looking forward to a fun day and expect some news tomorrow.
OinK!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
When the Ironpigs arrived and started selling season tickets they offered a 1 year plan, a 3 year plan and a 5 year plan. The incentive for the multi-year plan commitment was that the ticket prices would remain the same for the entire length of their contract. So far the prices haven’t changed so nobody has saved any money by making the longterm commitment.
Now, for the first time the people who made a 3 year commitment back in 2008 will have to make a decision whether or not to renew their season tickets for 2011 and beyond. It could be the first tell-tale indicator if season ticket holders are tired of losing or if they’re still happy just to have minor league baseball in the valley regardless of the quality of play.
And what happens if the Ironpigs decide to raise ticket prices by $1? For a field level seat that means $648 becomes $720. For a family of 4 that makes a difference of $288 for their season tickets. For me, $720 per season ticket would still be a bargain but not everyone thinks like I do. Right now I’m as frustrated as anyone with the team’s performance but I know by next spring I’ll be anxiously waiting for that first pitch on opening day.
Those are good points, Decal. I’m also curious about how some of the corporate stuff will work out. A bunch of the club-level seats are corporate seats that could also become available. We’re talking over $1k/seat here, maybe more with an increase. Will they be able to sell them? I’m still happy, but I do have to admit that two of the recent games I’ve been to have been total ‘dogs’.
“Season per game average is riding high at 9,192 fans per game. Also first in minor league baseball!”
Why all the !!!!!!!!!!!!!!?
All this shows is that a whole lot of people are giving the Phillies/Iron Pigs a free pass on putting a decent product on the field.
And it shows what I’ve been saying now for two years that probably more than 90% of the people going to games either don’t care about the fact that baseball is being played and just want to watch the pork race and the rest of the silly in between inning distractions or are such foaming homers that the team could finish 44-100 an they would still be saying how great the Pigs are and how much fun it is to watch the Pigs lose.
The people that I sit around are mostly three year and five year contract season ticket holders. And I would say that its split about 50-50 on people being disgusted with the team and people not caring one bit. Of the fifty percent who are disgusted I know about twenty percent have guaranteed me that they either will not be renewing or if they do they will just buy a 9 or 18 game single season plan and that they no longer care about sitting in the good seats because they feel disrespected by the teams lack of competiveness.
I’ve watched and played enough baseball in my time to know that part of the problem is that the team is going thru the motions and that the players are no longer playing for Huppert and that a number of the guys have been doggin’ it now for a while.
I know that because I’ve talked to a few of the guys outside of the ballpark and the ones I’ve talked with are very unhappy with the organization and the lack of direction and leadership on the team.
I know that it’s nice that the Pigs bamboozle people with noises, giveaways, fireworks, and the like but at the end of the day what people seem to overlook is that we are all here to watch a baseball team win baseball games.
And while this team took major strides forward last year, they have taken major strides back this year to the point where they are clearly worse then the God-awful ’08 team.
I myself have not made up my mind as to what I will do next year with my own ticket renewal. But what I do know is that while I’m glad there is professional baseball in the Lehigh Valley, I don’t want to spend my money to watch a team of uninspired players get outplayed, outcoached, and outhustled most nights.
Outstanding last paragraph, Lefty 33 – well said.
My own – largely unpopular – feelings with respect to the IronPigs historical inability to field a team capable of a .500 winning percentage and respectability were well documented quite long ago.
Meanwhile, I will take another oppportunity to point out that KEHL and the NOISE NATION are having a great year at the Park (or, the Coke, as they prefer)
It is a fact the IronPigs have THE BEST FANS in the ENTIRE COUNTRY.
They have the best blogs, too.
BACON & BISCUITS does nice work, as well.